Summary: there was fault in the way the Council handled Miss X’s request for homelessness assistance. This caused Miss X and her family significant distress and the Council has agreed to provide a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that the Council did not respond quickly enough when she requested homelessness assistance in May 2021 after her landlord gave her notice to leave. It took far too long for the caseworker to make the first contact and assess her housing needs. There was also delay in accepting the prevention duty and sending her a Personalised Housing Plan.
2. Miss X repeatedly tried to contact the caseworker to seek advice and updates but received no response. This caused Miss X significant distress and worry at a time when she and her family were at risk of homelessness.
3. Miss X also believes she may have missed opportunities to bid for several three bedroom houses advertised on the Council’s choice-based lettings scheme in 2021 because she had been assessed as having a four bedroom need.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. If there has been fault which has caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have spoken to Miss X and considered the Council’s housing records.
7. Miss X and the organisation had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

The relevant legal duties

8. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the Council:
• he or she is likely to become homeless within 56 days; or
• he or she has been served with a valid Section 21 notice which expires within 56 days. [Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5)]
9. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness.
10. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
11. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must try to prevent them becoming homeless. This is known as the homelessness prevention duty. In deciding what steps to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195
12. One circumstance in which the prevention duty ends is when the applicant has suitable accommodation available and it has a reasonable prospect of being available for at least six months. The Council must notify the applicant in writing of the decision that the duty has come to an end and give reasons. It must also notify the applicant of their right to request a review of that decision.

Miss X’s circumstances

13. Miss X, her partner (whom I shall call Mr Y) and their four children have lived for several years in private rented accommodation in the Council’s area. Miss X and her partner were joint assured shorthold tenants.
14. In late February 2021 Miss X and Mr Y’s landlord gave them six months’ written notice to leave the accommodation because he was selling the property. He told them they must leave by 31 August. The letter was not on the section 21 Notice format.
15. Miss X searched unsuccessfully for other private rented accommodation in the area before making a homelessness application to the Council on 14 May. She provided a copy of her tenancy agreement and the landlord’s letter giving them notice to leave by 31 August. She also submitted several documents to provide proof of identity, income and savings and birth certificates for the children.
16. Miss X did not hear from the Council. The records show she contacted the Council at least three times in July 2021 to say she was concerned about the imminent eviction and to ask the caseworker to contact her. The Council accepts there had been a delay in assigning her case to a caseworker due to workload pressures.
17. Miss X continued to search for private rented properties while she waited to hear from the caseworker. She did not find any suitable properties: they were either not affordable or the wrong size.
18. On 3 August the caseworker telephoned Miss X for the first time. Miss X says the call lasted for eleven minutes. There are no case notes for this call. I have seen no evidence that the caseworker considered whether the landlord’s letter was a valid Section 21 notice which included all the legally prescribed information. Nor is there any evidence that the caseworker tried to contact the landlord to confirm his intention to sell the property or to ask if there was an option for Miss X to remain longer.
19. The records I have seen show Miss X made repeated attempts to contact the caseworker in July and August 2021. Miss X says the calls always went straight to voicemail and the caseworker did not respond to messages she left. I have seen several emails and messages the Council’s customer service staff sent to the caseworker each time Miss X called them.
20. Miss X made a complaint in early August and her MP’s caseworker also made enquiries on her behalf.  Miss X raised concerns about the delay in responding to her request for assistance and the caseworker’s failure to make contact. She said this was causing stress and frustration and making her pre-existing anxiety condition worse.
21. On 18 August, following further contact from Miss X and the MP’s enquiry, the caseworker informed Miss X that the Council had accepted the prevention duty. She also sent her a copy of the housing assessment and Personalised Housing Plan (PHP).
22. The section of the PHP which set out the steps the Council would take to assist Miss X said:

“Pending affordability, suitability and a credit check the council may be able to offer a loan to help you to secure a tenancy with rent in advance and/or deposit should it not be possible to secure these funds through any other means.

Support and process any bids that you make on the housing register.”

23. After getting the PHP, Miss X made further attempts to speak to the caseworker because she disagreed with some points in it. She says she called daily in late August but could not get through to her.
24. Miss X eventually found private rented accommodation for her family about one week before the landlord’s notice expired. She says she tried to contact the caseworker then to ask if the Council would offer a loan for rent in advance and the deposit as stated in the PHP. She could not get through to the caseworker to discuss this option so she borrowed £3,000 from a relative to cover these expenses.
25. Miss X and her family stayed in the rented property until mid-September 2021 and then moved to the new private rented property. The Council did not send an end of prevention duty letter to Miss X then. It did so recently after it received our enquiries about the complaint.

The impact on Miss X and her family

26. Miss X told me the Council’s poor handling of her case had a significant impact on her and her family. She said Mr Y’s existing depression worsened and his medication was increased. It also caused her to become very anxious. She found the lack of communication very frustrating and had to keep chasing the Council to no avail. Her family were facing homelessness and she got no advice or support from Council at the time they most needed it. Fortunately they were able to borrow £3,000 from a relative to pay rent in advance and the deposit on the new private rented property so they did not become homeless.

The Council’s response to Miss X’s complaint

27. In response to Miss X’s Stage Two complaint, the Council accepted it was at fault and partially upheld the complaint. It apologised to Miss X and agreed there had been poor customer service and delay. It offered Miss X a payment of £50 to recognise the distress and inconvenience. In response to my enquiries, the Council increased the offer to £200.
28. In terms of the wider service issues, the Council told me the Housing Needs Service has been short-staffed and officers are carrying larger caseloads. The service was restructured in October 2021. 
29. The Council is carrying out a recruitment drive and employing agency staff to work on the backlog of cases. It is also implementing a new way of working to bring all customer contact within the Housing Solutions team. It is introducing a new IT system with the aim of reducing the time officers spend on administrative tasks. This will free up more time to prioritise work with each customer. The new system will also enable customers and officers to directly communicate with each other and upload documents directly to their case.
30. It has also recently appointed two permanent Team Leaders who will lead on regular case reviews and check customer service standards are being met. 

Missed opportunities to bid for three bedroom social housing

31. Miss X was on the Council’s Housing Register in the lowest priority band C.
32. The Council assessed her as needing a property with four bedrooms. It said it took into account that her eldest child would soon be 16 when it made that decision. Based on the current age and gender of her children, Miss X is entitled to a three bedroom property under the bedroom standard in the Council’s published allocations policy.
33. Miss X wanted to be allowed to bid for three or four bedroom properties because four bedroom properties are rarely advertised on the Homes First scheme.
34. After the Council investigated her complaint at the second stage, it agreed to change her registration to let her bid for 3 bedroom or 4 bedroom properties. Miss X is satisfied with this outcome. However she was concerned that she may have missed opportunities to bid for suitable three bedroom properties before the change was made in November 2021.
35. In response to my enquiries, the Council told me it let 17 three bedroom houses between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022. In the same period it let only one 4 bedroom property. None of these properties were let to a household in Band C.

My analysis

Request for homelessness assistance

36. Being threatened with homelessness is a stressful experience for anyone. But the Council made matters worse for Miss X by taking far too long to process her request for assistance and repeatedly failing to respond to requests for contact and updates. This happened over an extended period from May to August 2021. Understandably Miss X’s anxiety increased as the 31 August date approached. She genuinely worried that she and her family would become homeless. This caused avoidable distress and frustration at an already stressful time in their lives.
37. The Council’s failure to take any action between 14 May and 3 August 2021 is clearly fault. I understand the Council was short-staffed and officers were working under considerable pressure. But the delay was nonetheless fault. It was also fault not to check the validity of the landlord’s notice letter which may not comply with the legal requirements for a Section 21 notice. Furthermore there was no attempt made to contact the landlord to check his intention to sell the property or try to negotiate a short extension for Miss X and her family while they looked for alternative accommodation.
38. The PHP said that, subject to checks, the Council may be able to assist Miss X with a loan to cover rent in advance and a deposit on private rented accommodation. But, due to the persistent failure to respond to her enquiries, Miss X could not explore this option with the caseworker when she found a suitable property. That was also fault. Fortunately Miss X managed to secure a loan elsewhere so this fault did not cause injustice as she did not lose this property.
39. The level of customer service in this case fell well below acceptable standards. To its credit, the Council recognised that when it replied to Miss X’s complaint. Miss X had to complain to the Council and contact her MP to get her case progressed and get her case moved on. It was only then that Miss X received the letter accepting the prevention duty and the PHP. It should not be necessary for applicants to have to go to such lengths to secure their basic legal rights.
40. The Council also failed in its duty to notify Miss X promptly that the prevention duty had come to an end when she found suitable accommodation. This was also fault. However, on the facts of this case, I am not likely to find this caused Miss X any injustice. By then she had found settled accommodation with a tenancy of at least six months so she had no grounds to challenge the decision to end the duty.
41. I considered whether the Council’s improved offer to pay Miss X £200 to recognise the avoidable distress caused by its actions is a fair and proportionate remedy. I also referred to our published guidance on remedies for distress payments. On the facts of this case, I consider a higher payment of £400 is justified. In reaching that view I took into account the impact on Miss X and her partner’s mental health and the prolonged period when there was little or no communication with her at a particularly stressful time in her life.

Homes First registration

42. The strict application of the rules in the Council’s published allocations scheme entitles Miss X to bid for three bedroom properties. This is based on the age and gender of her children. However the Council agreed in November 2021 to let her bid for three or four bedroom properties and she is happy with that decision.
43. The Council sent me evidence that if Miss X had been able to bid for three bedroom properties between April 2021 and March 2022, her bids would not have been successful. All 17 of the three bedroom properties advertised on Homes First in that period were let to applicants in a higher priority band than her. So Miss X did not miss opportunities to bid successfully for a three bedroom property.

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Agreed action

44. The Council has agreed to complete the following actions within one month of the final decision:
• pay Miss X £400;
• arrange a briefing for officers in the Housing Needs Service who deal with homelessness cases to highlight the specific learning points from this complaint – namely the importance of checking the validity of landlord’s notices at an early stage, the legal requirement to send end of prevention duty letters to applicants and the need for timely communication with applicants;

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Final decision

45. I have completed the investigation and found the Council was at fault and this caused injustice to Miss X and her family.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman