Summary: Mrs X complained that the Council failed to provide her and her family with interim accommodation when she first presented as homeless and later placed them in unsuitable interim accommodation. We found the Council placed the family in unsuitable interim accommodation in a hotel for longer than the law allows. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Mrs X and make a payment to her.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complains that the Council failed to provide her and her family with interim accommodation when she presented as homeless and, as a result she had to stay in hotels. Mrs X says the Council later placed the family in unsuitable interim accommodation. She also says the Council failed to help her with storage of her belongings.

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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. The Ombudsman’s view, based on caselaw, is that ‘service failure’ is an objective, factual question about what happened. A finding of service failure does not imply blame, intent or bad faith on the part of the council involved. There may be circumstances where we conclude service failure has occurred and caused an injustice to the complainant despite the best efforts of the council. This still amounts to fault. We may recommend a remedy for the injustice caused and/or that the council makes service improvements. (R (on the application of ER) v CLA (LGO) [2014] EWCA civ 1407)
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 all the information provided by Mrs X, made enquiries of the Council and considered its comments and the documents it provided.
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

Homelessness

7. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council:
• 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)
8. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help them 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

The prevention duty

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Interim and temporary accommodation

12. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
13. 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)
14. 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.
15. 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)
16. 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.
17. 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)
18. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.
19. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when they consider if it is suitable for the applicant and members of their household. If a council places an applicant outside its district, it must consider, among other matters:
• the distance of the accommodation from the “home” district;
• the significance of any disruption to the education of members of the applicant’s household; and
• the proximity and accessibility to local services, amenities and transport. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012)
20. Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. It should only be used as a last resort in an emergency and then for the shortest time possible. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.24 and from 3 April 2018 17.30)
21. 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 from 3 April 2018 Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.32)

Protection of belongings

22. Where a council owes or has owed certain housing duties to an applicant, it must protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged because the applicant is unable to protect it or deal with it and no other suitable arrangements have been made. A council may make a reasonable charge for storage. (Housing Act 1996, section 211, Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 20)

Key facts

23. Mrs X was living in private rented accommodation with her two children, one of whom is at college and the other is a young adult. In June 2023 Mrs X received a notice of possession from her landlord and contacted the Council for help. The Council completed an assessment and requested some documents.
24. In September Mrs X’s landlord obtained a warrant for eviction. The eviction was due to take place on 22 November. Mrs X looked for alternative accommodation but was unable to find any.
25. On 24 October Mrs X went to the Council’s offices and spoke to a senior housing officer. She informed him of the impending eviction and provided a copy of the eviction notice. The officer sent an email to the homelessness team but Mrs X heard nothing further from the Council.
26. On 22 November Mrs X presented to the Council as homeless together with her children and her dog. Mrs X says the caseworker told her to send in all relevant documents then go and stay with friends or family because there was no available accommodation. Mrs X says she explained that she had no friends or family in the country and nowhere to go. She says the officer advised her that, in that case, she should go to a hotel. The Council denies this and says it offered Mrs X interim accommodation but she said she would stay with friends for a few nights.
27. Mrs X says the family were walking the streets trying to find a place to stay that would take the dog. They then moved from hotel to hotel.
28. On 28 November the caseworker sent an email to Mrs X requesting various documents so that the Council could assist further. Mrs X says she had provided all the requested documents on 22 November.
29. On 8 December the Council completed a personalised housing plan and sent a copy to Mrs X together with information on finding her own home. It also explained it owed her a relief duty and offered her interim accommodation in a hotel. Mrs X explained that she was already staying in a hotel that she had paid for until Monday and would then move to the hotel offered by the Council.
30. On 11 December Mrs X and her family moved to the hotel accommodation offered by the Council. She and her children had to share one room and had no access to food preparation or cooking facilities or laundry facilities. The hotel did not accept pets. Mrs X told the Council the accommodation was not suitable because the family had a cat and a dog and the dog was a therapy pet.
31. On 21 December the caseworker sent an email to Mrs X saying she had spoken to the hotel and it had agreed the dog could stay with the family. However, it would not accept the cat so Mrs X would have to make other arrangements for the cat.
32. On 4 March the Council accepted a main housing duty.
33. On 21 May the Council provided the family with self-contained interim accommodation.

Analysis

Failure to provide interim accommodation

34. Mrs X says the Council failed to offer interim accommodation when she presented as homeless on 22 November. She says she went to the Council’s offices with her children and the dog and a caseworker told her to go and stay with friends or family because there was no accommodation available. When Mrs X explained she had no family in the UK and nowhere to stay the caseworker told her to find a hotel.
35. The Council’s version of events is different. It says it offered Mrs X interim accommodation but she said she would stay with friends for a few nights instead.
36. I cannot say for certain what was said at the meeting. The Council’s case notes for 22 November 2023 state that Mrs X approached with a bailiff warrant and “states that she will stay with a friend for a few nights”. This supports the Council’s version of events.
37. The family moved between various hotels over the next 16 days. They clearly would not have done this if they could have stayed with friends or family. But Mrs X did not approach the Council again until 8 December. When she did so it offered her interim accommodation in a hotel. Accordingly, I find no grounds to criticise the Council in this regard.

Storage of belongings

38. Mrs X says the Council failed to help her with storage of the family’s belongings when they had to move out of their home.
39. The Council has a duty to protect a person’s belongings when they have to leave their home to stay in interim accommodation.
40. I have seen no evidence that the Council advised Mrs X what it could do to help with removal and storage of her belongings when she was moving from her home into interim hotel accommodation. However, I have seen no evidence that Mrs X asked for help with storing her belongings. She arranged her own removals and storage. If the Council had arranged storage for her, she would still have had to pay for it. So, I do not consider any injustice was caused in any event.

Unsuitable interim accommodation.

41. On 8 December the family was placed in interim accommodation in a hotel outside the Council’s area. They remained there until 21 May 2024. They had no cooking or laundry facilities and had to share one room. One of the children was this attending college and had no space to study.
42. The Council has explained that, because of the extreme shortage of emergency accommodation, it relies heavily on hotel accommodation or on housing outside the borough.
43. The law says bed and breakfast accommodation is never suitable for young people aged 16 or 17 and families with children or a pregnant household member. The Suitability of Accommodation Order 2003 says bed and breakfast accommodation can be used for a maximum of six weeks for families when no other accommodation is available.
44. We recommend a remedy by reference to the number of weeks a family has stayed in B&B beyond the point where they should have been moved. We will recommend a weekly payment in the range of £100 - £200.

Pets

45. Mrs X says the interim accommodation was also unsuitable because the hotel did not accept pets.
46. The Council advised Mrs X that it could not consider her request for accommodation that accepted support pets without evidence that they were therapy pets.
47. I find no grounds to criticise the Council in this regard. I have seen nothing to suggest Mrs X provided the Council with evidence that the animals were her therapy pets as opposed to general pets. In any event, the evidence is that the hotel did eventually accept the dog.

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Agreed action

48. The Council has agreed that, within one month, it will:
• apologise to Mrs X for the length of time she and her family were living in hotel accommodation and for its failure to discuss options for protecting the family’s personal belongings; and
• pay Mrs X £3,400 in recognition of the time the family spent in unsuitable interim accommodation beyond six weeks (17 weeks at £200 per week).
49. The Council has also agreed that, within three months, it will issue a checklist to relevant staff to ensure they always deal with the issue of an applicant’s belongings when they move from their home into interim hotel accommodation and are unable to take their belongings with them.
50. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Draft decision

51. I find fault causing injustice.
52. I have completed my investigation on the basis that the Council has agreed to implement the recommended remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman