Summary: Mr B complained about the accommodation the Council has provided since he and his family became homeless. We find that the Council failed to provide suitable accommodation. It placed the family in bed and breakfast accommodation for around 16 weeks, 10 weeks over the maximum time such accommodation can be used for homeless applicants with dependent children. The Council then placed the family in unsuitable accommodation, which is statutorily overcrowded and where they have to share facilities with other families. They have been living there for around 21 months. The Council has agreed to immediately move the family to suitable accommodation, apologise and make a payment to Mr B. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains that the Council has not provided his family with suitable self-contained accommodation since they became homeless in July 2023. He says that they were initially placed in a hotel, without cooking facilities, which caused them unnecessary expense. While they have since been placed in alternative accommodation, Mr B considers it is also unsuitable because they have to share facilities with other families, and they are severely overcrowded.

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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 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)
3. 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)
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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What I have and have not investigated

5. Mr B’s complaint to us was made around 15 months after he was placed in interim accommodation. I have decided to exercise discretion to investigate events since Mr B became homeless because I consider the Council failed to inform him that B & B accommodation can only be provided for six weeks, and the Council delayed accepting the main housing duty to his family and so he did not know about his right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation until May 2024.

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr B and the Council have 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

Homelessness

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

Duty to accommodate

9. A council must secure 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 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 8.3)

The relief duty

10. This duty applies when the council is satisfied that an applicant is homeless (rather than just threatened with homelessness) and eligible for assistance. The council has a duty to take reasonable steps to help the applicant secure accommodation that will be available for at least six months. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B and Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 13.2)

Ending the relief duty

11. The relief duty ends when 56 days has passed and the council is satisfied that the applicant has a priority need and is homeless unintentionally. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B(4))
12. Councils should not delay completing their enquiries as to what further duties will be owed after the relief duty. Where the council has the information it requires to make a decision as to whether the applicant is in priority need and became homeless unintentionally, it should be possible to notify the applicant on or around day 57. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 14.17)

The main housing duty

13. If homelessness is not successfully relieved, a council will owe the main housing duty to applicants who are eligible, have a priority need for accommodation and are not homeless intentionally. Under the main housing duty, councils must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for the applicant and their household until the duty is brought to an end, usually through the offer of a settled home. (Housing Act 1996, section 193(2))

Interim and temporary accommodation

14. Councils provide interim accommodation under the relief duty and temporary accommodation under the main housing duty. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.

Suitable accommodation

15. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 17.2)
16. Bed and breakfast (B & B) accommodation is unsuitable for families with dependent children unless no other accommodation is available, and then for no more than six weeks. B & B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.35)
17. Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation withing 21 days, or longer if allowed by the Council. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, Homeless Code of Guidance, paragraph 19.3)

Housing Allocations

18. The Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme sets out the rules for qualifying to join the housing register, how applicants are prioritised and how the Council manages the allocation of available properties.
19. The scheme places applicants in a priority band from Band A (highest priority) to Band D (lowest priority). It says Band A will be awarded when the applicant is owed the relief duty and the duty to accommodate, or the main housing duty.

Background and key events

20. Mr B joined the housing register in 2019.
21. In June 2023, Mr B made a homelessness application to the Council. At the time, he was living with his wife and 6 children. The Council accepted the relief duty and placed the family in interim accommodation on 14 July 2023. It consisted of two ensuite rooms in a hotel, without cooking facilities.
22. The family remained living in the hotel until 2 November 2023, when they were move to alternative interim accommodation. It consisted of two studio flat type annexes with their own bathrooms and kitchens. The family also had access to a shared communal lounge and laundry area.
23. In December 2023, Mr B’s eldest son, who was 16 years old at the time, was added to Mr B’s housing and homelessness applications and he moved in with the rest of the family.
24. The Council accepted the main housing duty to the family in May 2024. The letter said that if Mr B did not consider the accommodation provided was suitable, he had the right to request a review within 21 days.
25. Mr B did not make a formal request for a review. But in August 2024, he made a complaint about how long they had remained living in the hotel, and about the suitability of their current accommodation. He said that the Council had failed to consider his son’s medical needs in relation to the suitability of the accommodation.
26. In the Council’s responses to Mr B’s complaint, it said that while the accommodation was not self-contained, it was considered suitable. It said that the Council had already decided that his son’s medical condition was not affected by the accommodation, and it advised Mr B to request a review if he did not consider the accommodation was suitable.
27. Mr B remained dissatisfied and made a complaint to us.
28. In October 2024, Mr B’s wife gave birth to a baby. Mr B remains living in the same accommodation with his wife and 8 children.

Analysis

Unsuitable accommodation

29. The law says that B & B accommodation can only be used for families with dependent children when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. Mr B’s family were living in B & B accommodation for almost 16 weeks, from 14 July until 2 November 2023. The Council breached its duties under the Housing Act 1996 by failing to provide suitable accommodation. This was fault.
30. The accommodation provided in November 2023 was also unsuitable because it was too small and was not self-contained. After Mr B’s eldest son moved in, the accommodation did not have enough beds. The Council’s records from that time show that it was aware that the accommodation would be too small when Mr B’s son moved in, but it took no action to source larger accommodation. This was fault.
31. Following our request for information, the Council carried out an assessment and decided that the family is statutorily overcrowded under the room standard. It says that it will contact Mr B to complete a suitability assessment and move his household to more suitable temporary accommodation as a matter of urgency.
32. The duty to provide suitable accommodation under the main housing duty is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. The Council should move the family to suitable accommodation immediately.

Review rights

33. Homeless applicants do not have the right to a review of the suitability of the accommodation provided until the Council accepts the main housing duty to them. The Council accepted the relief duty to the family in July 2023 but did not decide that it owed the family the main housing duty until May 2024. This delay was fault and meant Mr B was denied the opportunity to challenge the suitability of the accommodation for around eight months.
34. Mr B was told about his right to request a review twice, once when the Council accepted the main housing duty in May 2024, and once when it responded to his complaint in October 2024. The Council’s responses to Mr B’s complaints were unhelpful because they suggested the Council had already given further consideration to the suitability of the accommodation, and had concluded that it was suitable. This may have deterred Mr B from requesting a review.
35. There is no longer any need for a suitability review because the Council has accepted the accommodation is unsuitable.

Housing priority

36. I note that Mr B was awarded Band A on the housing register on 13 September 2023. Band A is awarded where the Council owes the relief duty to the applicant as well as the duty to accommodate. Mr B has been owed both these duties since 14 July 2023. I therefore consider the Council should backdate the Band A award.

Injustice

37. Mr B and his family have been living in unsuitable accommodation since 25 August 2023. The excessive length of the family’s stay in unsuitable accommodation will have caused them significant inconvenience, distress, unnecessary expense and potential disruption to the children’s education.
38. Mr B and his family were in B & B for almost 10 weeks more than the six-week legal limit for such accommodation. Our remedies guidance says that where a family has had to stay in unsuitable B & B accommodation in excess of the six-week legal limit, we are likely to recommend a weekly payment in the range of £100 to £200. This payment is in addition to the reimbursement of any specific quantifiable costs that the homeless household incurred.
39. The family spent almost 16 weeks in B & B accommodation without cooking or laundry facilities. While we cannot calculate the exact additional costs incurred, it is likely that they incurred extra food costs of around £168 a week during this period because they did not have access to cooking facilities. I do not consider the Council should reimburse Mr B for the family’s laundry costs.
40. Since leaving the B & B accommodation, the family has spent around 21 months living in overcrowded accommodation, with shared facilities. The accommodation did not have sufficient beds for the majority of this time. The information I have seen about the size of the rooms suggests the family have been statutorily overcrowded since they moved in. Our remedies guidance says that where a family has been deprived of suitable accommodation, our recommendation for financial redress is likely to be in the range of £150 to £350 a month.

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Action

41. The Council has agreed to immediately move the family to suitable accommodation. For each full month between 1 August 2025 and 1 February 2026 that the family remains in unsuitable accommodation, it will make a payment of £250 to Mr B.
42. The Council has agreed to take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr B for the failings identified in this case. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance when making the apology.
• Backdate Mr B’s Band A award to 14 July 2023.
• Make a payment of £2664 to Mr B for the additional food costs the family incurred for 16 weeks between 14 July and 2 November 2023.
• Make a payment of £1000 to Mr B for the impact of being placed in unsuitable B & B accommodation for ten weeks between 25 August and 2 November 2023.
• Make a payment of £300 to Mr B for the impact of being placed in severely overcrowded accommodation with shared facilities for one and a half months between 2 November and 19 December 2023, when Mr B’s son moved in.
• Make a payment of £4875 to Mr B for the impact of being placed in severely overcrowded accommodation, with insufficient beds and shared facilities for 19 and a half months between 19 December 2023 and 1 August 2025.
43. The Council has also agreed to take the following actions within eight weeks of my final decision:
• Develop an action plan detailing the steps it will take to reduce delays in completing enquiries and determining what duty it owes to homeless applicants.
• Provide us with a copy of its B & B elimination plan which details the actions it is taking to reduce the time families are staying in B & B accommodation.
• Provide guidance to relevant officers about the way to respond to complaints about the suitability of interim or temporary accommodation, to ensure complainants are not deterred from requesting a review.
44. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

45. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mr B’s complaint. There was fault by the Council which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman