Summary: Ms X complains about how the Council dealt with her homelessness application. The Council is at fault as it failed to properly consider the risk of domestic abuse to Miss X when she made a homelessness application, failed to provide interim accommodation, delayed in dealing with her homelessness application and wrongly focussed on sustaining Miss X’s tenancy which was unsustainable. As a result, Miss X and her children lived in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary which caused significant distress to them. Miss X may also have missed an opportunity for settled housing. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Miss X and making a symbolic payment of £2500 to her.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that the Council delayed in dealing with her homelessness application and wrongly considered she could return to her property which was unsuitable due to the risk of domestic abuse and disrepair. Miss X considers that as a result she and her children had to live in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary. This caused distress to Miss X and her children, caused her mental health to decline and caused her to incur unnecessary expenses.

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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 how the organisation made its decision, 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. 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)
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 from Miss X;
• discussed the issues with Miss X;
• considered the Council’s case records and correspondence with Miss X;
• invited Miss 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

Homelessness

6. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council on or after 3 April 2018:

• they are likely to become homeless within 56 days; or
• they have been served with a valid Section 21 notice which will expire within 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5)

7. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help the applicants to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
8. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
9. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
10. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
11. A council must secure accommodation for applicants 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)
12. If, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
13. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Housing allocations

14. 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)).
15. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in certain categories. This includes people who are homeless. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))
16. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.
17. The Council’s allocations scheme allocates properties by placing applicants into four priority bands with band one being the highest and band four being the lowest priority. Within the bands, priority is determined by the date an applicant is placed into the band.
18. Band four includes people who need to move and have been awarded reasonable preference but have had their preference reduced due to rent arrears or other tenancy breaches.

What happened

19. The following is a summary of the key facts relevant to my consideration of the complaint. It does not include everything that happened.
20. At the time of the complaint, Miss X lived with her two young children and brother in a private rented flat. In July 2022, Miss X approached the Council for assistance as she considered she was at risk of domestic abuse from her former partner. The Council closed Miss X’s case as it could not contact her.
21. In early August 2022 Miss X contacted the Council again as her flat was unsafe to occupy due to damage caused by a flood. Miss X’s social worker also confirmed the flat was uninhabitable due to the flood damage. She asked the Council to provide emergency accommodation to Miss X in safe areas. The Council did not provide accommodation for Miss X at this time. Miss X stayed with relatives and then returned to her property.
22. The Council’s records show Miss X’s landlord told the Council the flooding was resolved and Miss X would not need alternative accommodation. Miss X and her social worker told the Council that the property was still uninhabitable. The Council’s records also note Miss X and her social worker again advised Miss X was at risk of domestic abuse at her property.
23. The Council did not progress Miss X’s homelessness application between August 2022 and January 2023. This was because it was waiting for written confirmation of the domestic abuse from Miss X’s social worker and for an Environmental Health officer to assess the condition of the property under the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System to assess the safety of Miss X’s property.
24. Miss X stopped paying her full rent due to the disrepair in the property. Her landlord notified the Council in January 2023 that she had served a section 21 notice due to the arrears. She also said the environmental health officer had told her the property was unsuitable due to the repairs needed.
25. In late January 2023, the Council accepted the relief duty and offered interim accommodation to Miss X and her family. This was bed and breakfast accommodation.
26. The environmental health officer concluded the disrepair in the property could be remedied but Miss X’s tenancy was not sustainable.
27. The Council offered self contained interim accommodation to Miss X as she had been in B&B accommodation for six weeks. Miss X refused the interim accommodation as it was located some distance from the Council’s area. The Council ended its duty to provide interim accommodation to Miss X.
28. The Council contacted Miss X’s landlord to try to persuade her to offer a new tenancy to Miss X. It also notified Miss X that she should return to the property.
29. Miss X made a complaint to the Council about a number of issues including that it had delayed in dealing with her homelessness application and failed to acknowledge the risk of domestic abuse to her.

The Council considered the complaint through its two stage complaints procedure and upheld the majority of Miss X’s complaints. At stage one the Council said:

• It did not fully consider Miss X’s and her social worker’s concerns about the risk of domestic abuse and safety of the property when she requested assistance in August 2022. The Council should have offered interim accommodation while it made enquiries.
• Little progress was made on Miss X’s homelessness application between August 2022 to January 2023;
• Alternative housing should have been considered in February 2023 when the environmental health officer considered the tenancy was not sustainable and the landlord had served as section 21 notice.
• The interim accommodation offered outside the area was suitable. However, the unnecessary delays in dealing with her homelessness application caused Miss X and her family to spend longer in emergency housing that she should have done and having to make her own arrangements.
• The Council apologised to Miss X, referred her to a specialist domestic abuse team for support and said it would accept the main housing duty.

30. Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two of the complaints procedure as she considered the Council should compensate her for the expenses incurred and distress caused to her and her children by the faults. Miss X considered the Council should pay her rent arrears. She also disagreed with the Council’s decision to place her in band four on the housing register.
31. In responding to Miss X’s stage two complaint, the Council reviewed its decision to place her in band four. It noted Miss X had a repayment plan with her former landlord for her arrears but she had not made any payments. It also noted Miss X had not paid any rent since November 2022 despite being in receipt of the housing element of universal credit. It therefore considered the decision to place Miss X in band four was correct. The Council also declined to pay Miss X’s rent arrears.
32. The Council acknowledged its faults had caused Miss X distress, inconvenience, deterioration of her mental health and her families wellbeing and financial hardship. It offered a payment of £200 per month for the period August 2022 to May 2023 to acknowledge the distress caused which amounted to a total payment of £2000.
33. The Council allocated temporary accommodation to Miss X in July 2023. This is a two bedroom flat.
34. Miss X made a complaint to the Ombudsman as she does not consider the remedy offered is sufficient. Miss X says the Council’s faults caused distress, financial strain and impacted on her health as she had to find her own temporary accommodation and move between friends. Her rented property affected her children’s health as it was damp and mouldy and they were constantly unwell. Miss X also considers the Council’s decision to place her in band four is wrong.

Analysis

35. The Council has acknowledged it was at fault in how it dealt with Miss X’s homelessness application. It wrongly focussed on sustaining Miss X’s tenancy despite evidence it was unsustainable so failed to consider her housing options. It also did not consider the risks relating to Miss X’s disclosure of domestic abuse and provide interim accommodation in August 2022. I agree with the Council’s conclusions.
36. I also consider the failure to provide interim accommodation shows additional fault by the Council. The evidence suggests the Council’s failure to offer interim accommodation and the subsequent delays were caused as officers did not recognise when the duty to offer interim accommodation is triggered. The threshold for triggering the duty is low as the Council only needed reason to believe Miss X was eligible, homeless and in priority need. The fact Miss X disclosed domestic abuse should have alerted the Council that she may be homeless and in priority need so triggering its duty to provide interim accommodation. The Council’s actions in trying to establish with certainty that Miss X was at risk of domestic abuse delayed the offer of interim accommodation for six months. Similarly, the Council’s actions in trying to establish with certainty the disrepair and safety of Miss X’s property also delayed the offer of interim accommodation.
37. Miss X considers the Council’s decision to place her in band four on its housing register is incorrect as she has a repayment plan to repay the arrears to her former landlord. There is no evidence of fault in how the Council reached its decision. Miss X has arrears so the Council correctly placed her in band four. The Council reviewed Miss X’s banding when it responded to her complaint and considered the fact Miss X has a repayment plan. It explained its reasons why it did not warrant an increase in priority. I am therefore satisfied there is no evidence of fault in how the Council made its decision to place Miss X in band four and this decision is in accordance with its allocations scheme.
38. As the Council has acknowledged fault, the question for me is what injustice the faults caused to Miss X and her family and whether the remedy offered by the Council is sufficient and proportionate.
39. The failure to provide interim accommodation in August 2022 meant Miss X and her family had to find her own accommodation and move between relatives and friends before moving back to her property. Her rented property was in disrepair following the flood and she was potentially at risk of domestic abuse. This will have caused significant distress to Miss X and her family. Miss X was also caused distress by the Council’s delays in dealing with her homelessness application between August and December 2022.
40. The Council may have been able to help Miss X secure a private rented property if it had properly explored her housing options. So, it is possible that Miss X may have missed the opportunity for settled housing rather than moving into temporary accommodation.
41. On balance, I do not consider the fault by the Council caused Miss X to incur the rent arrears at her property. Miss X made an active decision not to pay her rent and she was claiming the universal credit housing element to pay her rent. I therefore do not consider it is appropriate or proportionate to recommend the Council clears her arrears.
42. I consider it is likely the Council would have accepted a homelessness duty to Miss X in August 2022 if it had properly considered her disclosures of domestic abuse. The Council should therefore backdate Miss X’s band four priority to the date of her homelessness application.
43. The Council has offered a payment of £200 per month for the period between August 2022 and May 2023 when it accepted the main housing duty to Miss X to acknowledge the distress caused to her. Our guidance on remedies recommends a payment of between £150 to £350 per month.
44. I am mindful the Council’s recommended payment is within these parameters. However, I consider it would be appropriate and proportionate for the Council to make a payment of £250 per month to acknowledge that Miss X and her family lived in unsuitable accommodation for 10 months. The increased payment acknowledges Miss X has two young children who will have been affected by living in damp unsuitable accommodation and their unstable housing situation. Miss X’s brother will similarly have been affected. The increased payment is also to acknowledge Miss X may have missed the opportunity to live in settled accommodation during those 10 months.

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Agreed action

45. The Council will:
1. send a further written apology and make a payment of £2500 to Miss X to acknowledge the distress caused to Miss X and her family by living in unsuitable and unsettled accommodation for 10 months and the missed opportunity to find private rented accommodation. The Council should ensure the apology to Miss X is in accordance with our new guidance on remedies for Making an effective apology
2. backdate Miss X’s housing application to August 2022;
3. by training, or other means, remind officers:
1. the low threshold for triggering the duty to offer interim accommodation and,
2. that they must consider all aspects of an applicants housing situation and the provisions of chapter 21 of the homelessness code of guidance when considering if a person may be homeless.
46. The Council should take the action at a) and b) within one month of my final decision and the action at c) within two months of my final decision.
47. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

48. Fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman