Summary: Mr X complained about a lack of support from the Council when he told it his landlord was evicting him. We have found fault by the Council because it did not complete the actions set out in Mr X’s Personalised Housing Plan, did not offer him interim accommodation while it made enquiries into his case and took too long to accept the Relief Duty to him. The Council agreed to apologise and make Mr X a payment in recognition of the injustice caused to him.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained about a lack of support from the Council when he told it his landlord was evicting him.
2. Mr X states the Council’s actions caused him uncertainty and he had to stay in his work premises or with family and friends following his eviction.

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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. 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

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as the relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X 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

7. 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.
8. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make inquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make inquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)
9. If councils are satisfied applicants are threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, they must help them to secure that accommodation does not stop being available for their occupation. This is called the prevention duty. In deciding what steps they are to take, councils must have regard to their assessments of the applicants’ cases. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
10. If councils are satisfied applicants are homeless and eligible for assistance, they must take reasonable steps to secure accommodation. This is called the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing. The relief duty lasts 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
11. A council must secure interim accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
12. Examples of applicants with priority need include those with children, who are pregnant, or who are vulnerable due to age or disability.
13. After completing inquiries, the council must give the applicant a decision in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons.  All letters must include information about the right to request a review and the timescale for doing so. (Housing Act 1996, section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance 18.32 and 18.33)

What happened

14. The following is a summary of the key events. It is not intended to show everything that happened.
15. Mr X is blind. He lived in privately rented accommodation.
16. In March 2024 Mr X’s landlord said his rent would be increasing by around £400 a month. Mr X said he could not afford the increase.
17. In late May Mr X’s landlord served him with a section 21 notice. The notice said Mr X needed to leave his home by 2 August 2024.
18. On 7 June Mr X approached the Council for help with his housing. It told Mr X that he had the right to remain at his home until the execution of a Bailiff Warrant.
19. Also on the 7 June the Council completed a homelessness assessment. Mr X told his caseworker about his blindness and provided him with medical evidence.
20. Following the assessment Mr X sent his caseworker emails and other evidence supporting his request for help from the Council. His caseworker said he did not receive Mr X’s emails.
21. On 3 August Mr X was evicted from his home. Mr X called the Council’s out of hours emergency number for help. He was told to book a hotel room for the night. Mr X did not have the money to do so, and the Council did not explain if it would reimburse him for the cost of the hotel. Mr X spent the night in his work premises.
22. Following his eviction Mr X’s caseworker told him he needed to provide updated information about his blindness. The Council did not offer Mr X interim accommodation as it said it had no reason to believe he was in priority need. Mr X continued to stay at his work premises or with friends and family when possible.
23. On 19 August Mr X provided the Council with updated medical information saying he should receive the full support of a blind person.
24. On 20 August Mr X complained to the Council. He complained the Council failed to consider his medical evidence or provide him with emergency accommodation. He also complained his caseworker did not take any action to help him and said he did not receive his emails.
25. On 30 August the Council accepted the relief duty to Mr X. It offered Mr X interim accommodation, but he refused saying he would stay with family and friends.
26. On 9 September the Council replied to Mr X’s complaint. It said it did not have reason to believe Mr X was in priority need until he provided updated medical information. It offered interim accommodation after receiving his updated evidence, but he refused the offer. It also said an IT problem meant Mr X’s caseworker did not receive his emails, but this was now resolved.
27. On 11 September Mr X confirmed he did not want interim accommodation and would stay with family and friends. The Council reinstated its prevention duty to Mr X so he could request a discretionary band B for his housing register application, thereby increasing his priority when bidding for permanent accommodation.
28. On 27 September Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints process.
29. On 31 October the Council replied to Mr X’s stage two complaint. It said the offer of interim accommodation is still available to him if he can no longer stay with family and friends. It said it awarded Mr X’s housing register application priority band B. It upheld Mr X’s complaint and offered him £250 in recognition of the problems he faced.
30. On 14 November Mr X secured permanent accommodation, and the Council ended the prevention duty to him.
31. Mr X remained unhappy with the Council’s handling of his case and complained to the Ombudsman. In response to our enquiries the Council provided:
• a copy of the Personalised Housing Plan it drew up for Mr X. The plan is not dated but contains an entry saying the Council would speak with Mr X’s landlord to see if his tenancy could be maintained until he found alternative accommodation. It also contains updated entries following Mr X’s eviction.
• copies of correspondence between it and Mr X. It did not provide a copy of the letter telling Mr X that it had accepted the prevention duty to him or that it had reinstated the prevention duty to him.
• copies of case records detailing Mr X’s conversations with the Council. The records show Mr X told the Council he would remain staying with family and friends when he spoke with the Council on 11 and 25 September 2024 and 4 and 7 October 2024.

Finding

32. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code) set out the Council’s duties to people homeless or threatened with homelessness.
33. The Code says it is unlikely to be reasonable for an applicant to continue to occupy their property beyond the expiry of a section 21 notice, except where the Council is taking steps to persuade the landlord to allow the applicant to continue occupying the accommodation while alternative accommodation is found.
34. The PHP supplied by the Council says it will liaise with Mr X’s landlord about his tenancy and so it did not accept the relief duty at this time. I consider the Council’s approach is consistent with the Code.
35. However there is no evidence the Council did liaise with Mr X’s landlord, or that it took any other action to address Mr X’s housing situation before his eviction. This is fault. Because of the fault it is not clear if Mr X could have stayed in his accommodation while alternative housing was found. This would have prevented Mr X staying at his work premises and with family and friends. This uncertainty causes Mr X an injustice.
36. The Council has not provided evidence it told Mr X it had accepted the Prevention Duty to him in June 2024. It should have done so. This is fault which caused Mr X uncertainty about what the Council was doing to help him with his housing situation. This is injustice.
37. Mr X told the Council he had been evicted on 3 August, and it should have accepted the Relief Duty to him on the same day. However it did not do so until 30 August. This delay is fault and caused Mr X uncertainty about what action the Council would take to help him.
38. I also consider the Council had reason to believe Mr X was in priority need and so it should have offered him interim accommodation at the point he was evicted. Reason to believe is a low threshold and Mr X had previously provided information stating he was blind and so vulnerable. This is fault by the Council.
39. The Council offered Mr X interim accommodation once it received additional medical information from Mr X. No evidence has been provided demonstrating the Council asked Mr X to provide further medical evidence before his eviction despite him telling the Council about blindness in June. Additionally I have seen no evidence the Council made enquiries to find out the extent of Mr X’s condition and instead required him to do so. This is also fault.
40. I note Mr X did not accept interim accommodation when it was available to him. The Council told Mr X that if he remained staying with friends it would reinstate its prevention duty to him so he could request a discretionary band B for his housing register application, thereby increasing his priority when bidding for permanent accommodation. This was a decision for Mr X to make.
41. As Mr X refused interim accommodation when it was offered, I cannot be certain Mr X would have accepted interim accommodation from the Council had it been offered to him as soon as he was evicted.

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Agreed Action

42. To remedy the injustice identified, the Council will take the following action within one month of my final decision:
• apologise to Mr X for the injustice I have identified. 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 £350 in recognition of the uncertainty caused to him; and
• share a copy of this decision with housing staff to identify learning from this complaint.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

44. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above actions to remedy the injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman