Summary: Miss B complained that the Council had failed to ensure disrepair in her temporary accommodation was rectified, find her suitable alternative accommodation or give her the correct priority on the housing register. We found fault in the Council’s actions which caused Miss B to live in unsuitable conditions for a year longer than she should have done. We have asked the Council to apologise to Miss B, pay her £1300, inspect her property now and improve its case recording for the future.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained that Brighton and Hove City Council (the Council):
• failed to ensure serious repairs in Miss B’s temporary accommodation are rectified;
• failed to find her suitable alternative temporary accommodation;
• failed to give her the correct priority on the housing register given the condition of the property and the impact on the health of her and her children; and
• delayed in responding to her complaint about the issues.
2. This has caused and continues to cause Miss B and her family significant distress and inconvenience.

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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. 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)
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 Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss B and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

Suitability of accommodation

8. 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)
9. 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)

Council’s housing allocations policy

10. This policy states that accepted homeless households placed in temporary accommodation which is unsuitable to meet the household’s needs will be placed in Band A.

What happened

11. The Council accepted Miss B and her family as homeless in 2014. They have lived in temporary accommodation since then. The current four bedroom property is privately rented.
12. In 2023 Miss B complained to the Council about damp and water penetration in the property. At least one of the bedrooms was uninhabitable as the ceiling had fallen in.
13. In June 2023 the landlord put up scaffolding to repair the roof. In October 2023 he built a partition in one of the bedrooms to create two rooms while the uninhabitable bedroom dried out.
14. In November 2023 the landlord said he was unhappy with Miss B and her partner saying they had cancelled roofing appointments at the last minute.
15. On 28 November 2023 Miss B complained to the Council that the landlord had not done any repairs since he put up the scaffolding in June 2023. Children’s services sent a supporting letter confirming that one bedroom was unusable and one of Miss B’s children had complex health needs.
16. In mid-December 2023 the Council complained to the landlord that roofing repair workers had not turned up for appointments on two occasions. The landlord said that the tenant had been difficult regarding access. They said the house was now in a good condition with just one bedroom out of action due to damp and only a small amount of damp in the kitchen. The guttering had been replaced. Miss B complained to us, but we referred the complaint back to the Council for it to investigate the situation and respond to her.
17. In January 2024 Miss B complained about a rat in the property and a leak. She made a formal stage two complaint on 31 January 2024. She said all the windows needed replacing, there were rats in the property, two ceilings had collapsed, and the property was damp.
18. At the end of February 2024, she complained again to the Council about disrepair. In early March the landlord said pest control had visited twice, a plumber had resolved leaking kitchen pipe and a carpenter had fixed the banister and window frame trimmings, in January 2024. He would carry out longer term fixes when the weather improved.
19. On 25 March 2024 the Council confirmed the family had a medical need for a five bedroom property. On 26 March 2024 Miss B complained of a flood in the kitchen. In early April the landlord said he would carry out further window repairs towards the end of the month. Miss B also requested a review of the suitability of the property.
20. The Council responded to Miss B’s complaint on 18 April 2024. It said it had not taken sufficient action to facilitate the repairs. It provided a list of works the landlord was due to carry out by the end of the month to the windows, along with pointing and weather-sealing. The Council said it would carry out an inspection once the work was done and contact Miss B again after 29 April 2024. It apologised to her, offered to pay her £500 for the delay, and said the service would contact her with an update on finding suitable alternative accommodation. It confirmed the medical assessment had concluded she needed a five bedroom property. It also offered her £100 for the delay in responding to her complaint.
21. Miss B replied on the same day expressing her dissatisfaction with the response. It said the Council had failed to take into account the disrepair as well as the homelessness and she should be in a higher band on the housing register: she was currently in band C as homeless. She said the Council had failed to recognise that the problem had been ongoing for two years and £500 was insufficient.
22. The Council directed her to our office and said she should request a suitability review if the property did not meet the household’s needs.
23. In mid-May 2024 the landlord did some pointing work. On 21 June 2024 the Council agreed the landlord could take the scaffolding down as there were only minor issues outstanding.
24. In late August 2024 Miss B contacted the Council again about disrepair. She then complained to us again. In September 2024 the Council concluded the property was unsuitable as she needed a five bedroom property.
25. On 9 October 2024 the Council awarded her Band A priority from 2014.
26. Miss B continued to complain about the disrepair and in January 2025 confirmed that damp and defective windows were still a problem.
27. In response to my enquiries the Council said it had no records of housing team visits prior to September 2023. It said the current officer inspected the property on 19 June 2024 and only found minor issues outstanding. It said it would arrange a further visit now to inspect the property. It said Miss B had not placed any bids on housing since May 2023 and the Council had only offered two five-bedroom properties since 2014, neither of which Miss B would have secured.
28. Miss B said the landlord had only done some external damp-proof work and some re-pointing. She also said they had refused to reimburse the work she had paid for herself including repairing, plastering, sealing and painting a ceiling in December 2023. She said no works had been done to the roof and the windows were in a bad state of repair.

Analysis

Disrepair

29. The Council has provided no records of the action it took in respect of the reported disrepair between June and September 2023. This is fault: I would expect the Council to keep basic records of complaints of disrepair in respect of temporary accommodation for homeless households and the council’s response including site visits and contact with the landlord.
30. There are some records of the housing officer’s contact with the landlord from December 2023 but despite three requests from the Council I have not seen a clear record of the Council’s findings on the disrepair, so I remain unclear as to the faults and when they were rectified, if at all. Again, this is fault as I would expect the case records to reflect this information.
31. I have concluded that the disrepair was evident in June 2023 as the landlord erected scaffolding to carry out some repairs and that this involved a collapsed ceiling in once bedroom. The Council agreed in April 2024 that the work had not been completed but was satisfied by the end of June 2024 that the majority of the work was completed. Miss B carried out her own repairs to the bedroom.
32. After June 2024, Mrs B complained again to us in August 2024, saying that the situation remained unresolved. I have concluded that there was significant disrepair in the property between June 2023 and June 2024 and that some issues remain, but I am unable to reach a safe conclusion as to the detail of these due to the lack of evidence produced by the Council.

Suitability

33. The Council concluded Miss B’s property was not suitable for her household in April 2024, but it did not amend her banding until October 2024. This delay was fault, but I do not consider it caused Miss B injustice, as she did not miss out on any suitable properties, and she has not placed a bid since May 2023, because no properties of a suitable size have become available.

Complaint

34. The Council took too long to respond to her formal complaint. It has apologised for this and paid her £100. I consider this action is a proportionate remedy for the injustice.

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Action

35. I welcome the Council’s offer of £500 for the failure to ensure the repairs were carried out, but I considered a higher amount is necessary along with some service improvements. So I recommended within one month of the date of my final decision, that the Council:
• apologises to Miss B;
• pays her an additional £1300 (making a total of £1800 for a year of unresolved disrepair);
• carries out a thorough inspection of the property, identifying all outstanding issues and liaises with the landlord to ensure the repairs are carried out within a reasonable period of time. If the repairs are not done the Council should consider carrying out the work itself and recouping its costs from the landlord; and
• continues to look for alternative suitable accommodation for Miss B.
36. I also recommended the Council within two months:
• reminds housing staff of the importance of keeping detailed and accurate records regarding complaints of disrepair in temporary accommodation, including details of the disrepair, notes of any site visits to confirm the situation and all liaison with the landlord and tenant.
37. The Council has agreed to the recommendations and should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

38. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman