Summary: The Council was at fault for failing to provide suitable interim and temporary accommodation when Mr X was homeless. It also failed to protect Mr X’s property. The Council has agreed to apologise, pay Mr X £2,500, and take action to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council:
1. provided him with unsuitable temporary accommodation when he was homeless.
2. took over three months to provide alternative accommodation despite accepting in May 2021 that the accommodation was unsuitable.
3. failed to protect his property, which the temporary accommodation provider disposed of.
2. As a result, Mr X says he had to live in accommodation which was damp, cold, and infested with pests and has lost possessions which were of sentimental value.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
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 spoke to Mr X about his complaint.
6. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
7. I referred to the Ombudsman’s Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
8. 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

Homelessness

9. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
10. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants.
11. A council must secure accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
13. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
14. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferable, and unqualified. Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601
15. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.

Protection of property

16. Where the council owes or has owed certain housing duties to an applicant, it must protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged. A council may make a reasonable charge for storage and reserve the right to dispose of the property if it loses contact with the applicant. (Housing Act 1996, section 211, Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 20)

What happened

17. In October 2020, Mr X told the Council he was homeless.
18. In November, the Council provided interim accommodation in a bed and breakfast.
19. In December, Mr X told the Council about issues with the heating and pest infestation. The Council’s records show it contacted the accommodation provider, which said it would arrange for pest control.
20. In February 2021, during a multi-disciplinary meeting about Mr X, his GP passed on concerns about issues with pests in the accommodation.
21. In March, the Council accepted it owed Mr X a main housing duty. This meant Mr X now occupied the property as temporary accommodation. The suitability of temporary accommodation carries a statutory right of review.
22. With help from a solicitor, Mr X asked for a review of the suitability his temporary accommodation. Mr X provided photos and videos of the condition of the property. The review officer asked the Council to provide an inspection report of the property. It did not do so.
23. In May, the Council decided Mr X’s temporary accommodation was unsuitable based on the evidence Mr X provided. The review officer advised the Council that Mr X “must be given an urgent move to other accommodation”.
24. In July, the Council identified a suitable alternative property for Mr X. In an email following a viewing, Mr X told the Council he would need help to move his belongings to any new property.
25. In August, Mr X moved into the alternative accommodation.
26. In September, he contacted the Council about his belongings, which were still in the previous property. The Council told Mr X the accommodation provider had kept his belongings for 28 days after he moved out. They had since been disposed of.
27. Mr X complained to the Council in November about the poor standard of the accommodation and the disposal of his belongings. In response, the Council said:
• it would arrange for an inspection of the property
• neither the Council nor the managing agent of the property had received reports, from Mr X or anyone else, about the pest infestation or other issues.
• the temporary accommodation provider had responsibility for storing and disposing of personal belongings
• the accommodation provider told Mr X it would only keep his belongings for 28 days
• he should contact the police if he thought his belongings were wrongly disposed of.

My findings

Interim accommodation

28. The law says accommodation provided to homeless people must be suitable. This applies to both interim and temporary accommodation.
29. The evidence provided by Mr X is that the accommodation was never suitable due to its poor condition, including pest infestation. Mr X told the Council about these issues in December, and again in February.
30. There is no evidence the Council considered whether the property was suitable:
• Before offering it to Mr X
• After he reported issues in December
• After his GP reported issues in February.
31. Failure to consider whether the issues Mr X reported meant the property was unsuitable is fault.
32. Given the review outcome, and having seen the photos and videos Mr X took of the property, I find the property was always unsuitable. This means Mr X lived in unsuitable interim accommodation for five months. This is an injustice to Mr X.

Temporary accommodation

33. The Council’s review found the property to be unsuitable in May 2021. Despite this, the Council failed to provide alternative accommodation for another three months.
34. The court has held that the duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferable, and unqualified. Therefore, the Council’s failure to provide suitable accommodation for three months was fault.
35. In total, Mr X spent 9 months in unsuitable interim and temporary accommodation. This is an injustice to Mr X.
36. In response to Mr X’s complaint, the Council said it would conduct an inspection of the accommodation. In my enquiries, I asked the Council for a copy of this report. It did not provide one and there is no evidence it conducted the inspection it agreed to. Despite this, the Council has placed six other homeless applicants into the accommodation since January 2021.

Protection of property

37. Mr X told the Council in July 2021 that he would need help to move his belongings into alternative accommodation. He moved into the accommodation in August. The law says councils have a duty to protect the property of homeless people if it has reason to believe it as risk of loss or damage and no other suitable arrangements have been made. There is no evidence the Council considered whether it had a duty to protect Mr X’s property. This was fault.
38. When Mr X contacted the Council about his belongings in September, the Council told him about its scheme to provide emergency discretionary grants. It said this scheme might help him pay for the transport of his property. By the time the Council told Mr X about this scheme, the accommodation provider had already disposed of his belongings. The Council should have told Mr X about this scheme in July, or at the latest in August when he moved. Failure to do so was fault.
39. In response to his complaint, the Council said Mr X knew the accommodation provider would only keep his belongings for 28 days after he moved. I asked the Council for evidence of this, which it has not provided. There is no evidence the Council or the accommodation provider contacted Mr X about his belongings. This was fault.
40. As a result, Mr X lost belongings of both financial and sentimental value. This is an injustice to Mr X.

Complaint handling

41. In responding to Mr X’s complaint, the Council said he had not reported any issues with the temporary accommodation to either the Council or the accommodation provider. The Council’s records show that Mr X reported issues to the Council in December 2020. The records also show that the Council reported this to the accommodation provider, who confirmed that pest control would attend. Similarly, following the multi-disciplinary meeting in February 2021, the Council undertook to report the issues in the temporary accommodation to the provider.
42. The Council’s account of what happened is inaccurate. The Council should have checked its own records as part of investigating the complaint. The Council’s failure to carry out a proper investigation of the complaint was fault.
43. The Council also based its findings about Mr X’s belongings on an incorrect understanding of the Council’s duties. It said the accommodation provider was responsible for protecting and disposing of personal property. The Council also said Mr X could make a report to the police if he thought his belongings were wrongly disposed of.
44. This is wrong for two reasons. First, the accommodation provider is acting on behalf of the Council in providing accommodation to homeless applicants. Therefore, the Council is responsible for the actions of the provider. Second, the Council has a legal duty to protect the property of homeless applicants. The complaint response failed to acknowledge this duty and consider if it arose in Mr X’s case. This was fault.
45. Because of these faults, the Council’s investigation of Mr X’s complaint was incomplete and its findings unsound. This avoidably undermined Mr X’s trust in the Council.

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Agreed action

46. To remedy the injustice to Mr X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Mr X in writing
• Pay Mr X £200 a month for the nine months he spent in unsuitable accommodation, for £1,800
• Pay Mr X a further £700 in recognition of his lost property and avoidable distress
47. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
48. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
• Conduct an inspection of the property to find out if it is suitable as accommodation for homeless applicants
• Remind relevant staff about the duty to protect the property of certain homeless applicants. Provide guidance or training to staff and accommodation providers as needed.
• Remind staff investigating complaints to review the Council’s own records to test and corroborate information provided by officers and third parties.
49. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within three months of my final decision.

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Final decision

50. I have completed my investigation. There is fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman