Summary: Miss B complained the Council did not rehouse her and her child when they were threatened with eviction and did not provide suitable accommodation when they became homeless. Miss B said this caused her stress and anxiety. The Council was at fault for delays accepting the prevention, relief, and main housing duties; writing and sharing Miss B’s personal housing plan; offering her interim accommodation; and updating her. These delays raised Miss B’s expectations, caused distress and uncertainty, and led to lost opportunities. The Council will make a financial payment to remedy the injustice caused to Miss B and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained the Council did not rehouse her and her child when they were threatened with eviction and did not provide suitable accommodation when they became homeless. Miss B said this caused her stress and anxiety.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in the decision making, we cannot question the outcome. (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 considered:
• Miss B’s complaint and the information she provided;
• documents supplied by the Council;
• relevant legislation and guidelines; and
• the Council’s policies and procedures.
6. Miss B and the Council had the opportunity comment on a draft decision. I considered any comments received before making my final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance: homelessness

7. 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.
8. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for help 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 will expire within 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5))
9. If a council has ‘reason to believe’ someone may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it must take a homelessness application and make inquiries. The threshold for taking an application is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular council department. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5) 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. Councils must tell the applicant about 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 given to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan (PHP). (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18) The applicant has a right of review under section 202 of the Housing Act against the reasonable steps the housing authority has said it will take in the PHP.
10. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help them to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps to take, councils must consider their assessments of the applicants’ cases. This is the prevention duty (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
11. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is the relief duty. The relief duty ends after 56 days. The Council can extend this by 15 days if it needs to make more inquiries to reach a decision. When a council decides this duty has ended, it must tell the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
12. If a housing authority has “reason to believe” a person may be:
• homeless;
• eligible; and
• in priority need.
13. it must provide interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188) Where an applicant is an assured shorthold tenant who has received a valid notice in accordance with section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and the council is satisfied the landlord intends to seek possession and there would be no defence to an application for a possession order, then it is unlikely to be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy a property beyond the expiry of a valid section 21 notice. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 6.35)If a council is satisfied someone is eligible, unintentionally homeless and in priority need it will owe them the main housing duty. A person may be in priority need if they are:
• pregnant or have dependent children;
• a victim of domestic abuse;
• aged 16 or 17;
• former care leavers aged 18 to 20; or,
• vulnerable, for example, for medical reasons.
14. Generally, a council carries out the main housing duty by arranging temporary accommodation until it makes a suitable offer of social housing or private rented accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
15. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation it arranges for 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 housing duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
16. Councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants where the applicant refuses an offer of temporary accommodation which the housing authority is satisfied is suitable for the applicant. For this to be the case, the council must tell the applicant of the possible consequences of refusal, of their right to ask for a review of the suitability of the accommodation, and have told them that it considers itself as having discharged its duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 15.41)
17. Homeless applicants may request a review of the suitability of accommodation after the main housing duty has been accepted. Applicants can ask for a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.

Legislation and guidance: housing register

18. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing.  All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
19. Hillingdon has four priority bands:
• Band A - This is the highest priority band and is only awarded to households with an emergency and very severe housing need.
• Band B - This is the second highest band and is awarded to households with an urgent need to move.
• Band C - This is the third highest band and is awarded to households with an identified need to move.
• Band D - Homelessness applicants who do not satisfy the 10 year continuous Residence Rule.
20. Where the council has been unable to prevent homelessness, applicants who have ten years continuous residency will be placed in one of the following bands:
• Band A – In temporary accommodation secured by the Council but the landlord wants the property back AND the council cannot find alternative suitable temporary accommodation. Where an applicant fails to successfully bid within 6 months, a direct offer of suitable accommodation will be made. If the property is refused the council will discharge its duty under Part 7 of the Housing Act and withdraw any temporary accommodation provided.
• Band B – In Bed & Breakfast, council hostel accommodation or women’s refuge.
• Band C – In other forms of temporary accommodation or has no accommodation.

What happened

21. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
22. In November 2021, Miss B made a homelessness application for her and her nine-year-old child. She gave the Council a copy of her notice seeking possession of the property she rented. The Council carried out an assessment and asked Miss B to provide further information. Miss B chased the Council for the result of her assessment in January 2022.
23. In mid-February 2022, Miss B told the Council she needed to leave her property by the end of the month. It told her to search for properties and said it would do the same. It told her she had to remain in the property until her landlord had been through the legal eviction process and the Court issued a bailiff’s warrant. It said it would try to find her suitable accommodation when this happened. The Council sent her a summary of their discussion:
• Miss B will continue to seek suitable accommodation. The Council will send Miss B details of private rented properties that are available to rent. The Council included details of one property that was available to rent.
• The Council cannot guarantee having suitable temporary accommodation at the point of eviction, so it is imperative a longer-term solution is sought before eviction.
• Miss B will send the Council details of any accommodation providers she finds. The Council said it would send her any links it came across.
24. Miss B applied to join the Council’s housing register. In March 2022, the Council decided she was adequately housed and had no housing need. Miss B queried this. The Council told her it was likely it would offer her emergency accommodation on the day of her eviction.
25. In March 2022, Miss B gave the Council a copy of her notice of eviction. It said she would be evicted in two weeks, and she should arrange to leave the property with their belongings before this date. She asked the Council to reassess her application to join the housing register. The Council told Miss B to look for private rented accommodation. It called her landlord and left a voice message. The Council’s records say the housing officer would call the landlord the following day, there is no evidence this happened.
26. The Council wrote to Miss B. It told her its prevention duty had ended, and it because it considered her homeless and eligible for help, it owed her the relief duty. The letter said her PHP was enclosed. It gave her the address for interim accommodation. The Council recorded Miss B refused the interim accommodation because it was too far from her work. Miss B said it would take her over two hours to get to work on public transport and she would need childcare. The Council had evidence Miss B drove and had a car. It calculated the journey from the interim accommodation to her work by car as being just over half an hour. The Council told Miss B if she did not accept the property, it may discharge its duty to provide interim accommodation.
27. Miss B also said being so far away from her support network would negatively impact her and her child’s well-being. The Council asked for medical advice. The response was it was not medically essential for Miss B and her child to remain in Hillingdon. It advised the Council’s interim accommodation offer appeared suitable on medical grounds.
28. Miss B and her child were evicted from their property. The Council offered Miss B and her child interim accommodation in a neighbouring Council area. The Council recorded that Miss B refused this accommodation because it was too far from her work and her child’s school. The Council’s records state Miss B had contacted her sibling to secure overnight accommodation. Miss B says she told the Council she could not stay with her sibling because their partner was abusive. The Council has no record of this.
29. The following day the Council offered Miss B accommodation in its area. The Council records say Miss B refused it. Miss B says she stayed there.
30. The next day, the Council offered Miss B accommodation in a neighbouring London Borough. The Council said the accommodation was suitable and affordable. The Council recorded that Miss B refused the offer because she did not know the area. Miss B accepted an offer the Council had previously made of interim accommodation in a neighbouring Council area.
31. In April 2022, the Council offered Miss B accommodation in its area. Miss B queried the affordability. The Council tried to negotiate with the landlord to lower the rent.
32. Miss B appealed the Council’s assessment of her housing application to join the housing register in April 2022. In May 2022, she sent the Council information from her doctor and her child’s school and asked it to review her housing application.
33. In May 2022, Miss B complained to the Council that it:
• delayed providing interim accommodation;
• did not give her a PHP;
• failed to phone her as arranged with updates;
• decided she was suitably housed when she applied to join the housing register; and,
• offered accommodation that was unaffordable.
34. The Council responded to her complaint. It summarised the actions it had taken to try to rehouse her. It said it had tried to secure suitable accommodation for her and her child. It told her none of the properties it offered needed a guarantor and apologised if this was the impression she was given. It accepted there was a delay activating her housing register account, but it had resolved this and set it to auto-bid. It advised it could not send her a copy of her PHP with the relief duty letter because she disagreed with it and told her housing officer not to contact her. It told her she could apply for universal credit to help with housing costs. The Council signposted her to the Ombudsman.
35. In June 2022, the Council sent Miss B a letter to tell her she had band D housing priority. Miss B asked the Council to explain why she was in band D.
36. The Council sent Miss B a final offer of interim accommodation. This accommodation was in the Council area. The Council said it considered the accommodation suitable and reasonable for her to accept. It advised the accommodation was affordable, close to her work and her child’s school, and it would allow her to remain registered with her doctor. It told Miss B about her right to review. Miss B viewed the property and accepted the offer.
37. Miss B raised concerns with the Council about the accommodation. She said it was unfurnished and needed repairs. The Council said it would raise these matters with her landlord. In June 2022, the Council was told the tenant living in the property had decided not to move and it was not available for Miss B. Miss B chased the Council for a move in date in June, July, and August 2022.
38. Miss B moved into alternative interim accommodation in August 2022.
39. In October 2022, the Council wrote to Miss B. It said it had ended its relief duty and accepted a full housing duty. It decided she was eligible for help, unintentionally homeless and in priority need. Miss B said this is when the Council uploaded her PHP onto its social housing system. Miss B provided a screen shot of the system which showed the Council uploaded actions from her PHP in October 2022, despite the deadline for completing these actions being April 2022.
40. The Council said it is reviewing Miss B’s housing priority banding. It said if these is evidence she has ten years continuous residency it will amend her banding to band C, and then to band B because she is in temporary accommodation.

Analysis

41. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for help from the Council he or she has been served with a valid notice seeking possession which will expire within 56 days. Miss B gave the Council a copy of this notice in November 2021. This is when the Council’s prevention duty started. There is no record of the Council telling Miss B it owed her the prevention duty, this was fault. Nor is there any evidence of it taking action to prevent her homelessness under this duty. The Council should have contacted her landlord as part of its prevention duty but did not do this until March 2022, and then only left a voicemail. The Council’s failure to take preventive action was fault and creates uncertainty about whether, if the Council had acted, it could have stopped Miss B and her child becoming homeless.
42. Councils should not consider it reasonable for homeless applicants to remain in a private tenancy until the date the court issues a warrant for possession. The Council should have considered offering Miss B and her child interim accommodation before the warrant for possession was issued, not doing so was fault. The Court issued a warrant for possession at the beginning of March 2022. From this point Miss B was homeless, the Council owed her the relief duty and should have arranged interim accommodation. The Council did not accept the relief duty and offer interim accommodation until two days before Miss B was evicted, this was fault. Miss B says the Council’s delay meant she had to pay bailiff costs. I do not agree. If Miss B had accepted the offer of interim accommodation the Council made two days before she was evicted, she would have avoided paying these costs. I do, however, consider the Council’s delay added to Miss B’s distress.
43. Miss B questioned the suitability of the accommodation the Council offered. The Council sought medical advice and considered the distance Miss B would have to travel to work. It satisfied itself the accommodation was suitable. I found no fault with how the Council decided this. Despite Miss B raising concerns about the interim accommodation the Council offered, effectively declining it, the Council continued to offer Miss B and her child alternatives it considered suitable.
44. Miss B says she told the Council she would have to stay overnight with her sibling and that her sibling’s partner was abusive. I found no record of Miss B giving this information to the Council. I cannot say if or when this information was passed to the Council and therefore, I cannot make a finding about whether the Council failed to take it into consideration.
45. The Council did not write the PHP until the day of their eviction in March 2022, and it did not share the plan with Miss B until October. This delay was fault. It meant the PHP was of no value to Miss B with regards preventing or relieving their homelessness. The Council said it did not share the plan because Miss B disagreed with it, and she asked her housing officer not to contact her. I do not consider this satisfactory justification for not sending the plan, especially as the Council wrote to her about the duty it owed and could have enclosed a copy. In addition, the Council should have told Miss B about her right to ask for a review of the actions it said it would take in the PHP. There is no evidence the Council told her about this right denying her the opportunity to challenge the PHP, again, this was fault.
46. The Council sent Miss B a final offer of interim accommodation in June 2022. Miss B accepted the offer and chased the Council for a move in date in June, July, and August. Although the Council knew in June the property had been withdrawn it did not tell Miss B. This was fault. It raised Miss B’s expectations and lost her the opportunity to seek alternative accommodation during this period.
47. At the latest, when Miss B told the Council the Court had issued a warrant for possession, the Council should have accepted the relief duty. The Council then had 56 days, with a maximum extension of 15 days, to decide whether it owed Miss B the main housing duty. The Council took seven months. This delay was fault. Once the Council accepted the main housing duty, Miss B had the statutory right to ask for a suitability review of the accommodation the Council offered her. The Council’s delay prevented her from having this right sooner.
48. In April 2022, Miss B asked the Council to review her housing priority. The Council did not, this was fault. In response to enquiries, the Council said it was reviewing her housing priority. It explained if it found she had ten years continuous residency and was homeless living in interim accommodation, she would be in Band C. The Council should have considered this in April 2022 when Miss B asked for a review, not doing so was fault. The Council was also at fault for its delay activating her housing register account. These faults create uncertainty about whether Miss B could have successfully bid on a property if she had been awarded the correct housing priority in April 2022.

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Agreed action

49. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will:
• Apologise to Miss B for the faults found in this investigation.
• Pay Miss B £750 for the uncertainty, raised expectations and lost opportunity caused by the Council’s faults.
• Decide if Miss B should be in a higher housing priority band. If she should, backdate it to when she became homeless in March 2022 or when she reached ten years continuous residency, whichever is later. If Miss B should have been in a higher band, the Council should consider whether she missed securing accommodation, and if she did, offer her the next suitable property that becomes available.
50. Within two months of the final decision, the Council will:
• Provide staff training on the Council’s homelessness duties. This should include the prevention, relief and main housing duties, what is required at each stage and timescales.
• Remind staff the code of guidance says councils should not consider it reasonable for homeless applicants to remain in a private tenancy up until the date the court issues a warrant for possession.
• Review its procedure for contacting people about their homelessness applications. Ensure the Council responds promptly to requests for contact and keeps people up-to-date.
51. The Council should provide the Ombudsman with evidence it has completed these actions.

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Final decision

52. I have completed my investigation and uphold Miss B’s complaint. Miss B was caused an injustice by the actions of the Council. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman