Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his homelessness application. We found fault by the Council causing Mr X distress, uncertainty and frustration. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X, make him a payment in recognition of the injustice caused to him and decide his homelessness and housing register applications.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his homelessness application. He stated the Council did not provided him with support to prevent his homelessness or help him with his housing situation. Mr X also complained the Council has discriminated against him on grounds of his age, disability, race and religion.
2. Mr X stated this has caused him distress, uncertainty and frustration.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
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)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. I provided my draft decision on the complaint to Mr X and the Council, and I considered Mr X’s comments in response.

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What I found

8. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Duty to make enquiries

9. Where the council has reason to believe an applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it should make enquiries to enable it to decide if they are eligible for assistance and, if so, what duty it owes them. (Housing Act 1996, section 184)

Prevention duty

10. If a council is satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they owe the applicant the ‘prevention duty’. This means the council must help the person to ensure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation.
11. Section 175(5) of the Housing Act 1996 says a person is threatened with homelessness if a valid notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 has been served in relation to the only accommodation available for them to occupy and this will expire within 56 days.

Relief duty

12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is eligible for assistance and homeless then the council will owe the ‘relief duty’. This requires the council to take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person for at least six months. The relief duty usually lasts for 56 days.
13. After this period, the council should decide whether it owes the applicant the main housing duty. It will owe the main housing duty if it is satisfied the applicant is eligible for assistance, in priority need and not intentionally homeless.

Personalised housing plans (PHP)

14. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan (PHP). (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance chapter 11).

Interim accommodation

15. If the council has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need, it must provide interim accommodation until it has finished assessing the homelessness application if the applicant asks for it. “Reason to believe” is a low threshold. An example of priority need is those applicants who are vulnerable because they are elderly or as a result of a significant health issue.
16. When a council accepts a main housing duty, interim accommodation becomes temporary accommodation. In both cases, the accommodation should be suitable for the household. However, there is a statutory right to a review of the suitability of temporary accommodation, but no such right for interim accommodation.

Review rights

17. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of certain decisions including a decision that they are not in priority need.

Overview: eviction from private rented sector (PRS) accommodation

18. Where a tenant has an assured shorthold tenancy, the landlord can issue a section 21 notice asking the tenant to leave. They do not have to give reasons, but the notice needs to be in a specific form and must satisfy various conditions.
19. In some cases, the landlord can evict without a court hearing – this is called “accelerated possession”. They do need to apply to the court and the tenant can challenge the application. The court will look at the papers and either:
• issue a “possession order” – this sets a date at which the tenant has to leave; or
• set a date for a possession hearing; or
• dismiss the case.
20. If the tenant does not leave the property by the date given in the possession order, the landlord can apply for a “warrant for possession”. If the court issues a warrant, it will send the tenant an eviction notice with the date they must leave the property by. A bailiff can evict the tenant if they do not leave by that date.

What happened

21. Mr X lived alone in a private rented sector property. He has severe depression, anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He also has reduced mobility and other health issues. Mr X’s sons live or work nearby, and they provide him with support.
22. In October 2023 Mr X’s landlord served him with a section 21 notice. Mr X approached the Council for advice. It asked Mr X to complete a homelessness application form and provide supporting documents.
23. Mr X completed the form and returned it to the Council with supporting documentation.
24. Case records show Mr X was advised about possible solutions to his housing situation. These included sheltered accommodation, private rented accommodation and accommodation outside the borough. The notes show Mr X said he did not want sheltered accommodation or to be housed outside the borough as he receives support from family.
25. In November one of Mr X’s sons moved in with him.
26. Also in November the Council told Mr X it needed further documentation from him, and it would close his case if he did not provide it in the next three days.
27. Mr X travelled to the Council’s offices to provide the documentation. Mr X states doing so was difficult for him because of his restricted mobility.
28. Case records show the Council then referred Mr X to its HOPE team to help him find sheltered accommodation or privately rented accommodation in the borough.
29. The Council also issued Mr X with a personal housing plan (PHP). It said:
• Mr X’s landlord has issued him with a notice seeking possession of his accommodation and so he is threatened with homelessness.
• Mr X receives support from his family.
• Mr X should engage with support offered by the Council to help him find accommodation to resolve his housing situation.
• the Council will refer him to its HOPE team to help him find accommodation.
30. In late November Mr X’s landlord wrote to him saying he needed to leave his home by mid December.
31. In April 2024 the Council issued Mr X with a new PHP. It said:
• Mr X should search for private rented accommodation, register with its Homefinder service, complete an assessment to show his benefit entitlement and engage with its HOPE team.
• the Council would provide advice to Mr X and offer him help with a deposit if appropriate.
32. Also in April case notes show the Council asked Mr X to make contact about an offer of a private rental property. It is unclear if Mr X replied or what accommodation was offered to him.
33. Other case notes in April say Mr X was asked to transfer to Universal Credit to help him show landlords that he can pay rent.
34. In July the courts wrote to Mr X saying his landlord was seeking to evict him. Mr X advised the court heard his case in August and he is waiting for a possession order to be sent to him.

Mr X’s complaints.

35. In December 2023 Mr X complained to the Council about its handling of his case. He complained that:
• officers have acted unprofessionally and discriminated against him on grounds of his age, disabilities, race and religion.
• his case should have been resolved within 56 days
• he has been asked to complete duplicate forms and provide documents on more than one occasion
• it refused to allow his son to be added to his homelessness application
• his request to speak with a manager was not responded to.
36. The Council replied in early January 2024. It said:
• there was no evidence officers have discriminated against Mr X on grounds of his age, disabilities, race or religion.
• it accepted it asked Mr X to complete forms and provide documents he had already provided. It apologised to Mr X for the frustration and distress caused to him.
• to add Mr X’s son to his homelessness application it needs to decide if it is reasonable to expect him to live with Mr X. It is making enquiries to decide this.
• it has taken Mr X’s disabilities into account when considering his case and suggested housing solutions to him.
• it apologised that a manager did not reply to him. It said a manger would contact him by mid-January.
37. In late January Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints procedure. His grounds of complaint remained the same.
38. The Council replied in May. It said:
• Mr X’s stage one complaint was investigated thoroughly.
• it apologised for making Mr X think it was necessary to bring documents to its offices in November 2023.
• it apologised a manger did not contact Mr X and said this was because of a miscommunication. It said the manager would contact him.
• it can only allocate social housing via its housing register.
39. Mr X remained unhappy and complained to the Ombudsman. We made enquires of the Council. It told us:
• it has not decided on Mr X’s homelessness case. It is hoping to make a decision soon.
• it has accepted the relief duty to Mr X but it has not provide him with interim accommodation.
• Mr X said he was not interested in pursuing private rental accommodation.
• Mr X has made an application to join its housing register, but it has not decided the application.

Finding

Homelessness application

40. Mr X approached the Council for help with his housing situation in October 2023 and he provide the section 21 notice from his landlord. The Council should have taken action to see if it could prevent Mr X’s homelessness by asking his landlord if his tenancy could be preserved or extended. There is no evidence it did so. This is fault.
41. The Council accepts it asked Mr X to provide information he previously provided. It also accepts it gave him an arbitrary deadline to provide information necessitating him visiting the Council’s offices. It also failed to act on his request for a manager to call him. Its actions amount to fault.
42. The Council completed a homelessness assessment for Mr X and drew up a PHP for him. I therefore conclude the Council accepted the prevention duty to Mr X. However the Council did not provide any evidence showing it told Mr X it had done so. This is fault.
43. The Council says it accepted the relief duty to Mr X in April 2024 and it issued a revised PHP for him. Again there is no evidence it told Mr X it had done so. This is fault.
44. The Council did not accept the relief duty until April 2024. The Council accepted the prevention duty to Mr X in November 2023 and so it should have decided if it owed Mr X the relief duty in January 2024. The delay in accepting the relief duty is fault.
45. Records provided by the Council show the Council did not take any substantive action between November 2023 and April 2024. Aside from making a referral to the HOPE team Mr X’s case records say no other action was taken. This is evidence of further fault.
46. The Council has 56 days from accepting the relief duty decide what, if any, other duty it owes an applicant. This means the Council should have decided what duty it owed Mr X by March 2024. It told the Ombudsman it is yet to decide Mr X’s application. This is a significant delay and is fault by the Council.
47. The Council has not offered any explanation for the delay in issuing Mr X with a decision. The records provided do not suggest the delay has been caused by waiting for information from Mr X or from enquiries it has made. It therefore appears it has allowed Mr X’s case to drift. This is fault.
48. I note Mr X asked the Council to include his son on his homelessness application. The records provided do not show the Council has made enquiries to determine Mr X’s request or informed him of any decision. This is fault.

Complaints

49. The Council took significantly longer than its published timescales to reply to Mr X’s stage two complaint. This put Mr X to the time and trouble of chasing up and reply and caused him avoidable frustration.

Discrimination

50. Mr X complains the Council has discriminated against him on grounds of his age, disability, race and religion. I have found no evidence demonstrating it has discriminated against him

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Agreed Action

51. Within six weeks of my final decision the Council will:
• apologise to Mr X for the identified fault; We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• pay him £500 in recognition of the uncertainty, time and trouble and frustration caused to him.
• decide if it owes him a main housing duty and notify him of its decision in writing.
• decide Mr X’s housing register application in light of its main housing duty decision, and back-date any additional priority to March 2024 when it should have made its main housing duty decision.
• decide if Mr X can add his son to his homelessness application and notify him in writing of its decision,
52. Within in two months of my final decision the Council will:
• By training or other means, share the learning from this complaint with relevant officers.
53. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final Decision

54. I have found fault in the Council’s actions which has caused Mr X an injustice. I consider the actions above are suitable to remedy the complaint. I have completed my investigation and closed the complaint.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman