Summary: Miss B complained that the Council has still not found her suitable temporary accommodation following a previous complaint to us. Miss B has now found accommodation in a different part of the country, so we have ended the investigation.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that the London Borough of Enfield (the Council) failed to find her suitable temporary accommodation following a previous complaint to us. She said it continued to cause her significant distress and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), as amended)
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 have considered the complaint and the documents provided by the complainant, made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided. Ms B 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

Suitability of accommodation

5. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
6. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
7. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601)

What happened

8. We upheld a previous complaint from Miss B about the Council’s failure to find her and her family suitable temporary accommodation since February 2023 when it concluded her current accommodation was unsuitable for her needs. As a remedy, the Council agreed to pay her £500 and find her alternative accommodation within three months. If it failed to do this, we asked it to pay her a further £300. We made our decision on 3 April 2024.
9. On 8 May 2024 the Council contacted Miss B’s landlord to request adapting her current property. The Council said the landlord agreed in principle to the adaptations. The Council carried out an assessment and sent details of the proposed adaptations to the landlord on 21 June 2024. The landlord refused to agree to the adaptations.
10. On 4 July 2024 the Council offered to reverse the changes at the end of the lease but the landlord remained unwilling to agree.
11. The Council identified a potential property on 22 July 2024 but on further inspection the third bedroom was too small to count as a bedroom so was unsuitable.
12. The Council offered Miss B a property on 30 September 2024. Although she considered it was suitable, she refused the offer as she found a property in a different part of the country. The Council has ended its housing duty towards her.

Analysis

13. The Council offered Miss B a suitable property within two months of the previous complaint closing. As Miss B has now secured alternative accommodation there is no ongoing injustice.

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Final decision

14. I have completed my investigation as I am unable to find fault causing injustice in the actions of the Council towards Miss B.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman