Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to provide a bidding number to allow her to bid for properties following a housing application and sent her other people’s bidding details in error. Miss X also complained the Council failed to respond to her reports of damp and overcrowding. Miss X says this has resulted in her not being able to bid on properties and affected her and her family’s health. We have found fault with the actions of the Council for failing to provide a bidding number and deal with Miss X’s queries concerning this and for failing to investigate Miss X’s reports of damp and overcrowding.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained:

• The Council failed to provide a bidding number to allow her to bid for properties following a housing application. She says she has been chasing this up for around five years and has had no response.
• The Council provided login details for family members in error.
• The Council has failed to act on her reports about damp and overcrowding.

2. Miss X says this has resulted in her being unable to bid on properties and has caused her frustration and upset when trying to resolve the issue with the Council. Miss X also says an issue of damp and overcrowding has not been dealt with which has affected her family’s health.

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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. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

6. Paragraph 4 (above) applies to this complaint. I have exercised discretion to investigate Miss X’s complaint back to August 2020 which is when the Council reviewed its decision regarding its duty to Miss X. This is because the mater has been ongoing since that point and Miss X has yet to be able to resolve it.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have considered all the information Miss X provided and discussed this complaint with her. I have also asked the Council questions and requested information, and in turn have considered the Council’s response.
8. Miss X and the Council have provided their comments on my draft decision. These have been considered before this final decision was issued.

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What I found

9. 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.
10. If a council is satisfied someone is eligible, homeless, in priority need and unintentionally homeless it will owe them the main housing duty. Generally, the council carries out the duty by arranging temporary accommodation until it makes a suitable offer of social housing or private rented accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
11. Certain decisions councils make about homelessness carry a statutory right of review. The review decision then carries a right of appeal to court on a point of law. Homeless applicants have a right to ask for a suitability review of temporary accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty. They must request a review within 21 days of the decision. (Housing Act 1996, s202)
12. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household. This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
13. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601)
14. The Housing Act 2004 sets out councils’ duties and powers to address hazards in residential properties in their area.
15. 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))
16. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises.

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What happened

17. Miss X made a housing application to the Council in early 2019 and was provided with temporary accommodation.
18. The Council wrote to Miss X in April 2020 to say she did not meet the criteria to be owed the main housing duty.
19. Miss X queried this decision shortly after and the Council wrote to her at the end of April to say it would review its decision.
20. The Council wrote to Miss X in June 2020 to say it had revoked its decision.
21. Miss X contacted the Council in March 2021 to query what was happening with her application and told the Council at that time she was keen to bid on properties.
22. Miss X emailed the Council in November 2021 to explain the bidding reference she had received was invalid and also told the Council the property she was living in was experiencing damp.
23. Miss X sent a further email in August 2022 saying she had been unsuccessfully trying to access a bidding number for the past three years. The Council responded to this email advising Miss X to contact another email address,
24. Miss X contacted advice organisations in 2023 and emailed the Council in May 2023 to ask what was happening with her housing matter and confirmed again that the property was suffering from damp. Miss X also that her property was unsuitable due to the size of the property and it being overcrowded.
25. Miss X complained to the Council in March 2023 and received a response in August 2023 which says the Council had provided bidding details. Miss X says the correct details have still not been received.
26. Miss X received her family members log in details in error in mid-2023.

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Analysis

27. The evidence provided shows that Miss X contacted the Council on multiple occasions to request her bidding details between March 2021 and her complaint in March 2023.
28. In that time, I have not been able to see responses issued by the Council to much of the correspondence and when a response has been issued, Miss X has not been provided with a working bidding reference. This is fault and would have caused Miss X a great deal of frustration in both not receiving a response and having to contact the Council again.
29. The Council has confirmed that had Miss X received her bidding reference in 2019, she would not have been successful in bidding on a property. The Council say Miss X is in priority band C1. The Council has shown that had Miss X received her bidding number she would not have been successful in securing housing due to her position on the list. As such, Miss X has not missed out on the opportunity of securing housing as a result of not receiving her bidding reference.
30. I have also seen Miss X raised issues of damp in the property in November 2021 and again in 2023 and I have not been able to see the Council took any action regarding the issue in November 2021. This is fault as the Council did not respond or investigate Miss X’s reports of damp in her property. Miss X would again have been frustrated that action was not taken by the Council.
31. Miss X also raised an issue with the size of the property in May 2023. I have not been able to see Miss X was told of her right of a suitability review for the temporary accommodation she had been living in since 2019. I have also not been able to see that the Council took any action to review Miss X’s housing situation when they received reports of overcrowding or damp issues. This is fault and Miss X has been disadvantaged by not having the information to understand that a review could have been requested and by no action being taken by the Council.
32. I understand Miss X received her family members log in details in mid-2023. Whilst another person’s details should not have been passed to Miss X, any injustice suffered because of this would have been by Miss X’s family member.

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Agreed action

33. Within one month of my Final Decision the Council should:

• Ensure Miss X receives her correct bidding reference and is in the correct band and place on the housing list.
• Take action to assess Miss X’s report of damp in the property.
• Review the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation.
• Pay Miss X £500 for the frustration caused to her over a significant period trying to obtain her bidding reference.
• Pay Miss X a further £250 for the frustration caused to her in failing to take action regarding the report of damp or overcrowding in her property and for failing to advise of her right of a suitability review.

34. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

35. I have found fault in the actions of the Council for failing to provide a bidding number or deal with Miss X’s queries concerning this and for failing to take action on issues of damp and overcrowding reported to them.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman