Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to provide her and her children with suitable temporary accommodation. We found fault by the Council. This caused Ms X and her children a significant injustice because they were left in unsuitable accommodation for 10 months. The Council agreed to make Ms X a payment in recognition of the costs she incurred in taking her children to school and the impact of the difficulties the long journey caused them.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council placed her and her four children in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 10 months. As a result of the Council’s actions Ms X says:
• She had a three hour round trip to take her children to and from school. She also had to travel for medical appointments.
• She has been financially disadvantaged because she incurred travel costs of £83.40 per week to take her children to school and to attend medical appointments; and
• Her son, Y’s, EHC Needs Assessment was delayed because her temporary accommodation was outside the borough. Her family also missed on out assistance from the Early Help Service because she could not attend appointments because of taking her children to school.
2. Ms X states this has caused her and her family distress, financial hardship and negatively impacted the mental and physical health of her and her children.

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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 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. As part of my investigation I have:
• Considered Ms X’s complaint and discussed it with her;
• Considered information provided by Ms X;
• Made enquiries of the Council and considered its response;
• Considered our guidance on remedies: and
• Set out my initial view on the complaint in a draft decision statement and invited Ms X and the Council to comment.

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What I found

6. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.
7. 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. This is called the main duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
8. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)

Background

9. Ms X and her four children are homeless. The Council owes her family the main housing duty and in August 2022, it provided her with temporary accommodation. The accommodation was outside its borough.
10. Ms X raised concerns about the suitability of the temporary accommodation. She said it was a three-hour round trip to take her children to and from school and would involve taking two buses and a train. Ms X told the Council her son, Y, has a diagnosis of autism and the journey on crowded transport would be difficult for him. She also explained her eldest son, Q, had to get up at 5am to be at school for his classes that start at 8am.
11. Also, Ms X said that she has Crohn’s Disease and must make weekly trips to her hospital, located within the Council’s area, for treatment. She has three additional hospital visits a month for scans.
12. Throughout August, September and October Ms X made regular contact with the Council reiterating that her temporary accommodation was not suitable for her and her family. She told the Council that Y was struggling with the journey to school and his behaviour was deteriorating. She also advised he was undergoing an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Needs Assessment.
13. In October the Council agreed that Ms X’s accommodation was not suitable for her needs, and she was placed on the transfer list for a move to alternative temporary accommodation.
14. Ms X regularly contacted the Council seeking an update on a move to alternative accommodation and to explain the impact her temporary accommodation was having on her and her family. She told the Council her mental health was being negatively impacted and her children were tired because of the long journey to and from school.
15. In January 2023 the Council identified a property that would be suitable for Ms X and her family. The property was due to be available in March.
16. Unhappy with the Council’s handling of her case Ms X complained to the Council.
17. The Council’s response upheld her complaint. It accepted it did not act with sufficient urgency to move Ms X and her family to suitable temporary accommodation. It apologised for the fault, said it would act swiftly to identify suitable accommodation for them and made a payment of £2250 in recognition of the impact of them living in unsuitable accommodation.
18. In June Ms X moved into the property identified by the Council in January.
19. Ms X remained unhappy with the Council’s handling of her case and complained to the Ombudsman.
20. We made enquiries of the Council. In its response it said:
• It sought to find a suitable alternative property for Ms X and her family but was unable to find one sooner than it did.
• It was in regular contact with Ms X and provided copies of communications between her and the Council.
• Ms X’s son’s EHC needs assessment was completed with the outcome that it was not appropriate to issue him with a EHC plan. Ms X did not appeal the decision.
• It does not have any record of Ms X approaching its Early Help Service while she was living outside the borough.
• It does not consider it appropriate to reimburse Ms X for the travel costs she incurred in taking her children to school while she was living outside the borough.

My finding

21. The Council accepted Ms X was in unsuitable accommodation in October 2022. It did not secure her a move to alternative suitable accommodation until June 2023. The law is clear that the Council has a duty to provide accommodation to homeless applicants that is suitable. The Council did not do so for 10 months. This is fault.
22. As a result, Ms X and her family have been caused a significant injustice. Ms X and her children had a three hour round trip to school each day. The journey on public transport was especially difficult for Y, who finds noisy and crowded places troubling. Ms X and her children were tired especially her eldest son, Q , who was leaving home at 5am to be at school in time for his classes. Ms X told us Q failed his SATs exams which caused him and her distress. Ms X has explained that her mental health was negatively impacted as was her Crohn’s Disease.
23. The Council has made a payment of £2250 to Ms X in recognition of the impact of living in unsuitable temporary accommodation. This equates to £250 per month and is in keeping with our remedies guidance.
24. However, the Council did not offer Ms X a remedy for the financial disadvantage caused to her as result of paying travel costs for taking her children to school and attending medical appointments. These costs equated to over £83 per week and this amounts to a considerable amount over the 10 months Ms X was in unsuitable accommodation. The long journey also caused Ms X and her children difficultly with there being a notable impact on her sons, Y and Q.
25. Ms X also received poor communication from the Council. I have considered documents provided by Ms X which show her sending repeated emails asking for an update on her case which went unanswered. This is also echoed in the emails provided by the Council which included emails from Ms X chasing responses from the Council. In response to my draft decision the Council said it would remind staff to provide applicants awaiting a move from unsuitable temporary accommodation with regular updates. As the Council is taking action to address these problems, I do not consider it is appropriate to make a service improvement recommendation.
26. Living outside of the borough also meant Ms X could not access Early Help intervention from the Council where her temporary accommodation was located because she could not make it back in time from collecting her children to use the service. This aggravated the impact of the problems caused to Ms X and her family from living in unsuitable temporary accommodation as they could not access support to help them.
27. Ms X also says living in accommodation outside of the borough delayed Y’s EHC Needs Assessment because it was difficult to arrange a time for the required assessments to take place. The outcome of the assessment was that Y did not require an EHC plan and so, I do not consider any delay resulted in Y missing support.

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Agreed action

28. To remedy the injustice to Ms X and her children from the faults I have identified, the Council should:
• Pay Ms X £3300 to reflect the extra costs she incurred in taking her children to and from school and attending medical appointments. The payment also recognises the impact of the difficulties caused to Ms X and her children because of the long journey to and from school.
29. The Council should provide the agreed remedy within one month of my final decision.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

31. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council causing Ms X and her family an injustice. I am satisfied the action the Council will take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman