Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council dealt with the long‑term disrepair and management issues at her temporary accommodation. The Council was at fault with how it dealt with Miss X’s concerns. This caused Miss X distress, time and trouble, frustration and she remained in an unsuitable accommodation for longer than she should have. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about how the Council dealt with the long-term disrepair and management issues relating to the temporary accommodation she lived in between 2018 and 2021.
2. Miss X also complained the Council failed to impose appropriate sanctions on the managing agent for the poor standard of service it provided to her.
3. Miss X said the Council’s failings caused her significant distress and time and trouble complaining and chasing updates on the matter. She said her physical and mental health was negatively affected and she lived in unsuitable accommodation for a significant period.

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What I have investigated

4. I have investigated the Council’s alleged failure in connection with the exercise of its administrative and statutory functions.
5. I have exercised discretion to investigate matters from August 2020. This was when Miss X first sent a detailed list of her concerns about several disrepairs and council tax bill issues to the Council.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. 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)
7. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
8. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, section 25(7), as amended)
9. 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

10. I discussed the complaint with Miss X and considered the information she provided. I considered the information the Council provided in response to my enquiries.
11. I sent Miss X and the Council a copy of my draft decision and considered the comments received before reaching a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and Guidance

12. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities sets out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
13. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need it has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
14. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
15. As the duty to provide suitable accommodation is a continuing obligation, councils must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review. If there is a change of circumstances the council must reconsider whether the accommodation remains suitable.

Temporary Accommodation Agreement between the Council and the Managing Agent

16. ….the agent shall endeavour to provide the highest possible standards of suitable accommodation and in any event shall ensure that as a minimum the premises comply with the minimum property standards and shall implement with the Council such quality management systems.
17. Agents are responsible for ensuring that repairs and maintenance to homes are carried out quickly and without undue inconvenience to the service user. Service users shall be informed fully about the repairs procedure and the timescale for any work scheduled, including an expected completion date.
18. There are 3 Repairs Priority List:

• Priority A – make safe within 2 hours, maximum time for completion of 24 hours
• Priority B - maximum time for completion 5 working days
• Priority C - maximum time for completion 28 working days.

19. In the event of that Priorities B and C repairs are not completed within the required timescale and the agent has not supplied the service user with an expectation for completion, the rent will be suspended from the scheduled date for completion until actual completion.
20. The service user shall be liable for the payment of council tax, gas and electricity fuel bills, whilst in occupation where this is agreed at the time of booking. At all other times the agent will be responsible for any such payments. In no circumstances shall the Council be liable for such bills.

What happened

21. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
22. The Council accepted a main housing duty towards Miss X.
23. Miss X has some physical and mental health conditions.
24. The Council placed Miss X in a temporary accommodation in 2018. Miss X’s temporary accommodation was managed by an estate agent (Agency A). Miss X’s licence to occupy letter stated she would pay a charge for her temporary accommodation. The charges included occupation charge, water and sewerage, cooking facilities, services, gas and electric.
25. In August 2020, Miss X contacted the Council. She reported issues with the council tax (CT) bill and several disrepairs at her temporary accommodation. Miss X said she had been raising the issues with Agency A for many years, but no action(s) had been taken to resolve her concerns. Miss X said the CT bills were in her name despite Agency A informing her it was responsible for the CT bills in her temporary accommodation. She expressed her frustrations and how the issues were affecting her health conditions. Miss X requested to speak with a Council senior manager so her concerns could be dealt with and resolved.
26. A few days later the Council informed Agency A about the disrepairs at Miss X’s property.
27. In September 2020, Miss X chased the Council for an update on the disrepair issues. She provided the Council with photos of the disrepairs and medical evidence in support of her case. The medical evidence explained how the several issues Miss X was experiencing at her property was affecting her physical and mental health. It also set out concerns about how Miss X’s mental health would further worsen if her concerns were not resolved, and her property not brought up to acceptable standards to meet Miss X’s needs. Miss X asked the Council for its complaint procedure and contact details of a manager because no action had been taken to resolve her concerns. Miss X asked Agency A to confirm to her in writing the timescales when the repairs would be carried out.
28. The Council asked Agency A to urgently contact Miss X to arrange appointments for the disrepairs. Agency A replied to the Council. It confirmed an engineer had visited Miss X’s property in September 2020 to look at what works needed to be done. Agency A apologised for its delays with resolving the disrepairs at Miss X’s property. It confirmed it would arrange the repairs without further delays. The Council also asked Agency A to look for an alternative temporary accommodation for Miss X due to her health conditions and the difficulties she was experiencing because of the disrepairs.
29. On 1 October, a suitability assessment was requested due to Miss X’s health conditions. Miss X’s property was scheduled for an inspection on 5 October 2020 to determine if her temporary accommodation was suitable for her.
30. Agency A completed some repairs in October 2020.
31. In October and December 2020, Miss X continued to chase the Council for an update on the completion of the remaining disrepair issues and the suitability assessment. She also reported new disrepair issues to the Council following the work carried out by the builders in October 2020 and she attached some photos. Agency A carried out further repairs in December 2020.
32. In January 2021, Miss X received a CT bill reminder for the period August 2020 to February 2021. She informed and sent a copy of the CT bill reminder to Agency A and the Council.
33. On 11 February 2021, Miss X made a formal complaint to the Council. She complained about the poor standard of service she received from Agency A over a long period of time. She complained Agency A mismanaged the CT bill issues and the several disrepairs at her temporary accommodation. She said the matter affected her physical and mental health and despite the medical evidence she submitted in support of her case, the Council failed to move her to an alternative temporary accommodation.
34. On 15 February 2021, the Council contacted Agency A. The Council asked it for an update on Miss X’s property disrepairs and if any suitable alternative temporary accommodation had been found. The same day, the Council also inquired about Miss X’s suitability assessment because the previous one requested in October 2020 was not completed.
35. On 24 February 2021, Miss X informed the Council she received a final CT bill notice. She expressed her frustration that Agency A had not resolved the CT issue and the impact the matter was having on her mental health/wellbeing. Miss X asked Agency A to pay the outstanding CT bill as a matter of urgency. Agency A confirmed to the Council it would sort the CT bill issue out immediately.
36. The Council signposted Miss X to her GP and made a referral to its mental health support team. The mental health team contacted Miss X for welfare checks. It advised the Council that Miss X’s concerns were clearly about her temporary housing condition, CT bill issues and Agency A. The Council arranged an alternative temporary accommodation viewing for Miss X. She went for the viewing but said it was unsuitable due to her health conditions.
37. In March 2021, Agency A completed further repairs.
38. On 12 March 2021, the Council issued its stage 1 response to Miss X’s complaint. The Council explained the CT bill issue was in the process of being resolved and confirmed the CT account would be transferred to Agency A the same day. As regards the disrepairs, the Council said many of Miss X’s concerns were historic. But it confirmed further repairs were recently completed in March 2021. It noted Miss X refused the property she viewed in February 2021 but confirmed it was still looking for an alternative temporary accommodation for her via Agency A and other agencies. In relation to Miss X’s mental health condition, it said it had referred her to its mental health team who had contacted her for welfare checks. The Council did not uphold Miss X’s complaint, it advised her of her review rights.
39. In April 2021, the Council offered Miss X another temporary accommodation viewing but she said she was not interested in the viewing. Miss X said this was because she was waiting for the suitability assessment to be completed.
40. On 7 May 2021, Miss X escalated her complaint to stage 2 because the CT bill issues remained unresolved. Miss X acknowledged all the disrepairs were finally resolved in 2021. She questioned why it took Agency A several years to resolve the disrepairs and why the Council failed to financially sanction Agency A for its poor standard of service. She explained the property she viewed but declined was because it was unsuitable for her health conditions. Miss X questioned why the Council would liaise with the agency she had been complaining about (Agency A) for an alternative temporary accommodation. She explained how the Council failed to acknowledge the impact the whole matter had on her health conditions and how it refused her request to discuss her concerns with a senior manager.
41. On 12 May 2021, the Council advised Agency A to resolve the CT issue and conduct regular inspection to ensure repairs to Miss X’s property were resolved.
42. On 26 May 2021, Miss X received another CT bill reminder. She forwarded to Agency A and asked it to contact the CT office and resolve the issue urgently. The Council advised Agency A to contact Miss X and include her in its correspondence with the CT office. The CT office letter stated the CT would remain in Miss X’s name and confirmed the outstanding bill was £1449.13. Agency A forwarded the letter to Miss X to show her its efforts in resolving the CT issues. Agency A confirmed it would pay the total CT bill despite being in Miss X’s name.
43. On 27 May 2021, another suitability assessment was requested. The assessment outcome stated Miss X required a 1-bed accommodation in some specific areas.
44. On 2 June 2021, a joint inspection was conducted at Miss X’s temporary accommodation by Agency A and the Council. The Council confirmed all disrepair issues were resolved to Miss X’s satisfaction.
45. In early July 2021, Miss X received another CT overdue bill and a court summons notice. She informed the Council about the ongoing issue. Agency A paid the total outstanding CT bill of £1449.13, and the court summons cost was cancelled.
46. Agency A told the Council that although Miss X’s name could not be removed from the CT bill, it would be responsible for paying the CT bill at her temporary accommodation. The Council advised Agency A to keep monitoring the matter and set up a direct debit going forward to avoid further issues.
47. On 14 July 202, the Council issued its final response to Miss X’s complaint. It partially upheld Miss X’s complaint. The Council accepted and apologised it failed to escalate matters when she was unhappy with the way Agency A dealt with her concerns. It also apologised it failed to fully address her concerns in its stage 1 response to her. The Council said following Miss X’s review request, it arranged a joint inspection of her property. A manager contacted her by email and telephone to discuss the steps the Council was taking to address her concerns. It said by June 2021, it confirmed all disrepair issues had been resolved to Miss X’s satisfaction. As regards the CT bill issues, the Council confirmed Agency A was responsible for the payments for her property, but the CT office refused to acknowledge it. It said the CT office maintained Miss X’s name would remain on the CT bills which was why she continued to receive bills, reminders and summons for non-payment of the CT bills. The Council said Agency A contacted and tried to resolve the issue with the CT office so its name could be transferred onto the bill but was unsuccessful. It attached an email evidence Agency A received from CT office in relation to the matter. The Council acknowledged Miss X chased the matter with Agency A on several occasions, but it finally resolved the matter and paid the total outstanding CT bill in July 2021. As regards the Council sanctioning Agency A, it said all issues raised by Miss X had been resolved satisfactorily so a sanction was not necessary at the time. In conclusion, the Council accepted it could have resolved Miss X’s concerns sooner had it escalated matters when she was unhappy with how Agency A dealt with her concerns. The Council said it had discussed its escalation processes with its officer so these could be followed going forward. The Council advised Miss X to contact the Ombudsman if she remained dissatisfied with its conclusion.
48. In November 2021, the Council moved Miss X into an alternative temporary accommodation.
49. Miss X remained dissatisfied with how Agency A and the Council dealt with the long-term disrepairs and the CT bill issues. She also remained dissatisfied with the Council’s responses to her complaint. Miss X said the Council failed to impose appropriate sanctions on Agency A for the poor standard of service it provided to her. Miss X made a complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Long-term Disrepairs

50. The Council was at fault for failing to properly deal with Miss X’s request for repairs in her temporary accommodation. Miss X reported the disrepair issues to the Council in August 2020. It took Agency A and the Council until June 2021 to confirm all the disrepairs at Miss X’s property had been resolved. This was a significant delay, and it was fault. It caused Miss X distress, frustration, time and trouble she was put to chasing the matter and she continued to live in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary.
51. I acknowledge the Council chased Agency A on several occasions for updates on the disrepairs. But I find the Council failed to consider whether Agency A carried out the repairs in line with the temporary accommodation agreement. And there was no evidence to show the Council also considered what actions it could have taken to ensure Agency A carried out repairs within the agreement’s stipulated timescales. Whether that would include financial penalties would have been for the Council to consider given the terms of the agreement. I consider the recommendation I make below for how the Council manages disrepair with agents addresses this issue.

Suitability Assessment

52. Miss X submitted her disrepair concerns and the medical evidence to the Council in August and September 2020 respectively. The Council requested a suitability assessment on 1 October 2020 which it completed in June 2021.
53. I note in response to our enquiries, the Council said Miss X did not request a suitability assessment, the Council did. It further said “the suitability assessment was not carried out to determine the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation, but it was to determine, in general terms, what she would require for alternative/move-on accommodation, i.e, size, location and physical characteristics. In this case therefore, the suitability assessment had no bearing on any issue of disrepair.”
54. Whether Miss X requested the suitability assessment is not the issue here, the issue is whether the Council fulfilled its statutory obligation. Councils have a continuing duty/obligation to provide suitable accommodation and must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review. If there is a change of circumstances the council must reconsider whether the accommodation remains suitable.
55. I find the Council lost sight of its continuing duty to keep the issue of Miss X’s temporary accommodation under review. In particular when she raised her many concerns about the disrepairs and how it affected her health conditions. It took the Council approximately 8 months (October 2020 to June 2021) to complete the suitability assessment. This was fault. It took the Council a further 5-month period to move Miss X into an alternative temporary accommodation (June to November 2021). This was fault. The Council’s failings caused Miss X distress, frustration and she continued to live in an unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary.

Council Tax Issues

56. The Council confirmed in its response to our enquiries and informed Miss X that Agency A was responsible for the CT bill payment for her temporary accommodation. Miss X’s licence to occupy agreement was not clear who was responsible to pay the CT bills. This caused confusion to Miss X.
57. Although there was no financial loss caused to Miss X, this was because Agency A paid the total outstanding CT bill in July 2021. Agency A’s failure and delays in resolving this matter effectively and in a timely manner was fault. It caused Miss X distress, uncertainty, frustration, time and trouble she was put to chasing Agency A and the Council about the matter over a considerable amount of time.

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Agreed action

58. When a council commissions another organisation to provide services on its behalf it remains responsible for those services and for the actions of the organisation providing them. So, although we found fault with the actions/service of the Managing Agent, we have made recommendations to the Council.
59. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the Council has agreed to complete the following within one month of the final decision:

• apologise in writing to Miss X to recognise the injustice caused to her from the faults found
• pay £100 to Miss X for the frustration and the time and trouble caused by Agency A’s delays in resolving the council tax bill issues
• pay £1,500 to Miss X to acknowledge she lived in an unsuitable accommodation with disrepairs for longer than necessary. This remedy covers the 10-month period (August 2020 to June 2021) at £150 per month in line with our guidance on remedies.

60. Within three months of the final decision:

• review and ensure tenants’ license to occupy agreements clearly states/confirms who is responsible to pay the different charges for a temporary accommodation
• adopt a procedure of regular reports from its managing agent on how the agent is handling reports of disrepair, so the Council can identify, and if necessary, address, any persistent or long-lasting disrepair issues
• explain and provide evidence to the Ombudsman the action(s) it intends to take to improve its performance in this area.

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Final decision

61. I find evidence of fault by the Council leading to injustice. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy the injustice.

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Parts of the complaint that I did not investigate

62. The Ombudsman cannot investigate late complaints unless there are good reasons to do so. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done.
63. Miss X said the issues had been ongoing since 2018, but she did not refer her complaint to us until March 2022. I have decided to exercised discretion to investigate Miss X’s complaint from August 2020 for reasons set out in paragraph 5 above.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman