Overview:

Key to names used

• Mr X The complainant

Summary

Mr X complained that the Council failed to provide sufficient support with his homelessness and housing application and that it also failed to provide suitable accommodation for him and his family. As a result, Mr X and his family have been living in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary which has caused significant distress. Mr X also considers that this has been detrimental to the health and development of his children.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet, or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

In addition to the requirements set out above, the Council should take the following actions within three months of the date of this report:

• apologise to Mr X for the faults identified. We publish Guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making its apology;

• make a symbolic payment of £500 for the distress and uncertainty caused to Mr X by its delay in reviewing and sending an updated personal housing plan (PHP), delaying its decision to award the main housing duty, delaying his right to a suitability review of his temporary accommodation and communicating poorly about his housing status; and

• make a symbolic payment of £3,525 for the injustice caused to Mr X and his family by living in unsuitable bed and breakfast (B and B) accommodation for 42 weeks longer than they should have done. This is calculated at £150 a week from the period in B and B up until when the Council made an offer of accommodation in November 2023 (5 weeks in total) and £75 a week from 7 November 2023 to 29 July 2024 when they became suitably housed (37 weeks in total).

Following a previous investigation by the Ombudsman, the Council has already agreed to service improvements to address the use of B and B accommodation for families for more than six weeks. We have not repeated those here.

The Council has agreed to all our recommendations, apart from making the symbolic payment of £3,525 for the injustice caused to Mr X and his family by living in unsuitable B and B accommodation for 42 weeks longer than they should have done. This symbolic payment is in line with our Guidance on remedies and we have issued this report because of the Council’s refusal to accept this recommendation.

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