Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council placed him and his two children in unsuitable B&B temporary accommodation. The Council has accepted the accommodation was unsuitable. It has now agreed to a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains the Council placed him and his two children in unsuitable B&B-type temporary accommodation for 27 weeks (until they left the property in mid-July 2024).

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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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
3. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
4. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
6. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

7. In late January 2024, Mr X and his two children moved into temporary accommodation arranged by the Council. This was because Mr X has homeless, and the Council had accepted the main housing duty.
8. In July, following a review request from Mr X, the Council decided the accommodation was unsuitable. It said this was because it was Bed and Breakfast accommodation, which was not self-contained as it had shared cooking facilities. The Council apologised to Mr X and made a payment of £800 to recognise the time he and his family spent in unsuitable accommodation.
9. If we were to investigate Mr X’s complaint, it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the Council placed the family in unsuitable B&B accommodation. The law says this type of accommodation is never suitable for young people aged 16 or 17 and families with children. The Suitability of Accommodation Order 2003 says it can only be used for a maximum of six weeks for families when no other accommodation is available. But, the Council placed the family in the unsuitable accommodation from late January 2024 until mid-July 2024. The Council’s apology and payment partially remedies this injustice.
10. The Council has now agreed to carry out the following action within one month of our final decision:

• pay Mr X £3700, less the £800 already paid, to appropriately remedy the injustice arising from his time spent in unsuitable accommodation. This means a payment of £2900 should be made. (This is calculated at £200 per week for each week spent in unsuitable accommodation between early March 2024 and mid-July 2024. This payment is in line with our published Guidance on Remedies and is at the highest end of our scale because the fault affected three people, including two children.)

11. I am satisfied that the above increased financial remedy suitably remedies the injustice Mr X and his family experienced.
12. Mr X complains about the disrepair and pest issues in the same temporary accommodation. The Council signposted Mr X to raise any issues with his housing provider. It followed up on outstanding issues with the housing provider, including asking it to address several health and safety issues urgently. The Council investigated Mr X’s complaint and took appropriate action to escalate urgent matters. Based on the evidence I have seen, there is not enough evidence of fault by the Council to justify investigating this complaint.

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Final decision

13. We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint that the Council placed him and his two children in unsuitable B&B temporary accommodation. The Council has accepted the accommodation was unsuitable. It has now agreed to a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman