Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to consider all factors in her appeal against its decision to end its main housing duty after it made her an offer of accommodation. Miss X said this affected her mental health. The Council was at fault for failing to inform Miss X of her right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. It should write to Miss X and apologise for the error and reissue her review letter informing her of her right to appeal to the county court.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to consider all factors she submitted in her appeal against its decision to end its main housing duty after it made her an offer of accommodation. Miss X says the matter negatively affected her mental health.

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What I have and have not investigated

2. I have investigated the Council’s duty to inform Miss X about how to challenge its review decision. I have not investigated the substantive complaint about the decision to end its main housing duty as this carries a right of review to the county court.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. 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

6. I spoke to Miss X about her complaint and considered information she provided.
7. I considered the Council’s review decision letter to Miss X.
8. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment the draft decision. I considered comments before I made a final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness Duties

9. The Housing Act 1996 (‘the Act’) gives homeless applicants a right of review about councils’ main decisions on their application. This includes a decision to end a housing duty in their case and about the suitability of accommodation they are offered under the main housing duty. If an applicant wants to challenge a negative review decision, they can appeal to the county court on a point of law.
10. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of an offer of accommodation after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
11. Councils must complete reviews of the following decisions within eight weeks of the date of the review request:
• suitability of accommodation
• notice being given of deliberate and unreasonable refusal to cooperate, and the effect of the notice is to bring the relief duty to an end.
12. The council must advise applicants of their right to appeal to the county court on a point of law, and of the period in which to appeal. Applicants can also appeal if the Council takes more than the prescribed time to complete the review. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, 203 and 204)

What happened

13. In December 2021 Miss X became homeless. The Council completed an assessment and Miss X was placed on the Council’s housing register with priority need in February 2022.
14. The Council offered Miss X social housing accommodation in early 2022. Miss X rejected the offer, and so the Council wrote to Miss X and ended its main homeless duty to her.
15. In May 2022, Miss X appealed the decision. She told the Council the location of the property was unsuitable due to childcare issues which would affect her employment. She told the Council of her mental health difficulties, the impact moving away from the current local area would have on her child, and that she needed to be close to her family.
16. The Council responded in July 2022 and informed Miss X that it had considered the information she provided, but its decision remained the same. It told Miss X it still considered the offer of accommodation was suitable. The Council told Miss X that she could “seek independent advice”.
17. Miss X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s response and complained to us.

My findings

18. The Council decided the offer of accommodation it made to Miss X was suitable. This decision was reviewed and upheld by the Council. This decision carries a statutory right of appeal to the county court on a point of law. The Council’s letter to Miss X setting out its decision did not inform her of this right. This is fault. The fault caused Miss X uncertainty about how to challenge the Council’s decision and frustration due to delay.

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Agreed action

19. Within one month of the final decision the Council will:
• Write to Miss X and apologise for the uncertainty and frustration it caused when it failed to inform her of her right to appeal its review decision to the county court.
• Reissue its review decision letter to Miss X and inform her of her right to appeal its decision to the county court.
• Update its decision letter template to include a standard paragraph about the right to appeal the Council’s decision to the county court.
20. Within three months of the final decision the Council will:
• Review all main homeless duty appeal decision letters it issued within the last 6 months and ensure it informed applicants of their right to appeal to the county court. If the Council did not inform applicants of their right to appeal, it should write to them and inform them of this right.
21. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

22. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault and the Council has agreed to actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman