Summary: Mr B complained how the Council handled his housing situation. He says the Council’s communication was poor, it failed to give him adequate support, it provided him poor advice when he asked for help to resolve his homelessness and it provided him with unsuitable accommodation. We find the Council was at fault for how it handled Mr B’s housing situation. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to address the injustice caused by fault.

The complaint

1. Mr B complained how the Council handled his housing situation. He says the Council’s communication was poor and it failed to give him adequate support. He adds it provided him with poor advice when he asked for help to resolve his homelessness and it provided him with unsuitable accommodation. Finally, he says the Council failed to look after his belongings properly while he was in interim and temporary accommodation.
2. Mr B says the matter has caused distress, upset and financial loss.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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)
5. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
6. 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)
7. 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)

What I have and have not investigated

8. Mr B says the Council failed to look after his belongings properly while he was in interim and temporary accommodation. He says when he received his belongings from storage, they were damaged. Negligence and liability for alleged resulting damage are not straightforward matters, so it is more appropriate for the courts than the Ombudsman to decide such matters. If someone is complaining of damage to their possessions while in storage a council arranged, we expect the complainant to pursue a claim through the council’s insurers. If that does not resolve matters, we would expect the complainant to make a claim for damages in the county court. Therefore, I will not investigate this part of Mr B’s complaint.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

9. I considered information from Mr B. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered information it sent in response.
10. Mr B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Homelessness

11. 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)

12. The homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (Code of Guidance) states:

• When an applicant is an assured shorthold tenant who has received a valid notice in accordance with section 21 of the Housing Act 1988;
• The housing authority is satisfied that the landlord intends to seek possession and further efforts from the housing authority to resolve the situation and persuade the landlord to allow the tenant to remain in the property are unlikely to be successful; and
• There would be no defence to an application for a possession order;

Then it is unlikely to be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy beyond the expiry of a valid section 21 notice, unless the housing authority is taking steps to persuade the landlord to allow the tenant to continue to occupy the accommodation for a reasonable period to provide an opportunity for alternative accommodation to be found.

The prevention duty

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)

The relief duty

14. 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

15. 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 (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Interim and temporary accommodation

16. 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)
17. The accommodation a council provides under the main housing duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
18. 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)

Review rights

19. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the suitability of accommodation offered after a council has accepted a homelessness duty (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193).
20. The review must be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision and who is more senior to the original decision maker. The council must advise applicants of their right to appeal to the county court on a point of law, and of the period in which to appeal when it has completed the review.

What happened

21. This chronology includes an overview of key events and does not detail everything that happened.
22. Mr B approached the Council in May 2022 for housing assistance. He said his landlord had served him with a section 21 notice. A section 21 notice is a formal document served by a landlord to notify the tenant of their intention to repossess a property. The notice does not end a tenancy. The tenancy continues until the landlord obtains a possession order and enforces this with a warrant of possession. The Council accepted the prevention duty in July and said it was satisfied Mr B was eligible for assistance. It devised a personal housing plan. It said it would contact Mr B’s landlord to see if there was any negotiation around the tenancy. It noted on the plan Mr B would need to complete an income and expenditure form so it could assess how much rent he could afford to pay. It also said it would review the plan in August.
23. The Council telephoned Mr B in September. Mr B said he had not received a possession order. He said he was unhappy the Council had not rehoused him. The Council told Mr B it could help him with rent in advance and a deposit. Mr B said this was not helpful as he could not find a private sector property. The Council told Mr B to contact it with any developments.
24. The Council helped Mr B apply to join the housing register in January 2023. It also sent him details of available private sector properties. Mr B told the Council the court date for the possession order was in mid-February. He also said the property he was living in was unsuitable for him. An occupational therapist (OT) completed an assessment and said if Mr B moved to temporary accommodation, a self-contained unit rather than a communal property was preferable. She also said if self-contained accommodation was not possible Mr B would need support. She added Mr B needed level access accommodation as he struggles with stairs.
25. The Council spoke to Mr B in late March. Mr B said he had been to court and the judge had dismissed the case. He said his landlord had sent him a new section 21 notice. The Council asked him to the send the notice and the court judgement.
26. The Council telephoned Mr B as the section 21 notice was due to expire. Mr B explained there had been no further court hearings, but it was likely the landlord would be continuing with the eviction. The Council explained it could open a relief duty which came with a duty to provide interim accommodation. It said it did not have any self-contained emergency accommodation in his preferred area and any accommodation would be out of his preferred area. It said alternatively he could remain in his current property. Mr B said he would think about his options.
27. The Council emailed Mr B in June and provided letters confirming it had ended the prevention duty and it was working with him under a relief duty. It said in the letter the offer was still available for interim accommodation. It also reallocated his case to a new officer. It said the officer would contact him to review his situation and agree an updated personal housing plan. The officer (Officer A) called Mr B and left a voicemail.
28. A different officer contacted Mr B in July. Mr B told the officer he had to leave his property in August.
29. Mr B complained to the Council about its communication with him. The Council phoned Mr B in August to get some further information about his complaint. Mr B said he made several calls but had not received a response. He also said it failed to provide him with appropriate support.
30. The Council responded to Mr B’s complaint. It said it failed to tell him it had reallocated his case in June because of an IT issue. It said Officer A only contacted him once and then she left the Council. It also said he left messages with the customer services department, but it failed to return his calls. It said there was a lack of consistency in providing him with support with his homelessness application. Once his most recent section 21 notice expired, it should have contacted him to try and resolve his situation. It apologised for the way it handled his case and for the distress caused.
31. The Council contacted Mr B to explain the options available. It provided him with interim and temporary accommodation in various hotels and holiday lets from August onwards.
32. The Council accepted the main housing duty for Mr B in September. It told Mr B he had a right to review the temporary accommodation he was living in.
33. Mr B complained to the Council in September about the suitability of the temporary accommodation. He said he did not have access to appropriate cooking facilities, and he was struggling to use the stairs. He said the previous interim accommodation also had stairs which he had struggle to use. He raised a further complaint in October and said the Council had placed him in a hotel and it was not suitable for him.
34. In October Mr B was evicted from the hotel temporary accommodation. The Council provided Mr B with alternative temporary accommodation in a holiday home.
35. Mr B moved to permanent accommodation in October. The Council ended its main housing duty to Mr B.
36. Mr B made a further complaint to the Council. He said he had to sleep in his car for one night as it failed to arrange alternative accommodation when he was evicted from the hotel. He said the Council told him to stay in his previous property which resulted in court costs.
37. The Council issued its final response. It said it carried out suitability assessments for each placement and it decided they were suitable. It said it arranged a new booking when he was evicted from the hotel, and it sent a text message and email with the details. It said it did not advise him to remain the property beyond the date of the possession order and so it was not responsible for the court costs.

Back to top

Analysis

38. Mr B refers to matters from July 2022, but he did not refer his complaint to us until December 2023. Events before December 2022 would usually be caught by the restriction in paragraph six of this statement. However, Mr B was going through a stressful time with his housing situation, and he had to attend court. This prevented him from complaining sooner. Therefore, I have exercised discretion to investigate matters from July 2022.

Communication and lack of support

39. The Council issued a personal housing plan in July 2022. It agreed to contact Mr B’s landlord to try and resolve the issue with the tenancy. There is no evidence the Council did this, which is fault. The Council also failed to hold regular reviews of the personal housing plan and provide Mr B with regular updates.
40. From January 2023 the Council took more proactive steps to help Mr B. However, when the second section 21 notice expired, the Council agreed to update Mr B’s personal housing plan and contact him to review his situation. Officer A only contacted Mr B once and she failed to take any action to progress the case. The Council then reallocated Mr B’s case twice which meant he did not have a consistent level of support. The Council also failed to return Mr B’s calls when he was seeking updates about his case.
41. Mr B says the Council failed to properly communicate with him about alternative accommodation when he was evicted from the hotel temporary accommodation. He says he had to sleep in his car for one night because of the Council’s fault. The Council emailed Mr B and provided him with details of alternative accommodation before he had to leave the hotel. Therefore, I do not uphold this part of Mr B’s complaint.
42. The Council’s faults from paragraphs 39 and 40 of this statement caused Mr B frustration and distress at a difficult time, and he was put to some inconvenience chasing for updates. He also has some uncertainty whether the situation could have been resolved sooner if the Council had taken more proactive steps to help him at the outset.

Poor advice

43. Mr B says the Council told him to stay in his previous property which resulted in court costs. I have seen no evidence the Council told Mr B to stay in his property. The Council helped Mr B apply to the housing register and it provided him with details of available private sector rented properties. Therefore, it is clear the Council was trying to help Mr B find alternative accommodation. The Council also told Mr B in May 2023 he could choose to stay in his property or move to interim accommodation. Mr B did not pursue interim accommodation until a few months later.
44. Having said that, I have seen no evidence the Council considered whether it was reasonable for Mr B to remain in the property after the first section 21 notice expired. The Code of Guidance states it is unlikely to be reasonable for a tenant to continue to occupy a property beyond the expiry of the section 21 notice unless the Council is taking steps to persuade the landlord to allow them to remain for a reasonable period. I appreciate the judge dismissed the first section 21 notice, but the Council did not know that was going to happen. The Council knew the section 21 notice had expired, and the matter was going to court. The Council had not taken any steps to negotiate with the landlord. Therefore, it should have fully assessed the situation and decided whether it needed to provide Mr B with interim accommodation and award him the relief duty when the section 21 notice expired. The Council’s failure to do so provides Mr B with uncertainty about what would have happened.

Unsuitable accommodation

45. The law is clear councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of their household. Mr B explained in his complaint emails from September and October 2023 he considered the accommodation was unsuitable. The Council should have conducted a suitability review. It failed to do so. This is fault. The Council said in response to Mr B’s complaint the accommodation was suitable. However, I do not consider this was a suitability review as it did not address the points Mr B raised and it also did not offer Mr B a right to review its decision.
46. The Council also did not complete suitability assessments for all the interim and temporary accommodation it placed Mr B in. This is fault. The OT said Mr B should live in level access accommodation that was self-contained. However, in some the accommodation, Mr B had to use the stairs and communal cooking facilities. The Council’s failure to complete suitability assessments means there is no evidence it satisfied itself how and why the accommodation was suitable for Mr B.
47. The Council stated in its response to my enquiries it considers the accommodation was suitable for Mr B. However, this assessment is months after the event and is not a detailed review. I cannot say, even on the balance of probabilities, what the Council would have decided if it had conducted suitability assessments or completed suitability reviews at the time. However, the Council’s fault leaves Mr B with a significant level of uncertainty.

Back to top

Agreed action

48. By 27 June 2024 the Council has agreed to:

• Apologise to Mr B for the injustice caused by the faults identified in this statement.
• Pay Mr B £400 for his distress, frustration, inconvenience, and uncertainty.

49. By 25 July 2024 the Council has agreed to:

• Remind relevant officers they must conduct suitability assessments before placing homeless applicants in interim and temporary accommodation.
• Remind relevant officers they must conduct suitability reviews when a homeless applicant raises concerns about the suitability of their temporary accommodation.
   

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

Back to top

Final decision

51. There was fault by the Council, which caused Mr B an injustice. The Council has accepted my recommendations and so I have completed my investigation.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman