Summary: Mr X complains the Council has prevented him from accessing the housing register and relied on irrelevant information in its decision making. The Ombudsman finds fault with the Council for how it communicated with Mr X about his placement, and for failing to explain how it reached its decision. The Council has agreed to pay Mr X a financial remedy, carry out the review, and implement service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council is preventing him from being able to access his priority entitlement on the housing register. Mr X complains the Council has not been clear in its reasoning to deny him.
2. Mr X says his housing officer has been rude and obstructive and has used reasons unrelated to his application to deny him full access to the housing register.
3. Mr X complains the Council has failed to recognise the impact of its actions on him and the uncertainty it has caused for his future.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), 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. Part of Mr X’s complaint is about the behaviour of a Council officer in a meeting. It is unlikely we would be able to reach a finding on this part of the complaint as there is no way to find out what happened. Therefore, I am not considering this part of the complaint further.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered Mr X’s complaint and the information provided by him. I also considered information from the Council.
8. I considered comments received on a draft of my decision.

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What I found

Legislation and guidance

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. 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)

11. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment.
12. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant 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)
13. 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).

Single Person’s Homelessness Pathway

14. The Council has a single person’s homelessness pathway (SPHP) which it can refer homeless individuals to with their consent, if they feel they would benefit from the support offered alongside accommodation.
15. The terms for the Council’s SPHP set out that each applicant on the pathway would be offered a placement for a set period of time. The Council would also assign a support worker designed to help them develop their living skills to be successfully sustain a tenancy.
16. The skills include being able to shop, cook, manage finances, keep a clean and safe living environment, reporting maintenance issues and communicating with staff.
17. At the end of the placement, officers will review the case to decide what further assistance/options may be offered. This could include:

• referrals to other supported housing schemes,
• assistance with findings rented accommodation,
• registering them on the housing register, and
• extending the placement to develop skills further.

What happened

18. Mr X made a homelessness application to the Council in November 2022. The Council carried out an assessment with him on 9th December 2022. It determined that Mr X was being evicted from his property, and once he was evicted, the Council owed him a relief duty.
19. As part of his assessment, the Council discussed with Mr X the possibility of being referred to its Single Person’s Homelessness Pathway (SPHP) for accommodation. Mr X consented to the referral.
20. In February 2023, the Council referred Mr X to the SPHP. This included an assessment for accommodation where Mr X would receive support to build up his independence and skills.
21. The Council offered Mr X a placement under the SPHP in March 2023. In the offer of accommodation, the Council told Mr X the placement was for six months, and at the end of the six months, a panel would review the placement and decide the next steps.
22. The Council also told Mr X he would not be eligible to apply to the housing register until it was decided that he was ready to keep his own independent tenancy.
23. The Council assigned Mr X an SPHP officer responsible for overseeing the placement.
24. In August 2023, the Council ended its relief duty to Mr X, as he was in the SPHP accommodation.
25. The Council met with Mr X and his representative in September 2023. It is not clear what happened at this meeting, or what the outcomes were. However, it is clear that Mr X felt the Council had obstructed him from accessing the housing register.
26. Mr X complained to the Council. He said:

• His SPHP officer had been rude to him and did not answer his questions about permanent accommodation.
• His placement upheld that he had made improvements and complied with the support.
• His SPHP officer refused to allow him access to the housing register.
• His SPHP failed in their duty of care to support Mr X to access safe and permanent accommodation.
• Mr X asked for a referral to the housing register and for the Council to change his SPHP officer.

27. The Council’s final response to Mr X and his representative said:

• It had spoken to the SPHP officer who said she was not rude, and
• placement told Mr X he needs to display he cook.
• It could not tell Mr X about any internal performance management issues.

28. Mr X remained unhappy and bough his complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

29. The Council’s letter to Mr X when he first took the SPHP accommodation stated the placement was for six months. The Council also told Mr X that at the end of the placement, a panel of officers would review his case to decide what further support may be offered. These were to include:

• referrals to other supported housing schemes,
• help with findings rented accommodation,
• registering them on the housing register, and
• extending the placement to develop skills further.

30. Mr X began the place on 14th March 2023. From the wording in the initial letter, it would have been reasonable to believe a review of Mr X’s placement should have been carried out after six months. This meant placement should have been in September 2023.
31. Mr X has provided his records of a meeting with the Council and placement staff in September 2023, where he says his SPHP officer did not agree to give further support to moving on.
32. The Council has not provided any evidence to show this meeting was a review of the placement, or if this was the panel meeting that was first set out in the letter to Mr X. The Council has said that it is thinks Mr X is not yet ready to hold an independent tenancy. However, it has not explained how it has reached this view or how it communicated this with Mr X.
33. It is not clear what position Mr X is in or what the Council’s decision about the placement is. If the Council believes Mr X’s placement needs to be extended or it cannot support him to access the bidding register, it needs to show how it has reviewed his placement and decided this. Failure to properly manage the process and communicate with Mr X was fault by the Council, causing Mr X uncertainty about his circumstances and support.
34. Part of Mr X’s complaint is about being restricted from the housing register. This was raised in the complaint as part of Mr X’s concerns about his housing officer who he felt had not allowed him to join the housing register. The Council’s complaint response only addressed the behaviour of the officer and not why it was not agreeing for Mr X to join the housing register. This was fault by the Council causing further distress and confusion to Mr X.

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Agreed action

35. Within 4 weeks the Council has agreed to

• Write to Mr X and apologise for the fault identified.
• Pay Mr X £250 in recognition of the distress and confusion caused.
• Review Mr X’s placement and write to him with its decision. If the Council has already reviewed the placement, it should write to Mr X with the outcome, explaining how it reached its decision.

36. Within 12 weeks the Council has agreed to

• Remind staff that where there are meetings held and the Council is the lead agency, it should be keeping records of the meetings, and any actions for the Council.
• Remind staff that where decisions are made, it needs to ensure it evidences how it is communicating about decisions.

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

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Final decision

38. I have completed my investigation. I find fault with the Council for how it communicated with Mr X about his housing needs and eligibility for the housing register.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman