Summary: Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application and stay in Bed and Breakfast accommodation causing distress. We found fault because the Council delayed dealing with Miss X’s homelessness application and she stayed in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for longer than the statutory guidance recommends. The Council has accepted it was at fault. It has already apologised and offered a suitable payment in recognition of the distress caused. So, we have completed our investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains there were failings in the way the Council dealt with her homelessness application and moved her into unsuitable interim accommodation at a hotel causing Miss X and her family distress and financial expense.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I spoke to Miss X and considered the information she provided with her complaint. I considered information from the Council and the supporting documents it provided along with the relevant law and guidance.
5. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft decision. Their comments were considered before making this final decision.

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What I found

Legislation and statutory guidance

6. 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.
7. 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)

The prevention duty

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

Duty to arrange interim and temporary accommodation

11. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
12. 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). 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.
13. 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)
14. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty, but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation.
15. 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)
16. Wherever possible, Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.33)
17. 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)

What happened in this case

18. What follows is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain all the information I reviewed during my investigation.
19. Miss X contacted the Council in May 2023 because her landlord had issued a S21 notice to evict her from the property she rented. The Council asked Miss X to fill in a form and send a copy of the S21 notice. Miss X said she was in experiencing domestic violence from her ex- partner and was in a joint tenancy.
20. In June 2023 Miss X told the Council she did not want Temporary Accommodation and she needed to be allocated a property in early July 2023. This was due to the impact onto the mental health needs of her and her daughter. Miss X confirmed she was receiving support for domestic violence and help from her social worker. The Council asked Miss X to send the S21 notice and supporting information.
21. The Council contacted Miss X at the end of July 2023. Miss X said her landlord had allowed her to remain in the property beyond the eviction date, but she had now returned the keys to the landlord. Miss X advised there had been no further incidents of domestic violence and the relationship with her ex-partner now amicable. Miss X confirmed she was at her mother’s house who permitted a one-night stay.
22. The Council accepted a homeless application from Miss X and provided Miss X and her children with interim accommodation (IA) at a hotel at the beginning of August 2023. The Council says at the time it had no suitable property available to accommodate her. So, it arranged B&B accommodation at the hotel to ensure Miss X and her children did not become roofless.
23. The Council considered the room it offered at the B&B was of an adequate size, suitably located, in reasonable condition, affordable and would not place Miss X at any risk. The Council confirms the IA was provide to Miss X in a clean condition and it was not aware of any issues at the hotel. The Council says Miss X’s homeless application ‘moved to relief duty’.
24. A few days later Miss X reported her accommodation was unsuitable, infested with insects and mice and asked for alternative IA. She told hotel staff about the infestation, and they arranged for an infestation team to visit. Miss X considered the accommodation too far away from her support network and reported strangers knocking on her door pretending to be maintenance workers. The Council asked Miss X to provide photographs of the pest infestations.
25. The Council completed a suitability assessment of the accommodation and considered it suitable for Miss X. The Council told Miss X hotel staff were dealing with her harassment complaints and the reported pest infestation by an intensive treatment programme. The Council explained the shortage of self-contained IA and IA it had available. It advised Miss X to try different options for securing accommodation including private rented properties.
26. A support worker helping Miss X with her children’s school attendance asked the Council for alternative accommodation due to the distress living at the hotel caused the family. The Council activated Miss X’s housing application and allocated her a banding. It told Miss X it would contact her if there was any alternative IA available.
27. The Council says it accepted a relief duty towards Miss X in October 2023. Miss X reported a further insect infestation at the hotel she considered was a health issue. The Council contacted the hotel who advised it was treating the rooms every few weeks. The Council updated Miss X and advised it had no other IA for her. The Council advised Miss X to look for housing association properties and private rented accommodation.
28. A charity complained to the Council on Miss X’s behalf in December 2023. The charity said the Council had not progressed Miss X’s homelessness application and issued a s184 decision. It said Miss X had been placed in B&B accommodation for 20 weeks which was longer than the recommended 6 weeks.
29. The Council contacted Miss X in January 2024 who advised she remained in the IA, was unhappy with the hotel accommodation and bidding for properties without success. Miss X said she returned to the hotel after Christmas to find dead insects in the room. Miss X advised she had been unwell and in hospital. The Council contacted the hotel who advised staff had checked Miss X’s room, found no insects, and put traps down to monitor. The hotel provided the Council with photographs of Miss X’s room.
30. The Council offered Miss X two bedroomed accommodation close to the children’s school and her support network in mid-January 2024. Miss X moved to the accommodation a week later.
31. The charity complained again for Miss X. It noted the Council had offered Miss X alternative accommodation. But she had been in a poor living situation while at the hotel for 24 weeks and 6 days. This was an excess stay of 18 weeks. The charity said Miss X had been subject to hardship, disrepair, lack of access to cooking facilities causing high expenses to buy food, harassment affecting her mental health and causing stress. It noted Miss X reported further insect infestations in January 2024 and green/brown limescale in the bathroom sink. The charity asked the Council to respond to the complaint and offer Miss X financial redress for the excess stay in the B&B accommodation.
32. The Council responded it would be deciding Miss X’s homelessness application shortly. It explained it had offered her the B&B accommodation as a last resort due to a lack of other suitable accommodation. The Council had ensured there was ongoing treatment at the hotel in response to Miss X’s complaints about insects. The hotel had checked Miss X’s room but had found no evidence of an infestation.
33. The Council apologised Miss X’s stay at the B&B had exceeded six weeks between September 2023 to January 2024 and been an excess stay of 19 weeks until Miss X moved to self-contained temporary accommodation. The Council offered Miss X a payment of £1900 to reflect 19 weeks B&B stay at £100 a week.
34. The Council considered the offer of £100 to Miss X was suitable. It based its offer on the B&B being considered an adequate size, suitability located, in a reasonable condition, affordable and would not place Miss X at any risk. The hotel had provided evidence it had resolved any pest and disrepair issues. The Council said it had been unable to verify Miss X’s claims for expenses for travelling to her support network or for food costs.
35. The Council accepted a main housing duty towards Miss X in April 2024. It accepts a delay from accepting a prevention duty towards Miss X and then moving to the relief duty. It also accepts a delay in deciding whether it had a main housing duty as this should be done within 56 days before the relief duty ends. The Council says it was due to a combination of factors including transferring its domestic violence support services to a different provider, the shortage of staff and build-up of a backlog of cases.

My assessment

36. The law says that 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. Miss X’s family were living in B&B accommodation from August 2023 until January 2024. The Council breached its duties under the Housing Act 1996 by failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation. This was fault. The Council also delayed dealing with Miss X’s homelessness application. This is again fault. The faults will have a caused an injustice to Miss X as she had the uncertainty and distress of remaining in B&B accommodation for longer than the statutory guidance recommends.
37. However, the Council has already apologised to Miss X and offered her £1900 for her excess stay of 19 weeks in the B&B accommodation. The Council has explained the reasons for its offer based on the suitability of the B&B accommodation. I consider this is a suitable offer to make to Miss X to remedy the injustice caused to her by the delay in dealing with her homelessness application and excess stay at the B&B accommodation. The Council has taken account of the location, size, affordability of the B&B and it did not place Miss X and her children at risk. The Council’s documents show it responded to Miss X’s complaints about conditions at the B&B to resolve the concerns.
38. I do not consider I can add anything to the investigation already carried out by Council into Miss X’s complaints or that further investigation would lead to a different outcome for Miss X. It is for Miss X to decide if she wishes to accept the Council’s offer of £1900.
39. We have asked the Council to take action on the issues identified in this case in other complaints we have received and investigated. Service improvement recommendations have been made and progress is being monitored. There is therefore no need for me to make any such recommendations in this case.

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Final decision

40. I have completed my investigation. The Council was at fault as it delayed dealing with Miss X’s homelessness application and she stayed in B&B accommodation for longer than the statutory guidance recommends. The Council has offered Miss X a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman