Summary: Miss X complained the Council failed to move her to alternative temporary accommodation after the landlord took action to repossess the property. The Council was at fault for the delay in moving Miss X, for poor communication and for the delay in responding to her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X to acknowledge the distress and frustration the faults have caused her.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council failed to move her to alternative temporary accommodation after the landlord took action to repossess the property. It also failed to communicate effectively about the matter. This has caused her prolonged avoidable uncertainty and significant 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. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(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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How I considered this complaint

5. I have considered the information provided by Miss X and have discussed the complaint with her representative. I have considered information provided by the Council in response to our initial enquiries and the relevant law and guidance. I have also taken account of other recent cases on similar issues we have considered against this Council.
6. I gave Miss X and the Council the opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments I received in reaching a final decision.

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What I found

The relevant law and guidance

7. 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. 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)
8. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
9. 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) 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)
10. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601)
11. We do not consider that simply adding an applicant to a ‘Transfer List’ and waiting for a suitable property to become available is sufficient for a council to demonstrate how it is meeting its duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation. This is in line with the court’s decision that “putting applicants who are owed the section 193(2) duty, and who are in unsuitable accommodation, on a waiting list for temporary accommodation is not a lawful means of fulfilling the unqualified and immediate duty to secure suitable accommodation for their occupation.” (Elkundi & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2021] EWHC 1024 (Admin) 308)

What happened

12. Since 2019 Miss X has lived with her two children in temporary accommodation, provided to her by the Council under the main housing duty. In April 2023 she received a notice to quit from the landlord. Miss X received a claim for possession in July 2023 which named her and the Council. Miss X contacted the Council for advice, and it arranged to meet with her in August 2023. However, the Council cancelled the appointment three days before the meeting and told her it would contact her which it then failed to do. Miss X’s representative wrote to the Council requesting that she be provided with alternative accommodation immediately. The Council did not acknowledge this until mid October 2023.
13. In September 2023, Miss X attended court. She sought advice from a legal firm who attended court with her. The Court order was confusing but in effect it ordered the Council to provide vacant possession of the property and referred to costs. Miss X complained to the Council. She said her property was due for possession later that month and she had tried contacting the Council, but it had done nothing to help.
14. In October 2023 Miss X received a copy of an application made by the Council to the court to set aside the Court order. She did not receive any advice or explanation about what this meant. Miss X’s representative complained to the Council on her behalf as she had yet to receive a response to her complaint.
15. The Council responded in December 2023. It said it was aware of her case and would arrange to move her to alternative suitable temporary accommodation as soon as possible. It said it would carry out a housing suitability assessment before mid December 2023. The Council then did not contact Miss X for a suitability assessment.
16. Miss X remained unhappy. A representative contacted the Council on her behalf in January 2024. They explained the uncertainty was causing Miss X distress and anxiety and she was being unnecessarily exposed to court fees which she had no means to pay.
17. The Council replied at stage two of its complaints procedure in February 2024. It said its temporary accommodation team were aware of her circumstances and had placed her on the fast track transfer list. It said it could not give a timeline on when she would be transferred but it had done all it could within its duty. It said she was ahead of most people waiting to be transferred although there were others in similar circumstances and the current demand for housing far exceeded the stock the Council had. It said it would pay any fees relating to the court so Miss X did not have to worry about that.
18. The court granted a possession order at a hearing in late October 2023. It issued its judgement in January 2024. Miss X is still on the Council’s transfer list.

Similar complaints against this Council

19. We issued a public interest report in March 2023 about a very long delay in providing suitable temporary accommodation. As part of the resolution to this complaint the Council commissioned an independent external review of the homelessness service and produced an improvement plan based on the review which was to be overseen by the relevant scrutiny committee or cabinet member.
20. In response to another complaint to us concerning temporary accommodation the Council agreed to review its procurement of temporary accommodation to identify ways of increasing the supply of different types of temporary accommodation suitable for families. It produced a report in late 2023 setting out the actions it was taking which included procuring new accommodation.
21. Following a recently decided case where we made findings about similar issues, the Council has agreed to provide:
• a report of progress with the Improvement Plan and evidence of ongoing oversight by the relevant scrutiny committee or cabinet member; and
• details of any other action it has taken to improve the available supply of temporary accommodation.

Findings

22. The Council has a duty to secure suitable accommodation for homeless households to whom it owes the main housing duty. Miss X is living at a property where she has been served a notice to quit and where a possession order has been granted. In addition, the Council has placed her on its transfer list. The Council has in essence accepted it is no longer suitable for Miss X to remain in her current accommodation.
23. The Council failed to communicate effectively with Miss X about the legal proceedings to which both she and the Council were named as parties. It failed to provide her with any support or advice regarding the legal proceedings and failed to keep her updated about its response to the proceedings. This was fault. Miss X had to attend court and face the avoidable stress and uncertainty over whether she may lose her accommodation and incur legal costs, through no fault of her own. Without advice or support from the Council about what she should do, Miss X had to pay a legal firm to support her at the Court hearing.
24. The Council failed to respond to Miss X’s stage one complaint. It also failed to carry out a suitability assessment which it agreed to do in the complaint response. This was fault and added to Miss X’s frustration and distress.
25. It is acknowledged that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas and the shortage of temporary accommodation, particularly in the London area, is outside the Council’s control. However, the law expects councils to rehouse applicants without delay. So, once it accepted the property was unsuitable the Council’s duty to find alternative accommodation was immediate. The Council’s delay in rehousing Miss X is service failure. Miss X is still in the same property nearly 10 months after the case was first heard at court and 13 months after she was first served with a notice to quit. This has caused Miss X prolonged avoidable distress and uncertainty over whether she may be imminently evicted.
26. As set out above, we have recently investigated similar cases where the Council has explained the action it has taken to address the issues with temporary accommodation. So, I have not recommended any additional service improvements.

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Agreed action

27. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to:
1. apologise to Miss X for the delay in finding her suitable temporary accommodation.
2. pay her £1000 (£100 a month) to acknowledge the frustration and distress caused by the significant delay in rehousing her from accommodation it is no longer suitable for her to occupy and to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused by Council’s failure to communicate effectively with her regarding the Court proceedings.
3. continue to pay Miss X £100 a month until it provides her with alternative temporary accommodation or ends its main housing duty.
4. refund to Miss X the cost of the legal support she employed to support her at the Court hearing in September 2023, subject to Miss X providing a receipt/invoice.
28. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

29. I have completed my investigation. There is evidence of fault causing injustice, which the Council has agreed to remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman