Summary: Mr X complained about how the Council has handled his homelessness application; the Council officer’s conduct; disrepair issues at his temporary accommodation; and delay in providing an occupational therapy assessment. We find the Council was at fault for delay in dealing with his review request; delay in providing an occupational therapy assessment and failing to consider his reports around disrepair issues. This caused him significant distress. We make several recommendations to address this injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mr X, complains about:
1. how the Council has handled his homelessness application;
2. the Council officer’s conduct;
3. disrepair issues at his temporary accommodation; and
4. the delay in providing an occupational therapy assessment.

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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. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

5. Mr X initially complained to us in September 2023. I have investigated matters between December 2022 and July 2024 when the Council issued its final complaints response.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I spoke with Mr X about his complaint. I considered all the information provided by Mr X and the Council.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

8. 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.
9. 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)

10. 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. 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)

The relief duty

11. If the Council accepts the relief duty it 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)

Interim accommodation and intentionally homeless decision

12. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
13. It is for councils to satisfy itself in each case whether an applicant is homeless intentionally. On reaching a decision that an applicant has priority need and is intentionally homeless, the Council must secure accommodation for a period of time that will provide a reasonable opportunity for them to find their own accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 15.13)
14. In determining the period of time for which accommodation will be secured, councils must consider each case on its own merits.

Summary of the key events

15. Following Mr X’s homelessness application, the Council accepted the relief duty in early December 2022 and said that he was eligible for assistance and homeless as he had been evicted from his social housing. It also stated it had reason to believe Mr X may have a priority need. It therefore provided Mr X with interim accommodation.
16. A personal housing plan was completed in the same month. It stated Mr X had been provided with advice on local housing allowance and affordability. It was also noted he had been given advice around private rented sector accommodation. The personal housing plan stated Mr X was to complete a housing register application and engage with debt/money advice.
17. The Council’s medical advisor considered Mr X’s medical evidence in December 2022. They stated:
• Mr X had a history of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. But they said there was no suggestion of a severe and underlying psychotic illness such that would significantly affect his cognition or rational thought;
• Mr X had a history of pain. But said there was nothing to suggest his mobility was significantly impaired;
• Mr X had a history of seizures which were investigated in 2012. There was nothing to suggest he required any ongoing regular review under a neurologist;
• Mr X had previous history of craniotomy. But there was nothing to suggest he required any further investigation or treatment; and
• they did not think the specific medical issues in this case were of particular significance compared to an ordinary person.
18. Mr X requested an occupational therapy (OT) assessment in December 2022 following a fall in the bathroom due to his epilepsy.
19. The Council asked Mr X to attend the office in January 2023. But Mr X declined and said he did not want to discuss his housing any further.
20. In the following month, the Council asked Mr X for some further information so it could progress his housing register application.
21. The Council attended Mr X’s temporary accommodation in February 2023. He raised concerns about damp. The Council said this was treated. It attended the property again in March 2023 to further treat the mould.
22. In July 2023 Mr X raised maintenance issues regarding faulty stairs and damp.
23. The Council wrote to Mr X in September 2023. It said it was minded to make an intentionally homeless decision based on his application. But Mr X declined to speak about his previous housing situation.
24. The Council issued a letter to Mr X the following day stating it was satisfied he was intentionally homeless. It said:
• Mr X’s tenancy ended as he was not paying rent and he approached the Council in December 2022 following his eviction;
• the rent arrears amounted to £2387.21;
• between the periods of the tenancy start in 2009 to the end of the tenancy, Mr X was in receipt of benefits every four weeks which would have assisted him with clearing the rent arrears;
• the landlord said they had tried to engage with Mr X to set up a payment plan but Mr X would not engage;
• an officer attempted to attend Mr X’s property to discuss a payment plan to avoid the eviction. But due to an abusive call received by Mr X, the officer did not attend as they felt unsafe;
• Mr X was given the opportunity to make representations but failed to respond to enquiries; and
• it considered whether Mr X had a physical or mental health issue that may have affected his ability to manage his tenancy. But it was noted that the time of the former tenancy, he was diagnosed with the same medical conditions and was paying rent on time until August 2021. It said his ability to manage his tenancy was reasonable.
25. The Council ended the relief duty shortly after and said it had taken reasonable steps to relieve Mr X’s homelessness.
26. Mr X requested a review of the Council’s decision on the 27 September 2023.
27. Following Mr X’s request for OT input, the Council contacted him in October 2023 to see what OT input he required. But he said he did not need help at present. But he said he may need an assessment when he returned to his previous property. He agreed that his case could be closed.
28. In December 2023, the Council told Mr X his application to join the housing register had been accepted and it was effective from the 14 August 2023.
29. In January 2024, the Council acknowledged Mr X’s request for a review and apologised for the delay in responding. It said it had exercised its discretion to continue to provide Mr X with the temporary accommodation pending the outcome of the review.
30. Mr X submitted a further OT referral towards the end of January 2024. The Council accepted his referral in February 2024, but it was noted Mr X had provided very limited information. It advised Mr X he was on the waiting list for a full assessment and asked him to provide further information on the difficulties he was facing.
31. In July 2024 the Council apologised to Mr X for the long review process and requested further information from him.
32. The OT team offered to meet with Mr X in July 2024. But Mr X declined their request.
33. The Council issued its review decision in September 2024 and upheld its previous decision. It said it was satisfied Mr X was intentionally homeless. It also said the Council no longer had a duty to provide him with temporary accommodation and said he was required to leave the property by the 31 October 2024.

Analysis- was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

Part a of the complaint

34. Mr X approached the Council in December 2022 as he had been evicted. The Council accepted the relief duty and provided Mr X with temporary accommodation as it said it had reason to believe he may have priority need. A personal housing plan was completed. Mr X was given advice and advised to apply to join the Council’s housing register.
35. The Council’s medical advisor considered Mr X’s medical information. But they decided there was no medical issues that were of particular significance compared to an ordinary person. This was a decision they were entitled to take and there is no fault in how the decision was reached as all the information was considered.
36. The Council then asked Mr X to attend the office in January 2023. But he declined and said he did not want to discuss his housing any further. Between December 2022 and January 2023, I do not consider there to be any fault in how the Council handled Mr X’s homelessness application. It acted promptly when Mr X approached it and provided him with advice and temporary accommodation.
37. After Mr X declined to discuss his housing any further in January 2023, there is no evidence to suggest the Council took any action until September 2023 when it made its decision that Mr X was intentionally homeless. There is an unexplainable drift in this case, and we would have expected the Council to have made a decision sooner on whether it owed the full housing duty. This is fault. But I do not consider this to have caused significant injustice to Mr X. This is because the Council had made the decision that he was intentionally homeless. Therefore, it did not owe him any housing duty. I also acknowledge that Mr X was provided with temporary accommodation during this time.
38. As stated above, the Council made the decision in September 2023 that Mr X was intentionally homeless. This is detailed in paragraph 24. This was a decision the Council was entitled to take. I have not seen any evidence of fault in how this decision was reached.
39. Mr X requested a review of the Council’s decision on the 27 September 2023. Guidance states councils must notify an applicant of the decision on a review within eight weeks from the day of the request. The Council did not provide Mr X with its decision until September 2024. Therefore, there is a significant delay. This is fault. Whilst I acknowledge that the decision did remain the same, the delay did cause significant distress to Mr X.

Part b of the complaint

40. I have seen no evidence of fault regarding the Council officer’s conduct. In my view, the Council officers have remained professional throughout.

Part c of the complaint

41. Mr X raised concerns about damp in his temporary accommodation in February 2023. The Council said this was treated and treated again in March 2023. Mr X raised further concerns in July 2023 regarding faulty stairs and further damp. I have seen no evidence to suggest the Council considered this or that a further inspection was completed. This is fault. This caused Mr X significant distress.

Part d of the complaint

42. Mr X’s initial request for OT input was made in December 2022. The Council contacted him about this in October 2023. But Mr X agreed the case could be closed. There was a significant delay in the Council contacting him. This is fault. He made a further request for OT input in January 2024. In February 2024 the Council advised Mr X he was on the waiting list for a full assessment. It contacted him in July 2024 to arrange this which Mr X declined.
43. This is evidence of further delay as it took six months for the Council to contact Mr X to complete an assessment. This is fault. Whilst I acknowledge that Mr X has now declined to complete an OT assessment, the delay did cause him significant distress.
44. The Council is in the process of recruiting qualified OT staff and has recently been successful with employing a senior OT. It has also been housekeeping the OT waiting list to ensure residents are safe whilst awaiting an assessment.

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Agreed action

45. To remedy the injustice caused by fault, within one month of my final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• write to Mr X with an apology that takes account of our published guidance on remedies and accepts the findings of this investigation; and
• pay Mr X £300 in recognition of the distress caused to him by the fault identified.
46. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

47. There was fault by the Council. The actions the Council has agreed to remedy the injustice caused. I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman