Summary: Miss Y complained the Council failed to properly consider whether it owed Mr X a homelessness duty when he applied to join its housing register. Miss Y said Mr X has been homeless for more than two years as a result and missed the opportunity to bid on suitable properties. We find the Council at fault, and it has agreed to apologise to Mr X, make a payment to recognise the injustice caused, and act to prevent recurrence.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains about how the Council responded to Mr X’s application to join its housing register and considered what homelessness duties it owed to him. Miss Y says Mr X has been left homeless since March 2022 as a result and has missed out on suitable properties.

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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 consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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 spoke to Miss Y about her complaint and considered information she provided. I also considered information received from the Council.
6. Miss Y 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

Relevant law and policy

7. 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))
8. 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))

9. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:

• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.

10. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
11. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make inquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make inquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)
12. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)
13. After completing inquiries, the council must give the applicant a decision in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons. (Housing Act 1996, Section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance 18.32 and 18.33)
14. While a Council is carrying out inquiries in an applicant’s case, it must also secure accommodation for the applicant 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)
15. Councils must take reasonable steps to help secure accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the relief duty.
16. The Homelessness Code of Guidance says that where the council is satisfied that the applicant has a priority need and has become homeless unintentionally, the relief duty comes to an end after 56 days.
17. If the applicant’s homelessness has not been successfully relieved by then, the Council will owe them the main housing duty. The Council must ensure suitable accommodation is available for the applicant and their household until that duty is completed. (Housing Act 1996, Section 192(2))
18. Applications to the Council’s housing register are processed by a range of Social Housing Providers rather than by the Council’s homelessness service. Where the Social Housing Providers identify the Council may owe a homelessness duty to an applicant, they signpost them to the Council’s Housing Options team to take over the management of the application.
19. The Council places successful applicants to its housing register into priority bands according to their priority need. Band A is the highest priority band and includes applicants who are owed the main housing duty. Band C is a medium priority band and includes people who may be categorised as homeless with no priority need or living with family and friends.
20. The Council operates a choice-based lettings scheme which enables housing applicants to bid for available properties which it advertises. However, the Council’s policy also explains that in certain circumstances properties may be allocated directly to applicants outside the choice-based letting scheme, including where a targeted offer is made to an applicant who is owed a homeless duty.

What happened

21. I have summarised below some key events leading to Miss Y’s complaint. While I have considered everything submitted, this is not intended to be a detailed account of what took place.
22. On 8 March 2022, Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register. Mr X explained he had been living with family and friends but had been asked to leave.
23. That day, the Council emailed Mr X to acknowledge his application. The Council explained it could arrange a telephone assessment with a homelessness prevention officer if needed and asked Mr X to provide supporting documentation for his application, including proof of address.
24. Mr X told the Council he was currently sofa surfing and did not have a fixed address. The Council provided Mr X with information about local hostels but did not complete homelessness inquiries.
25. As Mr X had not provided proof of address, the Council closed his application on 9 June 2022. Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register again the following month. Again, he explained he had previously been living with friends and family but had been asked to leave and was now sofa surfing.
26. At this time, the Council wrote to Mr X to confirm he had been accepted onto its housing register in priority Band C as it considered he was living with friends and family. The Council explained Mr X had the right to appeal his banding if he thought it was incorrect and told him how to do this, as well as how to bid for available properties.
27. In July 2023, Miss Y contacted the Council to ask it to review Mr X’s banding. Miss Y explained Mr X relied on support from his family and provided a letter from his doctor which explained he had medical needs that meant he would benefit from having a suitable home near to them.
28. The following month, Miss Y called the Council to chase its decision. She explained Mr X was a vulnerable person and was still currently sofa surfing with no fixed address, and often did not know if he would have anywhere to sleep at night.
29. In August 2023, Miss Y complained to the Council. She said she had contacted its housing options team in July 2023 and made it aware Mr X was homeless, but it had failed to act.
30. The Council reconsidered Mr X’s application in line with the evidence and medical information it had been provided and accepted it owed him a homelessness relief duty in August 2023.
31. Miss Y chased the Council for a response to her complaint and discussed this with it by phone in October 2023. During this conversation, the Council agreed it owed Mr X a relief duty and updated his application to priority Band A, backdated to when Miss Y contacted it in August 2023. The records do not show the Council offered Mr X interim accommodation at this time.
32. Miss Y told the Council Mr X’s circumstances had not changed since he applied to join the housing register in March 2022. She said the Council had known Mr X had been made homeless at that time but had failed to make inquiries and asked it to reconsider her complaint.
33. The Council accepted a main housing duty to Mr X in October 2023 and provided him with a personal housing plan.
34. As the Council did not respond to Miss Y’s complaint, she chased it in November 2023.
35. In January 2024, the Council wrote to Miss Y to confirm it had now accepted it would have owed Mr X a homelessness duty from 24 July 2022 and had backdated his banding to that point. Miss Y disagreed with this decision as she said Mr X’s circumstances when he approached the Council in March 2022 had not changed and so that was when the homelessness duty should have begun.
36. The Council reviewed the evidence Miss Y and Mr X had provided at a panel hearing in March 2024. It wrote to Miss Y to confirm it had agreed, based on his circumstances at the time, it would have owed Mr X a homelessness duty from 8 March 2022 and agreed to backdate his Band A priority to that time.
37. Miss Y has said Mr X has been sofa surfing since his initial application in March 2022 and has had to sleep rough on occasions when he has been unable to stay with friends or family.

Analysis

38. Mr X applied to join the Council’s housing register in March 2022 as he had been asked to leave his current accommodation and was sofa surfing. At this point, the Council should have made inquiries to decide if it owed him any homelessness duty. I find failure to do so is fault. I also find on the balance of probabilities, had the Council made these inquiries its likely it would have offered Mr X interim accommodation. This fault caused Mr X real uncertainty, which is injustice.
39. The Council has now said it would have accepted a homelessness duty to Mr X in March 2022 and placed him in priority Band A if it had carried out the relevant inquiries. Failure to have done so is fault. While the Council has now backdated its duty and Mr X’s banding, this does not fully address the injustice caused to him. I say this because Mr X has remained homeless and did not have the opportunity to bid on suitable properties until two years later, which is injustice.
40. Had the Council accepted a relief duty to Mr X on 8 March 2022, it would have had to decide whether it owed him a main housing duty by 3 May 2022, almost two years earlier than it did so. It would also have had to ensure suitable accommodation was available for him. To date, the Council has not made suitable accommodation available for Mr X, which is fault and means he has continued to rely on friends and family or sleep rough, which is injustice.
41. The Council only accepted a backdated homeless duty to Mr X after Miss Y made considerable efforts to chase it and contest the decisions it had made. I find the Council at fault for failing to gather the relevant information it needed to make a decision when Miss Y first approached it in August 2022. This caused considerable distress and uncertainty for Miss Y, which is injustice.

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Agreed action

42. To remedy the injustice caused by the fault identified above, the Council has agreed to carry out the following actions within one month of this decision:
• Provide Miss Y and Mr X with a written apology for the distress and uncertainty caused by the delays in accepting a homeless duty to Mr X;
• Make a symbolic payment of £150 to Miss Y for the avoidable distress and uncertainty she has been caused by having to continually chase the Council;
• Make a symbolic payment to Mr X of £3,600 to recognise the distress and uncertainty he has been caused by the delay in accepting a homelessness duty. This payment is made up of £150 per month from the date the Council has agreed it should have accepted a homelessness duty to Mr X in March 2022, up until the point it did accept a homelessness duty to him in March 2024;
• Make Mr X an offer of suitable interim accommodation while he is waiting to be rehoused; and
• Remind the Social Housing Providers who process applications to its housing register of the importance of referring applicants to the Council’s Housing Options team where there are any indications the Council may owe a homelessness duty.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

44. I find the Council at fault for failing to make the relevant homelessness inquiries when Mr X applied to join its housing register in March 2022. The Council has accepted the recommendations set out above, and I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman