Summary: Mrs X complained the Council placed her and her family in uninhabitable temporary accommodation. She also complained the Council failed to prevent her becoming homeless, failed to provide her with her Personalised Housing Plan and placed her in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for more than 6 weeks. Mrs X said this impacted her mental health. There was fault in the way the Council kept Mrs X in bed and breakfast accommodation for more than six weeks. The Council did not act to prevent Mrs X from becoming homeless and did not evidence any assessment. This caused Mrs X distress. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council placed her and her family in uninhabitable temporary accommodation. She also complained the Council failed to prevent her becoming homeless, failed to provide her with her Personalised Housing Plan (PHP) and placed her in Bed and Breakfast (B & B) accommodation for more than 6 weeks. Mrs X said this impacted her mental health.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’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

4. I read Mrs X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
5. I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. Mrs X 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

Background information

7. 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.
8. 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 (PHP). (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

The prevention duty

9. If a council is satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they owe the applicant the ‘prevention duty’. This means the council must help the person to ensure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation.
10. Section 175(5) of the Housing Act 1996 says a person is threatened with homelessness if a valid notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 has been served in relation to the only accommodation available for them to occupy and this will expire within 56 days.
11. The Homelessness Code of Guidance, at paragraphs 6.35 to 6.38, says:
• it is unlikely to be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy their accommodation beyond the expiry of a section 21 notice, unless the housing authority is taking steps to persuade the landlord to allow the tenant to continue to occupy the accommodation whilst an alternative is found;
• it is highly unlikely to be reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy beyond the date on which the court has ordered them to leave the property and give possession to the landlord;
• councils should not consider it reasonable for an applicant to remain in occupation up to the point at which the court issues a warrant or writ to enforce an order for possession;
• councils should ensure that homeless families and vulnerable individuals who are owed an interim accommodation or main housing duty are not evicted through the enforcement of an order for possession as a result of failure by the council to make suitable accommodation available to them.
12. Councils can suggest alternative solutions in cases of potential homelessness where these would be suitable and acceptable to the applicant. However councils must not do this to avoid their legal duties, especially the duty to make inquiries into the applicant’s homelessness. The Ombudsman has criticised councils for ‘gatekeeping’ practices, for example, failing to take a homelessness application at the earliest opportunity.

The relief duty

13. 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

14. 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). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
15. Examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;

16. Bed and breakfast (B & B) accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. B & B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.35)
17. When a council secures B & B accommodation for an applicant with family commitments, it should notify the application that the council will be unable to continue to secure B & B accommodation for such applicants any longer than 6 weeks, after which the authority must secure alternative, suitable accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 17.36)

What happened

18. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
19. Mrs X lived in private rented accommodation. Her landlord issued her with an eviction notice in April 2023. Mrs X told the Council, who confirmed the landlord needed to go to court to evict her.
20. In June 2023, Mrs X told the Council the landlord would evict her in August 2023.
21. Mrs X contacted the Council in July 2023. She said the landlord would evict her in August 2023 and asked for help. The Council advised her to contact it closer to the time of eviction.
22. Mrs X continued to contact the Council to ask for support before her landlord evicted her.
23. Mrs X’s landlord evicted her in August 2023. The Council accepted its relief duty and placed her and her family in temporary accommodation in a B & B, 15 miles from her previous home. Mrs X raised concerns about the B & B and continued to contact the Council about issues with the placement.
24. The Council moved Mrs X and her family to a different B & B, nearer to her previous home, at the end of September 2023.
25. The Council accepted the main housing duty for Mrs X in November 2023, ending its relief duty. Mrs X told the Council she was pregnant and suffering from health problems. Mrs X asked the Council to review the suitability of her temporary accommodation.
26. The Council accepted the accommodation was not suitable for Mrs X and her family in January 2024. It confirmed they had been in B & B accommodation for more than the 6 weeks allowed in law. The Council stated it would move the family as soon as alternative accommodation became available.
27. The Council moved Mrs X and her family to Council accommodation in February 2024. It moved her again nine days later. The Council met with Mrs X and accepted the accommodation was not suitable for the family. Mrs X and her family moved to temporary accommodation suitable for her family at the end of February 2024.
28. Mrs X complained to the Council in March 2024. She complained the Council provided her with temporary accommodation in a B & B for 27 weeks. She said the placements were not suitable as she was with her family, she was pregnant and had issues accessing a shared kitchen.
29. The Council provided its complaint response in April 2024. The Council apologised Mrs X’s stay in the B & Bs was more than six weeks. It offered to pay £100 a week for 21 weeks. It stated the Council accommodation was not a B & B so it would not include this in the calculation. The Council offered to pay for takeaways totalling around £450 for the 27 weeks if Mrs X provided evidence.
30. Mrs X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two in April 2024. She said the Council accommodation was the same as a B & B just managed by the Council. She felt the Council should include this in the calculation. Mrs X said the Council had not considered her vulnerabilities or circumstances when offering £100 per week. She also requested the Council paid the £450 for takeaways.
31. The Council provided its stage two response in May 2024. The response said Mrs X should provide evidence of the takeaways. The Council said its accommodation was not a B & B but did agree to offer Mrs X £100 for her time there. The Council offered Mrs X £300 for takeaways for her time in the first placement, as there was no kitchen available. The Council said it would offer £100 per week for the 21 weeks Mrs X was in B & B accommodation.
32. Mrs X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mrs X would like the Council to make a suitable financial payment.
33. In response to my enquiries the Council stated it could not provide the PHP or assessment for Mrs X. It confirmed it accepted Mrs X should not have been in B & B accommodation for 27 weeks.

My findings

34. When Mrs X approached the Council in June 2023, the Council should have considered its options under the prevention duty. We would expect a Council to contact Mrs X’s landlord to try and prevent her becoming homeless or consider other options for her. I have seen no evidence the Council did anything to prevent Mrs X becoming homeless. This is fault.
35. The law states if a Council is satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance the Council must make an assessment of the applicant’s case. The Council cannot evidence any assessment or a PHP. This is fault and Mrs X’s needs may not have been fully assessed.
36. The Council had a duty to secure suitable accommodation for the family. The law says B & B accommodation can only be used for households with dependent children when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. Mrs X and her family lived in B & B accommodation for 27 weeks. The Council breached its duties under the Housing Act 1996 by failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation. This is fault and this distressed Mrs X.
37. When the Council placed the family in B & B accommodation, it should have told Mrs X it could only be provided for six weeks. After this it had a duty to secure alternative, suitable accommodation. It did not do so. This is fault.
38. The Council accepted the B & B accommodation it provided was not suitable. It offered to pay £100 for each week the family remained in B & B accommodation for more than six weeks. It also offered £300 for takeaways when the family did not have access to a kitchen and a further £100 for the nine days in unsuitable Council accommodation.
39. I have considered whether the payment offered by the Council is sufficient to remedy the family’s injustice. Our remedies guidance says that where a family has had to stay in unsuitable B & B accommodation in excess of the six-week legal limit, we are likely to recommend a weekly payment in the range of £100 to £200. This payment is in addition to the reimbursement of any specific quantifiable costs the homeless household incurred.
40. The excessive length of time the family stayed in B & B would have caused them inconvenience and distress. It would have been particularly difficult due to Mrs X being pregnant and the young age of her children. I consider the Council’s offer to make a payment of £100 per week too low.

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Agreed action

41. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Mrs X by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mrs X for not adequately assessing this matter, not acting to prevent her becoming homeless and placing her in unsuitable accommodation for more than the six weeks allowed in law. This apology should be in accordance with the Ombudsman’s new guidance Making an effective apology.
• Pay Mrs X £2,940 for the impact of being placed in unsuitable accommodation for 21 weeks. This figure is based on £140 per week.
• Pay Mrs X the £300 it offered for takeaways.
• Pay Mrs X the £100 it offered for the Council accommodation.
• Pay £300 to recognise the family’s distress.
• I would generally make a service improvement recommendation. The Ombudsman has already made service improvement recommendations on the issues raised in this matter in other cases. We are actively monitoring the Council’s actions.
42. The Council should provide evidence of the actions taken to satisfy the recommendations.

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Final decision

43. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, which caused injustice to Mrs X.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman