Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to place her in suitable accommodation, it did not allow her to place bids for social housing properties and it did not properly respond to her queries and her complaint. We have not investigated the suitability of Miss X’s temporary accommodation as she had appeal rights to use to challenge this. However, we found there was a failure to place her on the housing register and the Council’s complaint response was poor. We recommended an apology and a payment to reflect the impact of the fault by the Council.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains the Council placed her and her baby in unsuitable accommodation, did not allow her to bid for properties on the Council’s housing allocation system and it failed to respond to her complaint appropriately. As a result, Miss X had to remain in unsuitable accommodation for too long, causing her upset and distress.

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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. 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)
4. 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)
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone has a right of appeal, reference or review to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to use this right. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. Miss X complained to us in February 2024. Her complaint concerns events back to September 2021. As we expect complaints to be brought in 12 months of someone knowing about the events subject to complaint, some aspects of the complaint are ‘late’. Although this is the case, I have exercised discretion to consider the events of the complaint back to January 2022. This is because Miss X made enquiries of the Council in 2022 and 2023 to follow up her situation and when she formally complained there was some delay in responding to her complaint by the Council. Our investigation considers events up to May 2024 when the Council finished responding to the complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I spoke to Miss X and considered her complaint. I asked the Council for information and considered its response to the complaint.
8. Miss 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

The Council’s Complaints Policy

9. The Council’s policy for dealing with complaints says it will acknowledge complaints within 5 days and the relevant service will send a response within 20 days. If someone wishes to escalate the complaint to the second stage of the process, the complaints team will investigate, independently of the relevant department, and it will reply within a further 20 days of a valid request for escalation.

Bed and Breakfast Accommodation (B&B)

10. 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).
11. Bed and Breakfast 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.

Suitability of Accommodation

12. Homelessness Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation offered to them after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under a main housing duty). 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 Homelessness (Review Procedure etc.) Regulations 2018, Homelessness Code of Guidance Chapter 19)

Background

13. Miss X presented to the Council as homeless in 2021. The Council accepted a homelessness relief duty on 13 September 2021.
14. Miss X told us the Council placed her in temporary accommodation in a hotel in September 2021. She moved to the hotel straight from the hospital with a newborn baby. The hotel accommodation had its own self-contained bathroom and kitchen facilities.

What Happened

15. In February 2022 the Council accepted a main housing duty to house Miss X and the Council continued to provide the hotel as temporary accommodation for her. The letter sent to Miss X stated the Council’s duty to provide her with Temporary Accommodation would continue until she found private rented accommodation or until it could make an offer of social housing. The letter explained that Miss X could request a review of the suitability of the accommodation within 21 days. The Council told Miss X it was not possible to say how long she would remain in the hotel as it would depend on her housing priority on the housing register.
16. There is evidence Miss X asked the Council for an update and how long it would take to find alternative accommodation in March 2022 and again in March and July 2023. She was told, because she had self-contained accommodation it was not likely she would be moved for some time. No mention was made of her position on the housing register.
17. Miss X complained in November 2023 about no-one getting back to her and the length of time she had been in a hotel. The Council acknowledged the complaint and allocated a complaint reference number. In January 2024 the Council sent a response which apologised for the delay in responding and stated her complaint had been passed to the relevant team to address. Although it provided no response at that time, it closed her complaint referencing it as an ‘enquiry’.
18. In mid-April 2024 Miss X asked for complaint to be escalated. The Council responded at the end of May. It apologised that its earlier response to the complaint did not resolve the matter. It noted contact had been attempted with her using an out-of-date phone number. The Council explained its view that the hotel accommodation it provided was suitable as it had self-contained facilities. It noted Miss X could request a review of suitability and it clarified how to do this.
19. In relation to its housing register the Council stated, it understood Miss X had experienced a delay in receiving details of how she could bid for social housing properties. It confirmed this had been rectified, Miss X had been given Band 3 priority and it provided a reference number and details of how she could place bids for properties. In summary the Council apologised for the quality of service, its failure to respond properly at the first stage of the complaints process and for failing to provide details of how to place bids for properties in a reasonable time. It offered Miss X £150 to recognise the impact of this.
20. The Council confirmed to us that it placed Miss X onto the housing register and provided her with log-on details to enable her to bid for properties on 3 May 2024 following its response to the complaint. The Council stated she had been placed in Band 3 with an effective date of 13 September 2021 (the date when she first presented as homeless and should have been placed on the housing register).

Was there fault by the Council

21. We have not considered the suitability of the temporary accommodation Miss X was placed in. Miss X had appeal rights which would have allowed her to challenge the suitability of the accommodation. When the Council accepted a full duty to house her in February 2022, it explained that she could ask for a review and appeal of the suitability of the accommodation. It would be appropriate for Miss X to use these appeal rights. We have established that the accommodation does not constitute ‘bed and breakfast’ accommodation (as defined by the law).
22. However, there was fault by the Council. The Council failed to place Miss X on the housing register when she initially presented as homeless. It then missed numerous opportunities to correct the situation when Miss X made contact to enquire about her housing situation in 2022 and 2023.
23. Furthermore, the Council failed to properly respond to the complaint Miss X made in late 2023. The Council acknowledged this as a formal complaint, but its response failed to provide a proper response at the first stage of the complaint process. It did not address the issues she raised and reverted to calling it an ‘enquiry’ rather than a complaint. The Council only properly responded to the complaint in April 2024. The complaint response was also late.
24. In response to the complaint, the Council provided us with details of properties that were let to other people during the period Miss X was not given access to the housing register. While it was poor that Miss X did not have access for so long, we are satisfied that she did not directly miss out on a property as a result. However, to reflect there was distress caused by the poor quality of the Council’s service, the delay in placing her on the housing register and the poor complaint handling, we have recommended a larger payment than the Council previously offered her.

Agreed action

25. Within four weeks of our final decision:
26. The Council should apologise to Miss X for the fault we have identified. The apology should adhere to our guidance on making effective apologies. This can be found on our website, within our Guidance on Remedy here.
27. To recognise the distress caused as a result of the poor quality of service, complaint handling and the delay placing Miss X on the housing register, the Council should make a payment to her of £300.
28. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

29. There was fault by the Council.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman