Summary: We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council placed her and her children in unsuitable temporary accommodation, which had significant disrepair issues. The Council has accepted the accommodation was unsuitable. It has now agreed to a suitable remedy.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains that, for over two years, the Council placed her and her children in temporary accommodation that was unsuitable due to disrepair issues and its location. She says mould affected her and her children’s health, caused damage to her possessions and resulted in increased utility bills.

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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 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)
5. 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)
6. We must 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

7. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council.
8. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

9. Miss X complains about matters dating back to September 2022 when she moved to the temporary accommodation while homeless. Miss X did not complain to the Ombudsman about these issues until August 2024. This means any matters complained of before August 2023 are late. I consider there are no good reasons for us to exercise discretion to investigate.
10. Further, Miss X had a right to request a review of the suitability of the temporary accommodation when the Council offered it to her in 2022. I consider it reasonable to have expected Miss X to have asked for a review then.
11. In November 2023, Miss X complained to the Council about disrepair issues.
12. Based on the evidence I have seen, the Council took prompt and appropriate action to try to remedy the disrepair issues. It instructed the company managing Miss X’s accommodation to start repair works the following week. The Council told Miss X it would visit the property in January 2024 and any failure by the managing agency to comply with its instructions would lead to a rent payment freeze. Based on this action by the Council, there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating this part of Miss X’s complaint.
13. In late January 2024, the Council sent Miss X its stage two complaint response. It decided significant works were needed to resolve the disrepair issues and, given the seriousness of the works, it would have to transfer Miss X to alternative accommodation. It offered to pay Miss X £1000 to cover the damage to her possessions and the cost of dehumidifiers.
14. In my view, the Council decided the temporary accommodation was not suitable from this point onwards due to disrepair issues. If we were to investigate it is likely we would find fault causing the complainant injustice because the Council decided the property was unsuitable in late January 2024, but delayed transferring Miss X to suitable accommodation until mid-September 2024. Our view is that if a council has decided the applicant’s current accommodation is unsuitable, it is in breach of its statutory duty under section 206 of the Housing Act 1996 from that point until it provides suitable accommodation.
15. To remedy the injustice caused to Miss X and her family by the fault identified here, the Council has now agreed, within one month of our final decision, to:

• apologise in writing to Miss X;
• make Miss X the payment of £1000 offered by the Council for the quantifiable losses incurred while in unsuitable accommodation; and,
• make Miss X a payment of £1500 (£200 per month for each month she and her family spent living in unsuitable accommodation). This covers the period from late January 2024 until mid-September 2024 (seven and a half months). This is in recognition of the distress experienced. I have taken into consideration the concerns Miss X had about possible harm to her children’s health given the mould in the property.

16. I am satisfied the above action by the Council suitably remedies the injustice Miss X and her family experienced. The financial remedies are in line with our published Guidance on Remedies. If Miss X wishes to pursue a claim for damages for any further quantifiable losses or the alleged impact on her children’s health, the courts are best placed to deal with these claims. It is reasonable to expect Miss X to pursue this.

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Final decision

17. We will not investigate Miss X’s complaint that the Council placed her and her children in unsuitable temporary accommodation, which had significant disrepair issues. 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