Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to refer her homelessness application to another council area where she said she had suffered domestic abuse. The Council was not at fault for the way it reached the decision to refer Miss X’s homelessness application. It was at fault for not providing full information with the referral and for initially advising Miss X she could request a review of the decision. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to acknowledge the distress the faults caused and to remind officers to ensure referrals to other councils contain sufficient information about the case.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s decision to refer her homelessness application to another council (Council Q) where she says she had suffered domestic abuse. As a result of this decision, Miss X had to provide further evidence of abuse to Council Q, which caused her avoidable stress and trauma.

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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. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
5. Most homelessness decisions carry a right of review, followed by a right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
6. 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

7. I have considered information provided by Miss X and information provided by the Council in response to our enquiries. I have considered the relevant law and guidance.
8. 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

Relevant law and guidance

9. 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.

Duty to make inquiries

10. Where the council has reason to believe an applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it should make inquiries to enable it to decide if they are eligible for assistance and, if so, what duty it owes them. (Housing Act 1996, section 184) 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

Relief duty

11. If a council is satisfied an applicant is eligible for assistance and homeless then the council will owe the relief duty. This requires the council to take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person for at least six months. The relief duty usually lasts for 56 days.

Interim accommodation

12. If the council has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance, and in priority need, it has an immediate duty under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996 to provide interim accommodation, whilst it makes its inquiries. An applicant is in priority need if they are pregnant, have a dependent child or (from July 2021) they are fleeing domestic abuse.

Main housing 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)

Referral to another housing authority

14. When a council makes inquiries to determine whether someone is eligible for assistance, they may make inquiries to establish an applicant’s local connection. A person has a local connection if they are or were normally resident in that area for at least 6 months out of the last 12 or for three years out of the last five years, they work in that area, have family there or have special circumstances.
15. If a council’s inquiries find that an applicant has a local connection to another council area they can refer the case at the point of relief or main housing duty. The council is not subject to the relief duty at the point they have notified the applicant they have referred or intend to refer them to another council (Housing Act 1996, section 199A(b)). However, if they have reason to believe the applicant may be in priority need, they have a duty to provide interim accommodation whilst a decision is made on whether the conditions for the referral are met.
16. If it is decided that the conditions for referral are not met the applicant’s case will remain with the notifying council and they will be subject to the relief duty.
17. A council cannot refer an applicant to another council if they would be at risk of domestic abuse or other violence there.

Review rights

18. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of certain decisions. If the decision is upheld at review, they can appeal to the county court on a point of law.

What happened

19. In February 2024 Miss X approached the Council as homeless. Miss X has a disability. She had previously lived in Council Q’s area with a relative who she said abused her financially and physically. She had been staying with another family member but the house was overcrowded and they asked her to leave. The family member agreed Miss X could stay for another week.
20. The Council’s notes record Miss X said she would be unsafe in Council Q's area or areas connected to the family. She wanted to be in this Council’s area to be near to friends who supported her. Miss X said she would report her relative to the police. The Council arranged to interview Miss X and requested supporting documents.
21. The Council spoke with Miss X who reported financial abuse from her relative. She said she had lived as a student in another council’s area, Council P, the previous year. She had extended her stay there to avoid returning to live with her relative. The Council requested information from a college Miss X had attended there. Miss X said she did not want to live in Council Q’s area and her mental health had deteriorated due to the threat of being referred back there.
22. The Council wrote to Miss X to confirm she was eligible for assistance and homeless but had no local connection. It said it had considered the reasons Miss X wanted to live in the Council’s area but did not consider these fell into the category of special circumstances. It said there was no evidence to confirm or suggest Miss X was at risk in the entire of Council Q’s area. As it had reason to believe Miss X was in priority need it arranged interim accommodation for Miss X while Council Q responded to the referral. It said it would end the accommodation if Council Q accepted the conditions of the referral were met. I have seen no evidence the Council referred Miss X's case to Council Q at this point.
23. The Council wrote a second letter to Miss X to advise it had also referred her to Council P based on local connection as she had lived there for six out of the last 12 months. Miss X said she did not want to live there due to previous incidents that had occurred there. The college told the Council Miss X had not reported any incidents while she was attending there. The Council later received information from the police regarding past incidents Miss X had recently reported. Miss X did not want to press charges but wanted to report the incidents in the hope this would stop her being rehoused in Council P’s area. Council P refused the referral due to elapsed time and Miss X not having lived there for six out of the last 12 months.
24. The Council referred Miss X to Council Q in late March 2024 as Miss X had lived in that area for three out of the last five years. The referral’s standard wording included that the Council confirmed ‘neither the applicant, nor any person who might reasonably be expected to reside with the applicants, would run the risk of domestic violence or face the probability of other violence in the district of your authority if this referral is made’. On the form the Council stated Miss X was homeless as she had been living with family members who had now asked her to leave.
25. In early April the Council chased Council Q for a response. The Council also spoke with a police officer who considered Miss X was at low risk. The police officer said Miss X did not want to pursue further action against her relative. As she no longer lived with them and as there was no substantial offence to investigate it was taking no further action.
26. Miss X requested a review of the decision to refer her to Council Q. The Council acknowledged the request. It later explained Miss X did not have a right of review until Council Q accepted the referral.
27. In April Miss X’s MP contacted the Council. They said she was distressed the Council was referring her back to Council Q and it would be unsafe for her to live there.
28. In April 2024 Council Q rejected the referral as it considered Miss X was at risk of violence and was vulnerable due to her disability. The Council sought further information from Council Q. It said it accepted Miss X had suffered abuse from her relative but it did not consider Miss X was at risk in the whole of Council Q’s area.
29. In mid May 2024, the Council decided not to pursue the referral further and wrote to Miss X accepting it owed her the relief duty. It advised Miss X’s MP of this and that it would continue to provide accommodation until she was able to find permanent settled accommodation.
30. In August 2024 the Council accepted it owed Miss X the main housing duty.

Findings

31. It was for the Council to decide whether to refer Miss X to another council based on the circumstances of the case. Based on the evidence it had at the time, there was no fault in the Council’s decision to initially refer Miss X to Council P.
32. It was also for the Council to then decide whether, in the circumstances of the case, it was appropriate to refer Miss X to Council Q. The Council considered the information it had, including Miss X’s submissions and information from the police and considered Miss X was not at risk across all of Council Q’s area. This was a decision for the Council to make and there is no evidence of fault in the way it reached that decision. This caused Miss X distress and uncertainty but not as a result of Council fault.
33. However, in making the referral to Council Q, the Council made no reference at all to the domestic abuse Miss X had suffered in Council Q’s area. This was fault and meant Council Q was not fully aware of Miss X’s circumstances. As a result, it is likely Miss X had to provide information to Council Q she had already provided to the Council. Council Q went on to reject the referral. However, having to reiterate the circumstances of her fleeing domestic abuse is likely to have caused Miss X unnecessary distress.
34. During this time the Council provided Miss X with accommodation. This was appropriate. When Council Q rejected the referral the Council then accepted the relief duty and later the main housing duty so Miss X has not been without accommodation.
35. The Council wrongly told Miss X she had a right of review of the Council’s decision to refer her to another housing authority. This was fault. It later corrected this error and explained Miss X would have a right of review once Council Q accepted the referral. However, the fault raised Miss X’s expectations.

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Agreed action

36. Within one month of the final decision, the Council has agreed to:
• apologise to Miss X and pay her £200 to acknowledge the distress caused by its failure to provide the main facts of the case to Council Q when it referred her homelessness application.
• Remind relevant officers of the need to ensure when it refers homelessness applicants to other councils, the referral contains sufficient information for that council to make appropriate enquiries into whether to accept the referral.
37. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final decision

38. I have completed my investigation. The Council was at fault causing injustice which it has agreed to remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman