Summary: The Council’s failure to provide Miss X with suitable temporary accommodation after she experienced domestic abuse was fault. As a result, Miss X remains in unsuitable accommodation where she is at risk and which is negatively affecting her mental health. The Council has agreed to apologise, try to provide suitable accommodation, make payments to Miss X and act to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained that the Council failed to provide suitable temporary accommodation after she was assaulted in her home.
2. As a result, Miss X continues to live in unsuitable temporary accommodation which is negatively affecting her mental health.

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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 the complaint and the information Miss X provided.
7. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
8. I referred to the Ombudsman's Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
9. Miss X and the organisation 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

Temporary accommodation

10. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
11. Temporary accommodation is accommodation provided to homeless applicants as part of a council’s main housing duty.
12. 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)
13. Councils must assess whether accommodation is suitable for each household individually. Whether accommodation is suitable will depend on the relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.4 & 17.9)
14. 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

15. The Council owes Miss X the main housing duty. She lives in temporary accommodation with her child.
16. In late Summer 2023, Miss X visited the Council’s offices in person. She reported that she was assaulted by an ex-partner in her temporary accommodation. The Council offered to provide accommodation in a hotel. Miss X refused this as she did not want to disrupt her child’s education. She told the Council she could stay with family for a few weeks.
17. In November, the Council identified in an internal email that it needed to complete a new suitability assessment for Miss X and “reserve a suitable property” for her.
18. In June 2024, Miss X complained to the Council. She complained that all the Council had offered was a hotel. She said recent contact with the Council suggested it had forgotten about her. A few days later, the Council completed a new suitability assessment. This said Miss X needed to move because of domestic abuse.
19. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint in early July. It apologised that “the Council has not been in a position to offer you alternative self-contained temporary accommodation since your request last year”. It recognised Miss X was unhappy being offered a hotel. It explained that although not suitable in the long term, the Council offered it as a short-term solution to ensure Miss X’s safety.
20. Miss X asked the Council to consider her complaint at stage two of its complaints process. She said the Council did not explain to her that the offer of a hotel was a short-term emergency plan. She also said the Council had not followed its own domestic abuse policy in its handling of her case.
21. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint at stage two at the end of August. It agreed that it should have better explained its offer of a hotel in 2023. It offered Miss X £250 to remedy the injustice caused by this fault.
22. At the time of writing, Miss X remains in the same temporary accommodation.

My findings

23. The Council has already accepted fault for how it communicated with Miss X about its offer of hotel accommodation in 2023. The £250 it has already offered is a suitable remedy for the injustice this caused.
24. The Council should have completed a new suitability assessment in 2023 when Miss X reported the assault. It did not do so, and this was fault. The Council identified this need in November 2023 but still did not complete a new assessment until July 2024, after Miss X complained. This delay was fault.
25. Miss X’s temporary accommodation is unsuitable. It has been unsuitable since September 2023. From October, once Miss X could no longer stay with family, the Council had an immediate, non-deferrable and unqualified duty to provide suitable alternative accommodation. It did not do so. This was fault.
26. Service failure happens when, despite its best efforts or because of matters outside of its control, a council fails to do what it should. Since July 2024, the Council’s failure to provide Miss X with suitable temporary accommodation is because of service failure resulting from the widespread shortage of affordable housing in London.
27. However, the Council’s delay acting on Miss X’s report of domestic abuse and failure to follow up with her in October 2023 or at any time before July 2024 were fault. In response to my enquiries, the Council said it had no case notes or other running record of Miss X’s homeless application. Such records are an important way to document contact, evidence decision making, and maintain oversight of a case. In the circumstances, the lack of proper records in this case was fault. This may have contributed to Miss X’s sense that the Council forgot about her.
28. As Miss X pointed out, the Council’s handling of her case was not in line with the Council’s own policy on domestic abuse. This says the Council will:
• write to the survivor or referring agency within two working days of the report, to agree the next steps and confirm our commitments;
• ensure ongoing support and contact is provided to the survivor. We will agree with the survivor how often to contact them, and whether they would like us to contact their caseworker, social worker or independent domestic violence advocate or any other support agency; and
• carry out a risk assessment and develop a personalised housing plan, exploring accommodation options, including moving to alternative temporary accommodation.
29. The Council’s failure to follow its policy was fault. It left Miss X without information, advice, and support at a difficult time. Miss X remains in unsuitable temporary accommodation where she is at risk of domestic abuse and which is affecting her mental health. This is an injustice to Miss X.

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Action

30. To remedy the injustice to Miss X from the faults I have identified, the Council has agreed to:
1. apologise to Miss X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology;
2. take steps to provide Miss X with alternative accommodation as soon as possible, including reviewing her priority on the housing register;
3. if it has not already done so, pay Miss X the £250 offered its complaint response;
4. pay Miss X £2,700, being £150 a month for the 18 months she has been in unsuitable accommodation; and
5. continue to pay Miss X £150 a month until the Council offers Miss X suitable alternative accommodation, otherwise ends its duty, or six months have passed from the date of my final decision. If Miss X remains in unsuitable accommodation after six months, we may consider opening a new investigation.
31. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
32. In previous investigations by the Ombudsman, the Council has already agreed to take steps to ensure it keeps the suitability of temporary accommodation under review. I have not repeated those recommendations here.
33. The Council should also take the following action to improve its services:
1. provide training or guidance to relevant staff on the expectations in the Council’s domestic abuse policy; and
2. identify and implement a means for officers to record contact and decisions on homelessness applications, such as case notes.
34. The Council should tell the Ombudsman about the action it has taken within eight weeks of my final decision.

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Decision

35. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman