Summary: Mr X complains the Council has not taken sufficient action to help him find accommodation. There is no evidence of fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains that the Council has not taken sufficient action to help him find accommodation under its homelessness duties and through its housing allocations scheme. Mr X considers that as a result he has been homeless for longer than necessary.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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)
3. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or may decide not to continue with an investigation if we decide:

• there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or
• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained, or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement, or
• it would be reasonable for the person to ask for an organisation review or appeal.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6))

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 have:

• considered the complaint and the information provided by Mr X;
• made enquiries of the Council and considered the information provided;
• invited Mr X and the Council to comment on the draft decision. I considered the comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

6. 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 notify the applicant of 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 provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
7. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is know as the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
8. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the certain decisions. This includes:

• what duty (if any) is owed to them if they are found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness
• the steps they are to take in their personalised housing plan at the relief duty stage
• giving notice to bring the relief duty to an end.

Councils should consider the most appropriate way to notify applicants of decisions. Councils may send written notification by email or letter, depending on the needs of the applicant (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 18.31)

Housing allocations.

9. 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))
10. The Council is a partner in a local choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which are advertised. The scheme places applicants in bands A to E according to their priority. Applicants to who the Council owes a homelessness duty are placed in band C. Applicants who are owed a homelessness duty but have the financial means to rent in the private sector have reduced priority and are placed in band D. Applicants who meet the criteria for band C but do not have local connection by virtue of their employment or other reasons are placed in band D.

What happened

11. The following is a summary of the key facts relevant to my consideration of the complaint. It does not include everything that happened
12. Mr X asked the Council for assistance in July 2021 as he was homeless. Mr X also applied for the housing register. The Council considered it owed Mr X the relief duty and drew up a personalised housing plan (PHP). The PHP set out the steps the Council would take to relieve Mr X’s homelessness. This included registering Mr X with its Lettings Experience Team who seek privately rented accommodation and to assist Mr X with upfront fees if he found a privately rented property. The Council asked Mr X to complete an income and expenditure form. The PHP also set out the steps Mr X would undertake which included seeking accommodation through local agencies and bidding on properties through the housing register.
13. The Council decided it did not owe Mr X the main housing duty. It notified Mr X of this decision in September 2021 by letter. It explained in the letter how Mr X could seek a review of that decision. Mr X has said he did not receive this letter.
14. The Council’s relief duty came to an end in December 2021. It sent a letter to Mr X notifying him of its decision to end the relief duty. This was because the Council has complied with the relief duty for the limit of 56 days. The letter notified Mr X of how he could seek a review of that decision. Mr X has said he did not receive this letter.
15. Mr X approached the Council again in May 2022. In July 2022, a senior housing officer sent an email to Mr X advising on his housing options. She suggested Mr X approach lettings agents or landlords in the first instance if he thought a property was suitable. This was because when Mr X had previously contacted the Lettings Experience Team about properties they had gone by the time the Council contacted the agent.
16. In September 2022, the Council decided it owed Mr X the relief duty. The Council drew up a further PHP for him which set out the steps to be taken by Mr X and the Council to relieve his homelessness. The Council’s steps included referring Mr X to its Lettings Experience Team.
17. The Council has provided evidence to show officers contacted local landlords to identify available properties and referred Mr X for supported housing. The Council also sent messages to Mr X advising him of the number of properties available and suggesting he contact the landlords.
18. The Council contacted Mr X as it became aware of an available housing association property. The Council then notified Mr X that it could not refer him for the property as he had a conviction and the housing association would not accept applicants with a conviction.
19. The Council sent further messages to Mr X advising him of the number of available properties in October and November 2022.

Housing application

20. Mr X applied for the housing register in July 2021 when he made his homeless application. The Council placed Mr X in band D as it considered he had sufficient resources to rent a property in the private sector. It notified Mr X of this decision by letter.
21. In August 2022 Mr X notified the Council that his circumstances had changed as he was no longer working and claiming universal credit. The Council considered Mr X should be placed in band D despite his low income. This was because Mr X no longer had local connection by virtue of his employment. Mr X requested a review of this decision. The Council reviewed the decision and placed Mr X in band C as the Council owed him a homeless duty.
22. Mr X has bid for a large number of properties since July 2021. The Council has provided evidence to show Mr X has not been the top placed bidder for any of the properties.

Analysis

Action by the Council under the relief duty

23. Mr X considers the Council has not taken sufficient action to find accommodation for him when he made his homeless application in 2021. The Council had taken the steps in the PHP as it registered Mr X with the Lettings Experience Team. The onus was on Mr X to find private rented properties and the Council would assist him with the upfront fees. The email from the senior housing officer of July 2022 suggests Mr X had identified some properties and approached the Council for assistance but those properties had gone when the Council approached the agents. I do not know if Mr X was unable to secure one of those properties due to fault by the Council. But further investigation is not proportionate as I do not consider I will be able to establish if the Council is at fault and if that fault directly prevented Mr X from securing a property in 2021. Furthermore, Mr X’s circumstances changed so it is unlikely I can conclude any fault by the Council caused Mr X to be homeless now.
24. The evidence shows the Council has taken the steps set out in the PHP it drew up in September 2022. The Council has also sent Mr X details of the properties available on property websites and advised Mr X of the process when he finds a suitable property. So, I am satisfied the Council has taken appropriate action to help Mr X to find a property.
25. I have considered if there is evidence of fault in the Council’s decision to withdraw Mr X’s referral for the housing association property. The Council has not been able to provide a copy of the housing association’s letting policy but it has said that officers are aware of its policy when dealing with other applications. On balance, I am satisfied the Council would be aware of the housing association’s lettings policy. So, I do not consider it to be at fault for not referring Mr X.
26. Mr X has said he did not receive the Council’s letters notifying him of its decisions that it did not owe the main housing duty and the ending of the relief duty in 2021. Mr X has said he told the Council he was sleeping in his car and he could not receive post. The Council has said it sent the letters to the correspondence address provided by Mr X. It considers officers sent the letters by post as they are legal letters.
27. The Council has not been able to demonstrate how it considered Mr X’s needs when deciding whether to send the letters by email or post. But on balance, I do not consider the Council to be at fault. The Council sent the letters to a correspondence address provided by Mr X so it is not at fault for expecting Mr X to receive letters at that address. I note the Council also addressed the letter of September 2021 informing Mr X of his priority band to that address.

Housing application

28. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council dealt with Mr X’s housing application as it has dealt with this in accordance with its housing allocations scheme. The Council reviewed Mr X’s priority in response to his change of circumstances and when he disagreed with its decision to place him in band D when his circumstances changed.
29. The evidence shows Mr X has bid for a number of properties but has not been successful as he has not been the top bidder. I understand this frustrating and disappointing for Mr X but it is not evidence of fault by the Council. We recognise that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties. I cannot find fault with the Council for not offering a property to Mr X as the evidence shows it has prioritised Mr X’s application according to its allocations scheme.

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Final decision

30. There is no evidence of fault by the Council so I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman