Summary: Ms X complained that the Council failed to provide her with suitable accommodation when she was homeless, failed to provide advice about storage of her belongings when she moved into interim accommodation and failed to check information it held as a result of which she was shortlisted for social housing and then removed from the shortlist. We found the Council was at fault. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to make a payment to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains that the Council failed to:
• provide her and her child with suitable interim and temporary accommodation when they were homeless causing distress;
• provide her with advice about removal and storage of her belongings when she moved into interim hotel accommodation as a result of which she lost all her possessions; and
• check and correct information it held resulting in her being shortlisted for an allocation of social housing three times and then removed causing her distress and disappointment.

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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. The Ombudsman’s view, based on caselaw, is that ‘service failure’ is an objective, factual question about what happened. A finding of service failure does not imply blame, intent or bad faith on the part of the council involved. There may be circumstances where we conclude service failure has occurred and caused an injustice to the complainant despite the best efforts of the council. This still amounts to fault. We may recommend a remedy for the injustice caused and/or that the council makes service improvements. (R (on the application of ER) v CLA (LGO) [2014] EWCA civ 1407)
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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated Ms X’s complaints about events which took place between February 2023 when she presented to the Council as homeless and September 2023 when she complained to us.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I have considered all the information provided by Ms X, made enquiries of the Council and considered its comments and the documents it provided.
8. 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

Legal and administrative background

Homelessness

9. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council:
• 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)
10. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help them 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)

The prevention duty

11. 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)

The relief duty

12. 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)

The main housing duty

13. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Interim and temporary accommodation

14. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
15. 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)
16. 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.
17. 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)
18. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty, but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation.
19. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
20. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.
21. Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review its 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)
22. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when they consider if it is suitable for the applicant and members of their household. If a council places an applicant outside its district, it must consider, among other matters:
• the distance of the accommodation from the “home” district;
• the significance of any disruption to the education of members of the applicant’s household; and
• the proximity and accessibility to local services, amenities and transport. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012)
23. Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. It should only be used as a last resort in an emergency and then for the shortest time possible. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.24 and from 3 April 2018 17.30)
24. Bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. B&B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and from 3 April 2018 Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.32)

Protection of belongings

25. Where a council owes or has owed certain housing duties to an applicant, it must protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged because the applicant is unable to protect it or deal with it and no other suitable arrangements have been made. A council may make a reasonable charge for storage. (Housing Act 1996, section 211, Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 20)

Housing Allocations

26. 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))
27. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others.

(Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

Choice based lettings

28. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises.

Key facts

29. Ms X was living in a private rented property with her young child. On 20 February 2023 she contacted the Council explaining that her landlord served a section 21 notice requiring her to leave by 23 April. The Council requested documents from Ms X which she provided on 13 March. It then arranged an appointment to complete a homeless assessment.
30. A housing inclusion officer, Officer A, completed a homeless assessment on 19 April. She accepted a prevention duty to Ms X as she was threatened with homelessness. She prepared a personalised housing plan which stated that Ms X’s landlord had served her with a section 21 notice and intended to increase the rent making it unaffordable for her. It said the Council would support Ms X to move to alternative accommodation and provided advice.
31. The same day the Council gave Ms X details of a two-bedroom private rented property close to her mother’s address with a viewing the following day. Unfortunately, Ms X was unable to attend.
32. On 2 May the Council nominated Ms X for another two-bedroom private rented property near her mother’s address. Ms X’s mother telephoned Officer A saying Ms X had been shortlisted for five properties she had bid for and asked whether it was worth Ms X viewing a private rented property. Officer A advised that Ms X should attend the viewing in case she was not successful in her bids for social housing.
33. The housing allocations team later removed Ms X from the shortlists because her address was different to that on their system and gave her a new bidding number. She placed more bids and was listed first on two properties close to her mother’s address. A housing allocations officer told Ms X she would be offered one of the properties but then withdrew the offer because of Ms X’s employment status. She later contacted Ms X about viewing another property. But Ms X was removed from the shortlist because her priority date had been changed.
34. On 5 May Ms X complained to the Council about the way it had handled her case.
35. On 15 May Ms X was awarded Band 1 priority on the Council’s housing register. The same day she told the Council she was now in rent arrears with costs rising daily.
36. Officer A told Ms X that, if her property was unaffordable, it would not be reasonable for her to remain there. She said the Council could offer her interim accommodation. Ms X said she could not move out of the borough as she would lose support from her mother. Officer A explained there was a shortage of temporary accommodation, so the Council was having to house clients outside the borough.
37. On 22 May Ms X requested emergency housing. Officer A accepted a relief duty and agreed to offer her interim accommodation. Ms X asked whether the accommodation would be furnished or unfurnished. She said she had furniture and was not sure what to do with it as she had nowhere to store it if she needed to. The same day the Council found Ms X interim accommodation in a hotel. She declined the offer as it was too far from her mother’s address.
38. On 25 May the Council offered Ms X interim accommodation in a hotel nearer to her mother’s address which she accepted. She was unable to take her furniture with her and had to leave it in the rented property.
39. On 2 June Ms X contacted Officer A asking how long she would be in the hotel as she had no means of cooking or washing clothes and it was difficult with a young child and herself in one room.
40. On 22 June the Council offered Ms X self-contained interim accommodation which she accepted even though it was further from her mother’s address.
41. On 5 July the Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at stage 1 of its complaints process.
42. On 18 July Ms X requested that her complaint be escalated to stage 2.
43. On 25 July the Council accepted a main duty to Ms X.
44. On 8 September the Council responded to Ms X’s stage 2 complaint. It wrote to her again a few days later saying it had reviewed her complaint. It accepted Officer A should have checked the status of Ms X’s housing application and made sure her details were correct and up-to-date. It also accepted she should have discussed storage and removals options with Ms X before her move to interim accommodation. The Council apologised and offered her £100 as a goodwill gesture. Ms X was dissatisfied with the Council’s response and complained to us.

Analysis

Removal of Ms X from shortlists for allocations of social housing

45. Ms X was originally placed on the housing register in 2019 in band C. She became homeless in December 2020 and was awarded band B1 rehousing priority. The Council discharged its duty by securing private rented accommodation for her in 2021.
46. The Council’s allocations policy states that applicants will be removed from the housing register if they are rehoused permanently by the Council or a housing association. If this is the case, any further request for housing will be registered and assessed as a new application.
47. So, Ms X’s housing application should have been cancelled once she accepted the offer of a secure tenancy in 2021. This was not done. So, when Ms X approached the Council again in 2023 having been made homeless, her qualifying date was still showing on the housing register as December 2020 rather than February 2023. This meant that, when Ms X placed bids for properties, she was receiving higher priority than she should have done.
48. The Council accepts it should have checked the status of Ms X’s housing application and corrected this during the assessment carried out in April 2023. This would have prevented the mistakes in shortlisting. Allowing the problem to continue was fault. This raised Ms X’s expectations and resulted in disappointment as she was shortlisted for properties and then removed from the shortlist.
49. In addition, Ms X was shortlisted for a housing association property but was then declined a viewing because of her employment status. The Council accepts the officer should have checked Ms X’s employment status before discussing this property with her. Failure to do so was fault and again raised Ms X’s expectations and caused her further disappointment.
50. The Council apologised to Ms X for the distress and inconvenience caused by these errors and said Officer A had been reminded of the importance of carrying out necessary checks before advising applicants of their housing options. In addition, the Council says it has recently revised its Discharge of Duty procedure which was circulated to relevant staff in March 2024. The procedure details the correct process for ending the homelessness priority when settled accommodation is secured in the private rented sector and should prevent the same situation occurring in future.
51. While the Council’s actions go some way towards remedying the injustice caused to Ms X, I have made recommendations below.

Failure to provide suitable interim accommodation

52. On 26 May Ms X was placed in interim accommodation in a hotel outside the Council’s area. She remained there for four weeks. On 22 June she moved to self-contained interim accommodation. This was also outside the Council’s area and was further away from her mother’s address. Ms X says that being placed so far from her mother resulted in isolation and lack of support. It also meant she incurred travel costs that she could not afford.
53. On 25 July the Council accepted a main housing duty to Ms X so the accommodation changed from interim accommodation to temporary accommodation. From that point, Ms X had a right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation. The Council informed her of this right. Accordingly, I will not consider the suitability of the accommodation after this date.
54. I can, however, consider the suitability of the accommodation between 22 June and 25 July 2023 when it was interim accommodation because Ms X had no right of appeal during that period. The Council has a legal duty to ensure the accommodation is suitable for the household. In deciding whether accommodation is suitable, the Council must have regard to the specific needs of the applicant and their household because of a medical condition or disability.
55. The Council has explained that, because of the extreme shortage of emergency accommodation across the country, it relies heavily on hotel accommodation or on housing outside the borough. It says that, when the temporary accommodation team are first asked to make a placement, they are sent a temporary accommodation form which is completed by the housing inclusion officer working with the applicant. The form sets out the individual needs of the household and the temporary accommodation team use this information to identify the most suitable placement from the limited options available. They will exclude placements in areas which might present a risk to households and consider their need to access the borough.
56. Officer A completed a temporary accommodation form for Ms X on 22 May 2023. She said Ms X had a history of mental illness and self-harm and wanted to be placed near her mother for support. The form said the officer had informed Ms X that placement in an area close to her mother was not guaranteed but this would be requested.
57. In its stage 2 response, the Council said, “the team appreciates the challenges you are currently facing living away from your support and are working hard to secure accommodation closer to your support network … you are on a list for temporary vacancies that may arise in the borough in the near future”.
58. In light of this, I find the Council was at fault for not moving Ms X to suitable accommodation. Its duty under S206 of the Housing Act 1996 is to provide suitable accommodation immediately, not simply to try to do so or wait until something suitable becomes available from its usual supply. So, we regard councils leaving people in admittedly unsuitable interim accommodation as service failure.
59. In her application form completed in February 2023 Ms X stated that she had a history of mental health problems and took medication for anxiety, depression and self-harming. Ms X’s personalised housing plan completed on 19 April stated that there were no medical/mental health issues or any other issues that suggested she could not live outside the borough. However, it went on to state that Ms X had said she had anxiety and depression and needed constant help from her mother. It said this would be considered when supporting her in finding alternative housing in the private sector. The housing inclusion service’s client assessment form completed on 19 April 2023 states that Ms X had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression at a young age and had been on medication for five years.
60. The interim accommodation provided for Ms X was outside the Council’s area. The Act says councils must “so far as is reasonably practicable” secure accommodation in their own area. It is common for many councils, especially London boroughs, to make out of area placements because it is very difficult to procure affordable interim accommodation in their own areas. But we still expect councils to make reasonable efforts to keep the applicant as close to its area as possible. It should also demonstrate it has considered the specific needs of the applicant and their household before making the placement. We expect to see evidence that it has completed a suitability assessment.
61. I have seen no evidence that the Council considered the suitability of the accommodation for Ms X’s individual circumstances, particularly her mental health problems and the need to be near her support network. Failure to do so is fault and caused Ms X distress because of being placed far from her mother’s support.
62. In response to an earlier draft of this decision statement, the Council said it directs its resources to providing private rented accommodation at an early stage to avoid customers going through the stress and disruption of relying on emergency housing. It says it offered Ms X two suitable private sector properties which she declined and, had she accepted one of these, her housing situation would have been resolved and she would not have needed to rely on emergency housing.
63. While the Council took the correct approach in offering Ms X private rented properties, I understand why she declined these offers given that (as explained in paragraphs 45 – 51 above) the Council led her to believe she would shortly be successful in bidding for social housing as it had not changed her priority on the housing register.
64. I remain of the view that, when offering Ms X interim accommodation, the Council was at fault in failing to demonstrate that it considered the suitability of the accommodation for Ms X’s particular circumstances.

Ms X’s belongings

65. Ms X says the Council failed to provide advice about removal and storage of belongings when she moved into interim hotel accommodation and, as a result, she lost all her belongings as she could not take them to the hotel.
66. The Council says there is a process in place for homeless applicants facing planned evictions where it will arrange storage of their belongings if required. It says, usually, the applicant will complete a Storage Inventory form detailing their storage requirements and this is sent to the Temporary Accommodation Team before their planned eviction. However, in this case, Ms X requested emergency housing from the Council before her landlord had pursued eviction proceedings and while she still had a legal right to remain in the property. The Council exercised discretion to provide emergency housing to Ms X even though her tenancy was still available to her. It accepts it is possible that storage options were not raised by Officer A because the usual process was not followed before emergency accommodation was arranged. However, it says Ms X did not mention that she required assistance with storage when she requested urgent housing on 22 May 2023.
67. Ms X sent a text message to Officer A on 22 May 2023 saying she had furniture in her flat and was not sure what to do with it as she had nowhere to store it. So, I am satisfied Ms X did mention that she needed assistance with storage when requesting emergency housing. I have seen no evidence that Officer A responded to Ms X to explain what the Council could do about removal and storage of her belongings when she moved into hotel accommodation.
68. In response to Ms X’s complaint, the Council accepted it should have discussed storage and options about removals with Ms X before she moved into interim accommodation and apologised “if” it did not do so. It said it would remind officers of the importance of discussing such options before an applicant moves into interim accommodation.
69. The Council says the lettings agent who managed Ms X’s tenancy on behalf of the landlord has confirmed that Ms X left some furniture at the property. The agent said the property had been left in a poor state and it was not clear if Ms X intended to return to collect anything. They said they made several attempts to contact Ms X and her mother about her belongings but neither of them responded so they cleared the property. This does not alter the fact that the Council should have advised Ms X what it could do to help with storage of her belongings. It had a duty to protect her personal property as there was a risk it may be lost or damaged and it was aware Ms X could not deal with it herself as she was moving into hotel accommodation and had nowhere to store it.
70. The Council also says Ms X submitted claims to its emergency support scheme in 2021 and in January 2024 to help with the transfer and cost of removals from her accommodation. So, she was aware that the Council could help her. It says that, if Ms X had mentioned storage to anyone involved, officers would have responded appropriately. However, the evidence shows Ms X sent a text message to Officer A on 22 May 2023 requesting help with her belongings but this was not responded to.
71. I find the Council was at fault in failing to respond to Ms X’s request for assistance with storage. I recommended the Council make a symbolic payment to Ms X for the distress caused. I did not recommend a payment in respect of the value of the lost belongings. Loss of personal property is a legal issue and it is open to Ms X to issue proceedings against the Council for compensation. There is a simple procedure in the County Court for dealing with small claims under £5,000. A solicitor is not necessary for this, so I consider it would be reasonable for her to do so. The court, rather than the Ombudsman, is the appropriate body to determine issues of liability. For this reason, the Ombudsman has no jurisdiction to investigate the Council’s liability for damages.

Complaints process

72. Ms X complained to the Council on 5 May 2023. The Council’s complaints process states that it will respond to stage 1 complaints within 15 working days. The Council did not respond until 5 July. It did not therefore meet its published timescales.
73. On 18 July Ms X requested that her complaint be escalated to stage 2. The Council responded on 8 September 2022. Again, the Council exceeded its published timescale. Its complaints process states that it will respond to stage 2 complaints within 20 working days.
74. The delays in responding to Ms X’s complaints was fault and caused her additional distress.

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Agreed action

75. The Council has agreed that, within one month, it will apologise to Ms X for the faults identified and pay her £1,000 in recognition of:
• the distress caused by its failure to discuss options for protecting her personal belongings;
• the raised expectations and disappointment caused by the failure to check the status of her housing application; and
• the time she spent in unsuitable interim accommodation.
76. The Council has also agreed that, within three months, it will issue a checklist to relevant staff to ensure they always deal with the issue of an applicant’s belongings when they move from their home into interim hotel accommodation and are unable to take their belongings with them.
77. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

78. I find fault causing injustice.
79. I have completed my investigation on the basis that the Council has agreed to implement the recommended remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman