Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s actions regarding her temporary homeless accommodation, linked to costs of running a dehumidifier at one property and the suitability of a second property she later moved to. There was evidence of fault in the condition of the first property. The Council has already apologised and made payments to Miss X for electricity costs and to remedy the injustice caused by the issues. There was no fault in how the Council conducted a suitability review on the second property. I am satisfied any injustice to Miss X has already been remedied.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council has not offered her appropriate reimbursement for electricity costs from when it provided her with a dehumidifier to combat dampness in her temporary homeless accommodation. She also complains that now she has moved, her current temporary accommodation is not suitable.
2. She says this has caused her distress and frustration and that she is now in debt to her electricity provider.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(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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What I have and have not investigated

5. My investigation begins when Miss X moved into temporary homeless accommodation in December 2022 and ends when the Council completed its suitability review of Miss X’s next temporary accommodation, in November 2022.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I have considered all the information Miss X provided. I have also asked the Council questions and requested information, and in turn have considered the Council’s response.
7. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I have taken any comments received into consideration before reaching my final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness legislation and statutory 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.

Interim and temporary accommodation

9. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
10. 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)
11. If, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need, the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Suitable temporary accommodation

13. 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)
14. 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)
15. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is an ongoing duty. Councils must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.8)
16. A suitability review should be completed within eight weeks of being requested.

What happened

17. I have set out below a summary of the key events. This is not meant to show everything that happened.
18. As part of its homelessness duties, the Council looked to arrange temporary accommodation (TA) for Miss X.
19. Early in December 2022, the Council found what it considered to be a suitable property for Miss X and her family. In mid-December, Miss X moved into the property, property A. The Council advised Miss X of her suitability review rights when offering the property. Property A was not in the Council’s area, but a nearby area instead (Council B).
20. Towards the end of January 2023, Miss X reported damp and mould in the kitchen of the property to the Council. The Council advised the landlord of the issues on the same day.
21. At the beginning of March 2023, Council B arranged for a dehumidifier to be sent to the property.
22. In mid-May 2023, the Council inspected the property with the landlord. It noted damp on the external kitchen wall. The Council’s report stated the landlord would contact Council B about it.
23. At the end of July 2023, Miss X contacted the Council to say the dehumidifier was still in the property and the wall was still damp. Miss X said she had stopped using the machine due to the costs involved and that she was awaiting re-imbursement.
24. At the beginning of August 2023, Miss X again contacted the Council to say the dehumidifier had now been collected but the kitchen wall was still wet.
25. A week later, Miss X’s landlord requested vacant possession of property A.
26. By the end of August 2023, the Council had found Miss X different TA, property B.
27. After viewing the property, Miss X emailed the Council to say that she was concerned about its layout and lack of storage space.
28. The Council advised that as she had now signed a tenancy agreement for the property, she needed to follow its procedure to request a suitability review.
29. Miss X requested a review of property B at the beginning of September 2023. Later in September, Miss X submitted a medical priority form for the Council’s consideration linked to whether or not property B was suitable for her and her family’s needs.
30. At the end of September 2023, Miss X complained to the Council about the standard of both property A and B. She also complained of alleged damage to her belongings from damp and mould in property A.
31. At the beginning of October 2023, the Council sent Miss X a detailed response about its initial suitability review decision for property B. It advised it considered the property to be suitable but asked her to submit photographs of various rooms for evidence purposes.
32. At the end of October 2023, the Council contacted Miss X regarding a household support fund – a scheme to support residents who were struggling with the cost of living. Miss X applied saying she had electricity arrears of around £1100.
33. At the beginning of November 2023, the Council sent Miss X its final decision on the suitability review of her TA at property B. The Council confirmed its previous stance that the property was reasonable and suitable for her and her family’s needs. The letter advised Miss X of her right to appeal the decision on a point of law to the county court.
34. A week later, the Council sent its stage one complaint response to Miss X. In this, it:
• listed some of the remedial actions it had taken regarding dampness in property A;
• outlined how the Council had assisted her with moving some of her belongings from property A to property B; and
• said it had agreed to write off rent arrears of £918 which were as a result of Miss X not moving immediately from one property to the other.
35. The Council asked Miss X to provide evidence of damaged belongings. It ended the letter by partly upholding the complaint as she had experienced some disrepair issues in property A, but said it was the Council’s view it had never fallen below lettable standards.
36. Unhappy with this, Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two of the Council’s process.
37. In mid-November 2023, the Council granted Miss X a one-off payment of £400 from its household support fund, specifically to help towards her electricity arrears.
38. At the beginning of December 2023, the Council sent its stage two response. In this, the Council said:
• it had considered the increased electricity usage during the time she used the dehumidifier (87 days during March to May 2023) and was going to reimburse her;
• it intended to reimburse Miss X £2.50 per day for the dehumidifier running costs, amounting to £217.50 for the period concerned;
• it was also offering her £350 to recognise the distress and inconvenience caused to her and her family; and
• any alleged damage to belongings would need to be dealt with via the Council’s insurers.
39. Miss X then brought her complaint to the Ombudsman.

Analysis

Dehumidifier

40. Miss X complains she has been placed into debt by the electricity bill caused by the dehumidifier use.
41. In response to my enquiries, the Council explained how it decided on the amount of £2.50 per day to run the dehumidifier.
42. It said its housing repair policy in force at the time set out £2.50 as a daily amount for the cost of additional electricity, which is how the officer had calculated the payment offer to Miss X. The Council offered to re-imburse Miss X for the entire period she used the dehumidifier.
43. The Council sent me a copy of the policy in force currently which clearly states the amount as per the Council’s offer. I am satisfied the Council offered to appropriately reimburse Miss X according to its relevant policy. I therefore find no fault on the part of the Council in the amount of its offer for additional electricity costs.
44. The Council admitted fault in its stage one response when it recognised there were disrepair issues regarding the kitchen wall in property A. The Council apologised for this and in its stage two response offered Miss X £350.
45. In response to my enquiries, the Council clarified its offer of £350 was to reflect the distress and inconvenience of chasing the issue with the dampness and for the impact this had on the family. Whilst I consider the Council could have been more proactive in dealing with Miss X’s complaints about the damp wall, I am satisfied, in the circumstances of this complaint, there is no unremedied injustice linked to this. I am also satisfied the remedy was appropriate for the injustice caused by the fault. The amount offered was in line with the Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. I do not intend to make any further recommendations linked to this.

Suitability of property B

46. Miss X was advised of the relevant procedure to challenge the Council on the suitability of property B.
47. I have viewed the suitability review documents sent to Miss X. The letters provide detailed information on the Council’s considerations and how it reached its decision. The Council offered Miss X the opportunity to provide evidence at the interim stage and completed the review broadly on time according to statutory guidelines. The Council advised Miss X of her right to appeal the decision on a point of law to the county court.
48. I am satisfied the Council’s actions in how it carried out the review and notified Miss X of her rights were correct and appropriate. I find no fault in the Council’s actions here and make no further recommendations.
49. The Council’s duty to provide suitable accommodation is ongoing. Miss X has the right to request future suitability reviews, should she feel this relevant.

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Final decision

50. I have now completed my investigation. I uphold this complaint with a finding of fault causing an injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman