Summary: Mr X complains about unsuitable temporary accommodation which he says he could not live in. We found there was unnecessary delay by the Council. It has agreed a remedy.

The complaint

1. The complainant whom I shall refer to as Mr X, complains the Council failed to provide suitable temporary accommodation and its housing provider did not carry out necessary repairs. As a result he says it was unsafe for him to stay in the flat, and therefore he paid for alternative accommodation leading to him being in debt.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. 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).
3. 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

4. I have discussed the complaint with Mr X and considered the information provided by the complainant. I have made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents it provided. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and statutory guidance

Temporary accommodation

5. If a council is satisfied a homeless 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).

Suitability of temporary accommodation

6. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204).
7. Councils must complete reviews of the following decisions within eight weeks of the date of the review request:
• eligibility for assistance;
• not in priority need;
• intentionally homeless;
• 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.
8. These periods can be extended if the applicant agrees in writing.
9. 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

10. I have not detailed all the complaints and issues raised by Mr X. However, I have referred to the key claims of fault which had the potential to have caused significant injustice.
11. In 2022 the Council accepted the main housing duty to Mr X because he was homeless and in priority need. It had provided temporary accommodation in a hostel. The Council assessed that Mr X had mobility needs and that any accommodation it provided should be on the ground floor or in a block with a lift and no internal stairs.
12. In October 2022 the Council’s temporary accommodation team offered Mr X a one bedroom flat which he accepted. The flat was managed by a temporary accommodation managing agent.
13. Before he moved in Mr X advised the Council that there was no furniture. The Council says its managing agent had difficulty arranging the delivery of furniture. However, it was delivered within four days of the start of the tenancy.

Repairs issues

14. In the first week of the tenancy Mr X said that there was no shower in the flat. The managing agent said it would not provide a shower because it was not its policy to do this in temporary accommodation.

Mr X also reported that his bath drain was blocked all the time. The managing agent visited and noted there was a blockage to the communal stack. It asked the Council to deal with the repair because the Council was the freeholder and responsible for the building.

15. Mr X complained to the Council about the flat. He said it was unsuitable for him.
16. On 2 November the Council responded. It said that it had provided him with furniture. It apologised for the delay in doing this. It said the agent had advised him that its policy was that it would not provide a shower. It said it would arrange a repair contractor to contact him about the bath being blocked.
17. On 9 November 2022 Mr X emailed the Council regarding the blocked bath drain. He said he had not heard from the managing agent. Therefore, he said he contacted a private company and it had fixed the blockage. He said he would send the Council the bill.
18. On 16 November 2022 the Council’s officer visited Mr X and listed the following:
• Resolve blockage in bath
• Windows require keys and restrictors, and repairs.
• Ease and adjust kitchen window which cannot be opened.
• Fit rubber dampers to kitchen doors and drawers
• Replace door stopper to living room door.
19. The officer said he was aware the managing agent did not normally fit showers. But he said the managing agent should arrange fitting a shower mixer and a shower screen. He said the Council would pay for this.
20. On 21 November Mr X said he had not heard from the managing agent regarding the repairs or the Council. Therefore, he arranged for a private company to unblock the bath. He said he paid £195 for this.
21. The Council replied to Mr X and asked the managing agent to update him.
22. Mr X’s solicitor advised the Council regarding the impact of the condition of the accommodation. It said that Mr X could not use the bath, the flat was cold due to drafts from the windows which were also insecure as they did not lock. It also said there was a constant drip from the kitchen tap.
23. On 20 December the housing officer chased the managing agent for an update regarding the repairs. It replied that its contractors tried multiple times to contact Mr X and had left messages. But Mr X had not replied.
24. On 21 December the managing agent emailed Mr X and said its contactor had not been able to speak to him. It said it had booked an appointment on 24 December to complete the repairs.
25. Mr X replied that it was not true that the contractor had tried to contact him. He said he had sent the invoice for the bath drain repair to the managing agent.
26. On 24 December the Council says the managing agent completed all the repairs except the shower mixer and screen. This was due to be installed by a third party. However, the third party advised it had difficulty contacting Mr X.
27. Mr X emailed the solicitor on 15 January and said that the window locks were not completed, and the rotten bath window frame had not been replaced. He asked the Council to pay him £195 for the bath drain bill. He said that if the Council repaired the bathroom window frame, he would withdraw his review request. The solicitor passed this information on to the Council.
28. The Council contacted the managing agent for an update regarding the repairs.
29. On 30 January 2023 Mr X moved into a hotel according to an invoice he later provided.
30. On 11 February 2023 Mr X complained further to the Council that:
• the managing agent had not contacted him, it was he who had chased the agent.
• He had requested repairs including to the bath drain many times. So he went ahead and paid £195 for the repair himself.
• He had bought a washing machine the week before, but the engineer could not install it due to the plumbing in the kitchen.
• The Council’s complaints team had told him not to pay for any repairs himself without getting the managing agent’s permission.
• It was impossible to live in the flat in these conditions and, “If the emergency repairs are not done properly, I will leave the apartment and request emergency accommodation suitable for people with disabilities, I will put myself in a hotel at the council’s expense till the suitable accommodation provided.”
• He would go to the county court regarding the matter after 14 days.
31. On 3 March 2023 the Council noted that the managing agent said it was difficult to arrange an appointment with Mr X to see if matters were resolved. The Council’s officer called Mr X and he agreed an appointment in three weeks time to have the shower mixer and screen installed.
32. On 14 March 2023 the Council completed its suitability review and decided the property was unsuitable because Mr X required a level access shower. It said it would look for an alternative property.
33. On 16 March 2023 the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint. It said:
• It agreed that there had been delay in dealing with the bath drain repair. It apologised and said it would refund the £195 he had paid.
• it had not been able to fit a shower screen due to an access panel, but it would fit a new mixer tap and shower pole.
• the other repairs listed on 16 November were completed on 24 December 2022.
• The problem with the washing machine was a new issue which was not part of his original complaint.
34. On 21 March 2023 the Council offered Mr X new suitable accommodation which he accepted. The Council did not complete the shower mixer and shower pole installation because Mr X was moving out.
35. Mr X moved into the new accommodation on 17 April 2023. There was a delay in Mr X moving from 21 March because he requested this.
36. On 18 April 2023 Mr X sent the Council a copy of an invoice for £7326 for accommodation for the period 30 January to 14 April 2023. He said the Council was aware he had moved to alternative accommodation due to the pipes being blocked and water leaks in the temporary accommodation. He said the repairs were still not completed. He asked the Council to refund the money he had paid for alternative accommodation. He said he had given the Council notice he would leave in his email of 11 February.
37. The Council replied that it had not agreed to cover the costs of alternative accommodation. Therefore, it would not reimburse him.
38. In his complaint to the Ombudsman Mr X says that he used all his benefits to pay for the alternative accommodation and that he took out a loan for £3500. He said it was impossible to have a shower during this time due to the blocked drain. It was also freezing due to the cracks in the bathroom window frame. He could not use his washing machine because it would not drain.

Analysis

39. I note Mr X says the Council should reimburse the money he spent on alternative accommodation. However, I consider that the Council should not refund this money. Mr X said on 11 February that he would move out, but he did not advise the Council that he had already moved out. He told the Council where he had stayed after he moved out of the alternative accommodation on 14 April 2023.
40. Mr X says he took out a loan to pay the costs, but again he did not tell the Council at the time that he was considering doing this.
41. Mr X’s emails of during the period 30 January to 14 April refer to issues in the flat such as his new washing machine, and he arranged an appointment for the shower installation. But he did not mention that he was not living in the flat.
42. Mr X complained about the bath drain, but he appeared to have resolved this himself on 21 November 2022. The Council apologised for the delay in dealing with this and agreed to pay him £195, refunding the amount he paid. I consider this is an appropriate remedy for this issue. I have not seen evidence that Mr X reported to the Council or the agent the drain problem started again after about a month as he advised me. He did not raise it in his complaint of 11 February.
43. The Council had difficulty arranging appointments with Mr X. I have seen evidence the managing agent and contactors tried to speak to Mr X but he did not respond to their messages. This meant the Council and the agent did not have an earlier opportunity to check that all the issues were resolved. Therefore, while the Council did not resolve all the repairs before Mr X left, I do not consider the Council should provide a further remedy here.

Review request

44. On 2 November 2022 Mr X’s solicitor formally requested a review of the suitability of the accommodation. The Council acknowledged this on 8 November 2022. The Council also sent the solicitor a copy of the housing file.
45. On 1 December 2022 the Council asked the solicitor whether it had sent its submission outlining the reasons for its review request. The solicitor asked for an extension of a week and then a further week to 15 December 2022.
46. On 14 December 2022 the solicitor set out the reasons for the review request. It said Mr X required a shower because he had difficulty getting in and out of the bath. The solicitor also referred to the missing window locks and drafts from rotten window frames. The solicitor noted the Council was due to respond to the review decision by 28 December 2022. But it asked for a delay until 9 January 2023 because the solicitor would be on leave until then. The Council agreed to this.
47. On 18 January the Council asked the solicitor for an extension to 30 January to provide its decision because it had asked its agent for an update. It agreed.
48. On 31 January the Council asked for another extension to 28 February because it had not received an update and the officer was going on leave.
49. On 3 March 2023 the Council’s review officer asked for a further extension to 27 March as it considered it needed a report from an occupational therapist regarding Mr X’s needs in relation to his accommodation.
50. However, on 14 March it made a decision that the property was unsuitable because Mr X required a level access shower.
51. In its response to my enquiries the Council accepts that it could have made its suitability decision by 20 January 2023. It appears it considered it needed an occupational therapist’s assessment, but then decided it had enough information.

Analysis

52. There was delay by the Council in coming to a decision on Mr X’s review request. However, there was also delay on the part of Mr X’s solicitor because it did not provide its submission until 14 December and it then asked for an extension to 9 January 2023. In my view there was avoidable delay by the Council of two months from mid January to mid March in reviewing the suitability of the flat. This delay caused injustice to Mr X because he remained in unsuitable accommodation for longer than was necessary.
53. However, I note that aside from the shower mixer and the drafts from windows the other repairs were completed. I have taken into account that the Council and its agent were unable to resolve these issues earlier because of difficulties communicating with Mr X.

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Agreed action

54. I recommend that within one month the Council should
• Apologise and pay Mr X £300 for the injustice caused by the delay in making a decision on the suitability of the accommodation.
• Confirm that it has refunded the £195 repair cost to Mr X.
55. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

56. I found fault by the Council causing injustice. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman