Summary: Ms X complains about the Council’s delay in dealing with her homelessness application, and says her caseworker did not return her calls or emails. We find fault with the Council for delay in deciding the duty owed to Ms X, for poor communication, and for giving her unsuitable interim accommodation. We have recommended remedies for the distress and frustration this caused to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains about the Council’s delay in dealing with her homelessness application, and says her caseworker did not return her calls or emails.
2. Ms X also complains about the delay in dealing with a previous homelessness application she made in 2021.
3. Ms X would like to have suitable permanent accommodation provided to her and compensation for the delay.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 significant injustice, or that could cause injustice to others in the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
5. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

7. I have not considered the complaint about Ms X’s homelessness application in 2021 (see paragraph two) as it is out of time (see paragraph five). Having carried out enquiries we cannot exercise discretion to go back to 2021, as Ms X could have brought her complaint to us sooner.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I have considered:
• The information provided by Ms X and discussed the complaint with her representative;
• The Council’s comments on the complaint and the supporting information it provided; and
• Relevant law and guidance.
9. 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

Homelessness applications

10. 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.
11. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps the council and the applicant can 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)

Relief and main housing duties

12. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the relief duty. It lasts for 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
13. At the end of the relief duty, a council must decide if it owes the applicant the main housing duty. It will owe the main housing duty to applicants who are eligible, in priority need, and unintentionally homeless. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Interim and temporary accommodation

14. While a Council is carrying out inquiries in an applicant’s case it must also secure accommodation for the applicant and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
15. If a council has accepted the main housing duty, the accommodation it provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Suitability of accommodation

16. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation, but councils are encouraged to carry out a non-statutory review in those cases.
17. There is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202 & 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2 & 19.3)

What happened

18. Ms X made a homelessness application on 16 December 2022. She has serious medical conditions and had recently been in hospital for her back problems which had been worsened due to her sofa surfing.
19. The Council called Ms X on 19 and 20 December to conduct an initial assessment but could not get hold of her.
20. Ms X called the Council on 19 January 2023 and completed the initial assessment over the telephone on 20 January.
21. Ms X called the Council several times in February and March to chase an update. She was told in February she would have to “wait for a decision to be made after 56 days” (meaning until the end of the relief duty period described in paragraph 12). She called again at the end of February and told the Council she had been waiting 70 days for a response.
22. Ms X sent a complaint on 10 February about her previous homelessness application in 2021.
23. On 2 March Ms X contacted the Council to say it was now three weeks since the legal limit of 56 days, she had not heard back from her caseworker and she intended to appoint a solicitor. On 27 March her solicitor emailed the Council chasing a response.
24. On 31 March the Council called Ms X to arrange a face-to-face assessment for 11 April. Her representative said she was going to be homeless on the day so the Council gave details of an organisation which would assess her on the day rather than having to wait for an appointment.
25. On 14 April Ms X raised a stage two complaint saying she had not had a satisfactory response about her 2021 complaint, and added a complaint about the delay by the Council in her current homelessness application.
26. Ms X was assessed on 3 April and on 24 April her case worker sent a request for interim accommodation to the manager.
27. On 2 May the Council arranged emergency accommodation for Ms X as she could no longer stay with her representative. The Council noted she has several health problems, uses walking sticks and struggles with stairs.
28. Ms X called the Council on 4 May to say the accommodation offered was unsuitable for her as it was a care home for people with dementia and it had stairs she had difficulty with.
29. The Council accepted the relief duty on 9 May 2023. It sent the personalised housing plan (PHP) to her on 15 May.
30. The Council sent a stage two response to Ms X in May:
• It partially upheld her complaint as it agreed a full assessment had not been completed despite a caseworker being assigned in January;
• It could not look at her complaint about the 2021 application due to the time elapsed;
• There was a delay between Ms X’s assessment on 3 April and the relief duty decision and PHP being sent to her on 9 May.
• It offered Ms X £100 for the ten-week delay.
• It has employed several new members of the casework team to help process cases. Due to the delay, it offered a further £50 compensation to Ms X which gave a total of £150.
31. At the end of May Ms X called and sent an email to the Council, again explaining the interim accommodation was unsuitable for her.
32. The Council sent the Section 188 letter (about the interim accommodation) and booking pack to Ms X on 13 June.
33. On 3 August the Council sent an email to Ms X with the end of relief duty letter explaining her homeless application would now be closed as she had been accepted for a council tenancy. It said she would be contacted by the housing register team who would tell her about the bidding procedure.
34. The Council sent the main housing duty letter on 8 August saying temporary accommodation had been provided.
35. On 21 August Ms X’s representative emailed the Council explaining again the temporary accommodation was not suitable for Ms X due to her health issues. The Council responded saying she had been added to the transfer list to move.
36. The Council offered Ms X temporary accommodation of a one-bedroom flat on 24 August.
37. In response to our enquiries the Council said it recognises the interim accommodation it provided to Ms X was a challenge for her due to the stairs.

Analysis

38. The Council accepts in the complaint response there was a delay in completing the initial assessment with Ms X. This is fault causing Ms X frustration and distress.
39. The Council accepts the case worker did not return Ms X’s calls. This is fault causing Ms X avoidable frustration. When Ms X did speak to someone at the Council she was told she would have to “wait 56 days”. This is fault by the Council. Whilst working towards a decision on the homelessness application the Council should have issued the PHP (see paragraph 11) and arranged suitable accommodation. This caused injustice to Ms X as she missed out on advice and support at a stressful time in her life.
40. The Council’s comments in paragraph 37 suggest it accepts the interim accommodation it provided under Section 188 of the Housing Act 1996 was unsuitable for Ms X because of her mobility issues. Provisionally, this is fault because Section 188 requires accommodation to be suitable for an applicant’s needs. The records indicate Ms X phoned and emailed the Council in May saying accommodation was not suitable. The Council does not appear to have taken action in response to her email until further contact from her representative in August.
41. While there is no right to a statutory review of accommodation provided under Section 188, it is good practice for councils to conduct a non-statutory review and this is what we expect them to do when a complainant raises concerns. The failure to conduct a non-statutory review between May and August was fault. I note the Council has now provided temporary accommodation which Ms X has accepted. However, for almost four months, Ms X was inconvenienced by not having accessible accommodation.

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Recommended action

42. Within one month of the final decision, the Council should:
• Apologise in writing to Ms X for the delay in assessment and decision, and acknowledge the interim accommodation was unsuitable for her;
• Make a symbolic payment of £150 to Ms X to recognise the frustration and distress this caused;
• Make a further payment of £525 to Miss X (£150 per month for 3.5 months) for not providing suitable accommodation for her, so the payment in total is £675;
• Remind officers to carry out assessments within the time scales and to respond to applicants in a timely manner; and
• Remind officers to always carry out a suitability assessment to identify the applicant’s needs before making a placement in temporary accommodation.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

44. I find fault with the Council for delay in assessing Ms X, delay in decision making, failure to communicate properly with Ms X and for providing unsuitable interim accommodation. I have suggested remedies for the frustration and distress caused to Ms X as a result.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman