Summary: Miss B complained that the Council had failed to find her and her family suitable temporary accommodation since February 2023 when it concluded her current accommodation was unsuitable for her needs. We found fault with Council’s actions. The Council has agreed to pay her £500, review with Miss B the type of accommodation which could be suitable and find her alternative accommodation within three months.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that the London Borough of Enfield (the Council) failed to find suitable accommodation for her since February 2023 when the Council upheld her review that the property was unsuitable for her son’s needs. Miss B is currently unable to bath her child without support from social care and this support is only temporary. This situation has caused and continues to cause Miss B significant distress and inconvenience, with no end in sight

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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. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(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. I have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Miss B 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

Suitability of accommodation

6. 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 Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
7. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s 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)
8. 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)

What happened

9. Miss B and her three children have been living in privately rented temporary accommodation since 2020. Her son has additional needs. In November 2022 an occupational therapy assessment concluded that her son needed a walk-in shower or bath in the long-term and in the meantime some grab-rails and a bath lift to help Miss B get him in and out of the bath. Her landlord refused to allow grab-rails to be installed so the adaptions did not proceed.
10. In December 2022 Miss B requested a review of the suitability of her accommodation due to the difficulties in bathing her son.
11. On 13 February 2023 the Council decided her accommodation was not suitable. It said it would arrange to move her to alternative accommodation as soon as a suitable property became available. The Council carried out a new suitability assessment and noted the need to avoid stairs and a preference for access to outdoor space. It said she needed a ground-floor three bedroom property with a level-access shower or walk-in bath or with the potential to adapt. The Council provided social care support for six months to help Miss B bathe her son safely.
12. In June 2023 the Council referred her to the homeless support service to try and find her some accommodation but this was unsuccessful.
13. In August 2023 Miss B made a formal complaint. The Council responded on 25 September 2023 at stage one of its complaints procedure. It apologised for the failure to find a suitable property. It said her case had been passed to the internal procurement team but said there was a national shortage of properties particularly larger and adapted accommodation. It has changed its placement policy to allow it to provide accommodation across the country to deal with the problem. It said the Council would contact her directly once it had found a suitable property. She could also look for properties herself in the private rented sector. The Council could provide financial assistance to help with any rent in advance or deposit payments.
14. Miss B escalated her complaint to stage two of the complaints procedure. The Council replied on 16 October 2023. It again explained the problem was a shortage of suitable properties and said the only bungalow available that week was in Hertfordshire. It said a few adapted three-bedroom houses had come up, but these had stairs. It had referred the case to the procurement team who were actively seeking properties which may not come up through the usual channels. It had considered looking at a direct offer of social housing or using social housing stock for temporary accommodation but considering the scarcity of such accommodation and the needs of the households waiting for it was not possible to consider.
15. In response to my enquiries the Council said most homeless applicants were offered accommodation in the private sector, but Miss B was also on the housing register and able to bid for social housing. However, the average waiting time for three bedroom accommodation is more than 15 years. It had reviewed the social care provision in October 2023 and extended it for another six months.

Analysis

16. Miss B has been living in unsuitable accommodation for a year. The Council agrees the accommodation is unsuitable but has been unable to provide anything else suitable due to the lack of adapted larger properties in the area.
17. I consider the Council has been at fault in failing to find suitable alternative accommodation since 13 February 2022. I understand the pressures on housing in the area are immense and the delay is largely due to external factors beyond the Council’s control such as a shortage of temporary accommodation. But the fact that a council has not met the statutory duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation is sufficient to make a finding of service failure.
18. This fault has caused, and continues to cause, Miss B distress and uncertainty. She has assistance with bathing her son, but she still has to negotiate stairs with him and there is no access to outdoor space.

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Agreed action

19. In recognition of the injustice caused to Miss B, I recommended the Council within one month of the date of my final decision:
• pays Miss B £500;
• discusses with Miss B whether any alternatives to a three bedroom property entirely on the ground floor may be possible: for example a property with a ground floor room which could be used as a bedroom and a ground-floor bath/shower-room; and
• following those discussions, makes an offer of suitable alternative accommodation to Miss B as soon as possible. If this is not achieved within three months of the date of my final decision, the Council should update us as to its progress and pay Miss B a further £300.
20. We have in a recent complaint asked the Council to review its procurement of temporary accommodation to increase the supply of different types of accommodation for families. So, I will not repeat the recommendation here.
21. The Council has agreed to my recommendations and should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

22. I consider this is a proportionate way of putting right the injustice caused to Miss B and I have completed my investigation on this basis.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman