Summary: Miss X complained about how the Council supported her when she became homeless. We have found the Council to be at fault because it provided unsuitable emergency accommodation and did not properly consider her disability. Nor did it take appropriate action to secure her belongings. To remedy Miss X’s distress and inconvenience, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment. It will also remind relevant staff to properly consider individual circumstances when allocating emergency accommodation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about how the Council manged her request for assistance finding alternative accommodation when she became homeless. In particular, she complains about:
1. the unsuitability of temporary accommodation she was provided with in 2020. She says it was in a poor condition and the Council failed to take account of her disability and this amounted to discrimination; and
2. the Council’s failure to safeguard her personal property when she became homeless in 2020; and
2. As a result, Miss X says she has suffered distress, a deterioration in her health, inconvenience and financial loss.

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What I have and have not investigated

3. Paragraph 7 (below) applies to this complaint because it involves events that took place over 12 months ago.
4. I have used my discretion to investigate events from 2020 onwards. This is because Miss X did not have support to make her complaint to the Ombudsman before now.
5. Paragraph 8 (below) applies to this complaint. I have not investigated Miss X’s complaint about disrepair because it is out of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

6. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. 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 cannot investigate complaints about the provision or management of social housing by a council acting as a registered social housing provider. (Local Government Act 1974, paragraph 5A schedule 5, as amended)
9. The Ombudsman’s view, based on caselaw, is that ‘service failure’ is an objective, factual question about what happened. A finding of service failure does not imply blame, intent or bad faith on the part of the council involved. There may be circumstances where we conclude service failure has occurred and caused an injustice to the complainant despite the best efforts of the council. This still amounts to fault and we may recommend a remedy for the injustice caused. (R (on the application of ER) v CLA (LGO) [2014] EWCA civ 1407)
10. We consider delay in arranging suitable accommodation can be ‘service failure’ even when that is due to external factors beyond a council’s control (such as a shortage of temporary accommodation). The fact that a council has not met the statutory duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation is, in itself, enough to make a finding of service failure.
11. 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

12. I spoke to Miss X and reviewed the information she provided.
13. I made enquiries with the Council, considered its response and reviewed the relevant law.
14. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant law and policy

Homelessness

15. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
16. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to ensure that accommodation is available for them. This is the main housing duty.

Suitability of temporary accommodation

17. Temporary accommodation is accommodation provided to homeless applicants as part of a council’s main homelessness duty.
18. There is limited permanent accommodation available so people must wait, sometimes for years, for permanent housing. Therefore, while someone waits, they must be housed in suitable temporary accommodation. (s.193, Housing Act 1996)
19. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
20. Councils must assess whether accommodation is suitable for each household individually. Whether accommodation is suitable will depend on the relevant needs and circumstances of the homeless person and their household. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.4 & 17.9)
21. 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

Protection of property

22. Where a 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

23. Miss X is a disabled person. Until 2020, she lived with her young child at Property A. After incidents of domestic violence, she had an urgent leave to move and so made a homelessness application the Council.
24. In September 2020, the Council accepted it owed Miss X the main homelessness duty. She was provided with temporary accommodation at Property B.
25. Property B was unsuitable because it did not cater for Miss X’s disability. The Council told Miss X it did not have any suitable, adapted properties available. Miss X says she had no choice but to return to Property A, despite fearing for the safety of herself and her child.
26. The following month, the Council provided Miss X with temporary accommodation (Property C). She was also accepted onto the Council’s housing register with high priority. In January 2021, the Council carried out at occupational therapy (OT) assessment to determine what specification of property Miss X required due to her disability.
27. In March 2021, Miss X was offered Property D, a Council-owned, adapted property. She accepted this offer, and this is now her permanent home.
28. Miss X complained to the Council about how her request for housing support had been handled. Some of Miss X’s complaints are outside of the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction because they relate to housing disrepair. The matters that she raised that that I can investigate were:
1. when Miss X left Property A, she had to do so at very short notice. She had to abandon many personal possessions, including costly white goods, because the Council failed to make storage available for her. This meant Miss X had pay to replace these items when she moved. This caused extreme financial hardship to Miss X; and
2. the unsuitability of Property B. Miss X says she should not have been placed somewhere that did not cater for her disability.
29. In response to Miss X’s complaint, the Council made the following points:

• It was not possible for Miss X to take furniture into emergency accommodation when she left Property A. The Council acknowledged it had advised Miss X disposing of her furniture was a cheaper option that putting it into storage. The Council accepted it should have been clearer and offered more advice. Miss X was invited to submit details about the white goods, and it would consider making a payment to Miss X.
• The Council acknowledged the unsuitability of Property B upon receipt of updated information from social services. It was not possible to find an alternative straight away due to the shortage of adapted, emergency accommodation.

30. Miss X’s complaint was partially upheld. The Council apologised and offered Miss X £300 to acknowledge her distress and inconvenience. Miss X says this was inadequate and so brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

31. I will consider Miss X’s areas of complaint below.

Failure to protect her property

32. I response to the Ombudsman’s enquiries, the Council has reflected on its previous position and accepted it should have offered more support to Miss X when she had to move from Property A. In recognition of this, it has now offered Miss X £2000. Miss X has accepted this offer. I consider this to be an appropriate resolution to this area of complaint. Any further investigation by the Ombudsman could not add anything further for Miss X.

Suitability of temporary accommodation

33. The Council had a duty to ensure that any temporary accommodation it offered was suitable, taking into account the needs of the applicant. This would include Miss X’s disability and her parental responsibilities.
34. I have reviewed the case records and have found no evidence that Miss X’s disability was taken into consideration prior to her being allocated Property B, despite being aware of it.
35. The Council accepted it was unsuitable because the bathroom was too small. This meant Miss X was unable to properly attend to her personal hygiene of that of her child. The need for a bathroom that could accommodate Miss X’s mobility aids should have been highlighted from the outset.
36. It took the Council approximately one month to find an alternative (Property C). In the meantime, Miss X felt she had no choice but to return to Property A. The Council says it did not recommend doing so and I have seen no evidence it did. Nevertheless, Miss X spent one month living somewhere unsuitable. This is an injustice that requires a remedy.

Disability discrimination

37. Miss X says she was discriminated against because of her disability. I did not find any evidence to support such a claim. As soon as she made the Council aware Property B was unsuitable, it sought advice from social services and agreed with Miss X. This was the correct response. Miss X was not moved immediately due to a shortage of suitable accommodation, rather than because of discrimination.

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Agreed action

38. The Council has agreed to take the following action within four weeks from the date of my final decision. In making these recommendations, I have taken into account Miss X has now accepted £2000 in recognition of her having to dispose of personal property:
1. Apologise in writing to Miss X for failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation.
2. Pay Miss X £300 for the month she spent living in unsuitable accommodation in September/October 2020.
3. Remind relevant staff of the need to review an applicant’s circumstances before offering temporary accommodation.
    
39. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

40. I have found the Council to be at fault and made recommendations to remedy the injustice to Miss X. On this basis, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman