Summary: Mrs X complained the Council failed to act on her reports that mould, damp and excessive dust in her temporary accommodation have made the property unsuitable for her and her family. We found evidence of fault in how the Council responded to Mrs X’s concerns. The Council agreed to review the suitability of Mrs X’s temporary accommodation and make a payment in recognition of the inconvenience and frustration caused to her.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council did not act on her reports of mould, damp and excessive dust in her temporary accommodation.
2. Mrs X said this negatively affected the health of her and her family, caused her distress and put her to the avoidable time and trouble of pursuing this matter.

Back to top

The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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)
5. 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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. The Ombudsman normally expects a person to complain within 12 months of knowing something has happened which affects them. Mrs X complains about matters which occurred longer than 12 months ago.
7. I have decided to exercise discretion and investigate matters from January 2023 onwards. This is because Mrs X has been pursuing her complaint throughout this period and approached us in a timely manner when advised to do so.
8. I have not investigated matters which occurred before January 2023. I consider Mrs X could have complained about these matters earlier.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

9. As part of my investigation I have:
• discussed the complaint with Mrs X’s representative and considered information provided by her.
• made enquires of the Council and considered its response.
• considered the relevant legislation, guidance and policies.
• considered our guidance on remedies.
• set out my initial thoughts on the complaint in a draft decision statement and invited Mrs X, her representative and the Council to comment.

Back to top

What I found

10. Temporary accommodation is provided to homeless applicants as part of a council’s main homelessness duty.
11. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household. This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and (from 3 April 2018) Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
12. In deciding whether accommodation is suitable for a person, the local housing authority must take into account the location of the accommodation and its physical condition (state of repair and safety of utilities). (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation (England)) Order 2012, sections 2 & 3)
13. Homeless applicants can ask for a review of the suitability of temporary accommodation provided once the council has accepted the main homelessness duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 202)
14. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is an ongoing duty. The council must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.8)

What happened

15. Mrs X made a homelessness application. The Council decided it owed her and her two children the main housing duty.
16. In 2020 Mrs X moved into her temporary accommodation which is provided by the Council’s Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO). Mrs X’s tenancy agreement states:
• floor coverings are not provided;
• tenants need permission before completing any works to the property.
17. Before January 2023 Mrs X told the Council about mould and damp in the bathroom of her home and excessive dust throughout.
18. In January 2023 Mrs X complained to the Council. She said:
• mould is present in her bathroom. A surveyor said the bathroom will be cleaned and repainted, but this has not happened. The surveyor said she should keep the heating on and open the windows to reduce condensation, but she cannot afford to do so.
• the bathroom needs an extraction fan because there are no windows.
• concrete floors in the property are degrading causing excessive dust which is affecting the health of her and her young son.
• a surveyor recommended she carpet the floors, but she cannot afford to do so.
19. The Council replied in February. It said Mrs X should discuss the lack of floor coverings with her Housing Manager. It also arranged for an inspection of Mrs X’s home in early March.
20. Mrs X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to Stage Two of its complaint’s procedure. The Council refused because Mrs X did not provide new evidence or raise a new issue. It said a surveyor would be attending Mrs X’s home to consider the matters raised in her earlier complaint.
21. In March Mrs X’s Housing Manager explained that she would need to seek help from another organisation about help to buy floor coverings. She said Mrs X could apply for a crisis loan and provided details of how to do so and of charities that could help her.
22. Also in March a surveyor inspected Mrs X’s home. He said a stud wall in the bathroom should be replaced and retiled. He also found a small water leak from the property above. He arranged for works for both issues.
23. The Council made appointments to complete works in late March and early April.
24. However the Council did not complete works to fit the extractor fan until June as it took several visits before a timer was fitted. Appointments to fit the fan were also missed by the Council including one where the operative attended at a time Mrs X said she would not be available.
25. The Council did not complete works to replace the stud wall in the bathroom or retile it until late July. Operatives attended Mrs X’s home on several occasions between March and July but said there was not enough time to complete the work, and the appointments will be rescheduled. The Council says some appointments were missed because Mrs X was not at home for appointments. Mrs X disputes she was not at home.
26. In July the Council sent a surveyor to reinspect Mrs X’s home. It did so because photographs taken by the previous surveyor could not be uploaded to its computer system. This was causing problems in arranging suitable appointments for the works to be completed.
27. The inspection noted Mrs X had added a shower attachment to the taps and this was causing the walls to get wet. The surveyor said tiles would not be fitted any higher to allow for use of the shower. He said Mrs X would be liable for any future repairs needed because of using the shower.
28. In August Mrs X complained to the Council again about the missed appointments. She explained this had caused her inconvenience and frustration because she stayed at home and had to make alternative arrangements to pick her son up from school. She also stated that she had received no help to buy floor coverings. The Council did not reply.
29. In September Mrs X complained to another Ombudsman service after being incorrectly told to do so. Mrs X’s complaint was sent to us in July 2024
30. In July 2024 Mrs X made new reports of mould and damp.
31. In August the Council sent a damp and mould surveyor to inspect her home. The inspection found works were needed to regrout and seal tiles around the bath and fit a new bath panel. It also said it would complete a three-part mould wash for the bathroom ceiling. The works were completed in early November.
32. We made enquiries into Mrs X’s complaint. In response the Council told us that:
• Mrs X’s home did not have a shower when she moved in. The area around the bath is not appropriately tiled for using a shower. Use of the shower damaged the walls. Mrs X did not ask permission to install a shower as required by her tenancy agreement.
• it does not provide floor coverings in temporary accommodation.
• it does not consider there are grounds to compensate Mrs X for missed appointments as the only appointments missed were due to her not being home.
• there are no outstanding works for Mrs X’s home.

Finding

33. The Council has provided evidence to show that it has acted on Mrs X’s reports of mould and damp at her home. It has also showed it completed works to address the reported problems.
34. However the evidence also shows delay in completing the works. Appointments to complete repairs to the bathroom wall had to be rescheduled on several occasions because the scheduled appointments were too short. It also took several appointments to successfully fit the extractor fan. This caused Mrs X inconvenience and left her living with disrepair for longer than necessary.
35. The evidence also shows some appointments were missed. The Council says the appointments were missed because Mrs X was not at home for scheduled appointments. However the evidence shows that at least one appointment was missed because operatives attended her home when it knew she would not be available.
36. Mrs X says the Council should provide floor coverings for her home. Mrs X’s tenancy agreement says floor coverings are not provided and so I do not find it at fault for not providing them.
37. I note that Mrs X has asked for help to fund flooring coverings. The Council’s response to Mrs X’s complaint told her to contact her Housing Manager. She was later told this was wrong and she should approach another body for help. The Council should have provided Mrs X with the correct information. The failure to do so caused Mrs X frustration.
38. The Council must keep the issue of suitability of temporary accommodation under review. Mrs X told the Council about her concerns that disrepair and dust at the property was negatively impacting the health of her and her son. This amounts to a change of circumstances. The Council should have carried out a section 202 suitability review. I have seen no evidence that it did so. This is fault.
39. Also I have seen no evidence the Council told Mrs X she could request a section 202 suitability review even though she had raised concerns about the suitability of the property. This is fault.

Back to top

Agreed action

40. To remedy the injustice caused by the fault I have found the Council should:
• apologise to Mrs X and pay her £150 in recognition of the inconvenience, frustration and delays caused to her when addressing disrepair issues at her home. It will do so within one month of my final decision.
• carry out a section 202 suitability review to find out if Mrs X’s accommodation is suitable for her and her family. It will begin the review within two weeks of my final decision. The review should be completed within 56 days (from the date the review began).
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Final decision

42. I have completed my investigation and found fault by the Council causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above actions to remedy the injustice.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman