Summary: Ms X complains the Council failed to properly consider its offer of a payment to her in recognition of her remaining in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 10 months causing her distress. We have found no evidence of fault in the way the Council considered the matter. So, we have completed our investigation.

The complaint

1. I have called the complainant Ms X. She complains the Council delayed and failed to move her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. It then failed to properly consider an offer of a payment to her in recognition of her remaining in the temporary accommodation for 10 months. Ms X says the Council’s offer of £1650 is not enough to cover the distress caused to her and her family from the impact of living in the unsuitable accommodation.

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What I have and have not investigated

2. I have investigated Ms X’s concerns about the offer of a payment made to her by the Council. I have not investigated Ms X’s complaints about the Council’s failure to move her, or the delay in moving her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. I explain my reasons for not investigating this part of Ms X’s complaint within this statement.

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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 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. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if someone has started court action about the matter. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
6. 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

7. I considered the complaint and documents provided by Ms X. I asked the Council to comment on the complaint and provide information.
8. Ms X and the Council 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

Relevant legislation and guidance

Temporary accommodation

9. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) sets out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. 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)
10. Temporary accommodation is accommodation provided to homeless applicants as part of a council’s main homelessness duty.
11. 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)

What happened

12. This section sets out the key events in this case and is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
13. Ms X has four children, two of which have been diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Ms X has been assessed as having a need for 4 bedroomed accommodation. Ms X applied as homeless to the Council in September 2021. The Council accepted a main housing duty towards Ms X and her family and moved her into temporary accommodation.
14. The Council moved Ms X into different temporary accommodation with four bedrooms in October 2021. Ms X was unhappy with the accommodation. The Council found Ms X further temporary accommodation with two bedrooms, although assessed as three bedrooms, in November 2021 which Ms X moved into. Ms X requested a review of the suitability of the temporary accommodation as she considered it unsuitable for her family due to their health needs.
15. The Council reviewed the suitability of the accommodation in March 2022 and decided the property was unsuitable due to its size as it lacked a bedroom. The Council said it was obliged to move Ms X to alternative accommodation which was suitable for her needs and those of her four children.
16. Ms X complained to the Council in July 2022 it had not moved her from the unsuitable temporary accommodation and requested compensation due to the impact onto her family from living in overcrowd conditions. Ms X made a Judicial Review claim against the Council in August 2022 that it had failed to secure suitable accommodation for her and her family.
17. The claim was dealt with by the Council by making Ms X an offer of accommodation in January 2023. Ms X accepted the offer of accommodation.
18. In March 2023 the Council made Ms X an offer of a payment of £1650 in recognition of the time she spent in temporary accommodation assessed as unsuitable. Ms X declined the Council’s payment offer as she considered it inadequate.
19. Ms X made a review request to the Council about the suitability of the accommodation offered in January 2023. The review was ongoing until May 2023 when the Council offered Ms X permanent accommodation. This was a four bedroomed new build social housing property which Ms X accepted and moved to.

My assessment

20. The Council accepts it allocated Ms X unsuitable temporary accommodation and offered Ms X alternative temporary accommodation in January 2023. It has now made Ms X an offer of permanent accommodation which she has accepted.
21. Ms X has taken legal action against the Council about the Council’s failure and delay to move her from the temporary accommodation. So as paragraph five explains we cannot investigate Ms X’s complaints about this. We can only consider Ms X’s concerns about the payment offer the Council made in recognition of the time she spent in temporary accommodation assessed as unsuitable.
22. The Council has explained and provided documents to show how it reached its offer of a £1650 payment after taking account of our Guidance on Remedies for such cases where there has been a delay in moving an applicant from unsuitable temporary accommodation. This has included the Council providing evidence of the action taken to try and find Ms X alternative accommodation and the difficulties it faced.
23. The Council’s offer to Ms X is within the range of payments we would usually recommend as a remedy to a complainant. So, I consider it is appropriate in this case and I do not consider any increased payment is necessary. This is because there is no evidence of fault in the way the Council reached its decision on the level of payment to offer Ms X. It took account of our Guidance and its response to Ms X’s situation. In addition, there is no ongoing injustice as the Council moved Ms X from the unsuitable temporary accommodation and then offered her permanent accommodation in a four bedroomed property.

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Final decision

24. I have completed my investigation. There is no evidence of faut in the way the Council considered the level of a payment to offer Ms X in recognition of her remaining in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 10 months.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman