Summary: There was fault by the Council as it has failed to move Mr X and his family from unsuitable temporary accommodation for almost a year. This has meant the family have lived with mould on the walls and his wife has had to sleep downstairs. A payment towards the families time spent in unsuitable accommodation, alongside several measures to help the family move as quickly as possible remedy this complaint.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I shall call Mr X, says the Council has not taken action to ensure that mould is removed from his temporary accommodation or moved his family to new accommodation.
2. Mr X says the accommodation is unsuitable for his wife, as she has to sleep downstairs to be able to access the bathroom as she cannot climb the stairs. Mr X says the mould is affecting his son’s health.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We cannot question whether an organisation’s decision is right or wrong simply because the complainant disagrees with it. We must consider whether there was fault in the way the decision was reached. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. 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

5. I read the papers put in by Mr X and discussed the complaint with him.
6. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and any supporting documents it provided.
7. Mr 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

Key facts

8. The Council accepted a full housing duty towards Mr X in 2017. Mr X was housed in his current interim temporary accommodation in March 2019.
9. Mr X told the council of the problem with damp and mould in the property in May 2021. The Council reported the problem to the agents managing the property.
10. Mr X’s family were placed on the urgent transfer list in June 2021. Mr X was offered urgent alternative temporary accommodation on 3 June 2021. The Council said Mr X initially accepted the accommodation but on 7 June refused the offer as it was not suitable for his wife's medical need as it did not have a ground floor bathroom. The Council withdrew the offer. The Council has said that it has been looking for alternative accommodation but has been unable to move them. The Council says it will move Mr X as soon as it can.
11. The Council made Mr X another offer of temporary accommodation in February 2022. Again, this property was found to be unsuitable for Mrs X’s medical needs.

My analysis

12. In response to my enquiries, the Council has said that it accepts that Mr X’s current temporary accommodation is unsuitable and accepts that it has taken too long to move his family. This is fault. This has caused injustice to Mr X’s family, as they have remained in unsuitable temporary accommodation.
13. Mr X has explained that the mould is affecting his sons health and that his wife has to sleep in the lounge as she cannot use the stairs so needs a bathroom on the same level as her bedroom.
14. Our remedies guidance recommends a remedy of between £150 to £350 per month, where households remain in unsuitable accommodation. In this case, the main issue is the disrepair from mould. Mrs X has to sleep downstairs but is able to access a bathroom on the same level. The Council has offered a remedy of £200 per month, from 22 July 2021 when the family sent in medical evidence to show the accommodation was unsuitable. This seems to me a reasonable remedy to the injustice.
15. Mr X wants suitable, permanent accommodation for his family. The Council has said there is a severe shortage of suitable Council housing and it cannot say how long the family may wait for permanent housing. It has explained that Mr X has other options, such looking for privately rented housing with the financial assistance of the Council or through organisations, or by registering with schemes such as Homefinder.
16. In response to my enquiries, the Council has said ‘it is difficult to put a timescale on how quickly it may be possible to move Mr X, given the household's needs and the extreme shortage of accommodation. However, we recognise the length of time the household has been waiting and will escalate efforts’. The Council has said it will:
• Seek to identify a property to purchase and repair specifically for the family.
• Refer the family to the Council's recently created Move on Team to intensively support them to secure a move out of temporary accommodation.
• Make a direct referral to Bridge Housing, which is an organisation the Council has started working with in the last few months, which assist households into social housing in areas outside of Redbridge.
• Keep the family's situation under review every two weeks to progress the above actions and identify any further support that can be provided.

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Agreed action

17. The Council apologises to Mr X and his family for taking too long to move them from unsuitable accommodation within one month of the date of the decision on this complaint.
18. The Council makes a payment to Mr X of £2200 within one month of the date of the decision for the time spent in unsuitable accommodation. In addition to this, the Council should pay Mr X £200 for each month he remains in the accommodation after the date of the decision on this complaint.
19. The Council should write to Mr X every month to keep him informed on its effort to move his family to new accommodation.

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Final decision

20. I have completed my investigation of this complaint. This complaint is upheld and I consider the steps outlined above, remedy the injustice to Mr X and his family.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman