Summary: The Council was at fault when it failed to clearly inform Miss X about the conditions around payments from its homelessness prevention fund and delayed making a decision on her application for a reimbursement of costs she paid. The Council offered Miss X a symbolic payment to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty the matter caused her however, it failed to make this payment. The Council will apologise to Miss X, decide whether it will reimburse Miss X and pay her the symbolic payment it had offered to her. The Council revised its policy to make it clearer.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s actions when she was threatened with homelessness. She said the Council did not assist her with securing funds to rent a private property and as a result, she arranged the funds herself. Miss X said she now owes a debt and the matter has caused her distress. She wants the Council to accept it has been at fault and provide her with a reimbursement of funds she paid as well as a symbolic payment for the distress caused.

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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) However, in this case, I have decided to exercise discretion and investigate Miss X’s complaint from July 2023 as the issues Miss X’s complains of have been continuous since then.
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 spoke with Miss X and considered information she provided.
6. I considered information provided by the Council.
7. Miss X and the Council had the opportunity to comment on the draft version of this decision. I considered their 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.
9. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council on or after 3 April 2018:
• they are likely to become homeless within 56 days; or
• they have been served with a valid Section 21 notice which will expire within 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5)

Assessments and personal housing plans

10. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

Duty to provide advisory services

11. Councils must provide to anyone in their district information and advice free of charge on:
• preventing homelessness;
• securing accommodation when homeless;
• the rights of people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness;
• the duties of the authority;
• any help that is available from the authority or anyone else, for people in the council’s district who are homeless or may become homeless (whether or not they are threatened with homelessness); and
• how to access that help.

The Council’s prevention fund policy April 2023

12. The policy states the Council will consider making a discretionary payment from its prevention fund if it has reason to believe a household is or will be homeless or is threatened with homelessness. The payment allows a household to secure private rented accommodation and can be used towards a deposit and/or a rent payment in advance. The household is required to apply to the Council for the payment.
13. The Council must inform the applicant not to enter into any binding agreements or make any payments to for example, to a letting agent, without confirmation the Council will approve the funding.

What happened

14. Miss X previously lived in private rented accommodation with her family. Towards the end of July 2023, Miss X contacted the Council and said her landlord had served her an eviction notice. Miss X said her landlord had given her a two month notice period. She applied to the Council for homelessness assistance.
15. In mid-August 2023, the Council carried out an assessment of Miss X’s needs. It considered:
• why Miss X was threatened with homelessness;
• the housing needs of Miss X and her family;
• the type of property Miss X required; and
• the support she required to secure or retain suitable housing.
16. The Council completed a personalised housing plan with Miss X. It then wrote to Miss X and said Miss X was:
• threatened with homelessness; and
• eligible for assistance.
17. The personalised housing plan set out the support the Council would provide Miss X to help her secure housing. It said if Miss X was able to secure private accommodation, “the Council will assist in paying towards the rent in advance and one month deposit to the landlord”. It said Miss X was “advised to apply for the prevention fund towards a deposit to any private landlord subject to subsequent rent affordability. The application will be assessed subject to eligibility for the funds”.
18. In mid-September 2023, Miss X contacted the Council and said she had managed to secure private housing however, she required the Council to help her with a deposit and one month’s rent payment. She asked the Council for its guidance on how to apply for the funds. The Council’s records show it immediately responded to Miss X and said it would assist her with the deposit and one month rent if the property was affordable and within the local housing allowance rate. It asked Miss X to provide specific documents in relation to the landlord and the property.
19. Towards the end of September 2023, Miss X’s family support worker contacted the Council as Miss X said the Council had not responded to Miss X’s request for help with securing funds for the property. Miss X said she also tried phoning the Council but got no response. As a result, Miss X had taken out a personal loan from the bank to secure the funds. Miss X and her family had moved into the property. The Support Worker asked the Council when it would be able to reimburse Miss X with the deposit and one month’s rent she had paid. The Council said it would only pay the deposit and one month’s rent directly to the landlord and not to Miss X.

Miss X’s complaint with the Council

20. In November 2023, Miss X complained to the Council. She said the Council had poorly communicated with her in relation to helping her secure accommodation. She said she had provided the documents requested and a result, she had to take out a personal loan to cover the deposit and one month’s rent.
21. In December 2023, the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint and said it:
• was aware Miss X had approached the Council for help with the deposit and one month’s rent however, it took no further action as Miss X had not supplied the supporting documentation it had asked her to in its response;
• although it had told Miss X’s family Support Worker it was unable to make a direct payment to Miss X, it was now communicating with the landlord to obtain confirmation of the tenancy and property and once it had received it, it would consider a payment; and
• partly upheld Miss X’s complaint as it said it could have provided clearer information regarding the scheme.
22. Miss X was unhappy with the Council’s response and so complained further. She wanted the Council to reimburse her with the money she had paid to secure the accommodation.
23. In May 2024, the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint and said it was processing her application for a reimbursement of funds. It apologised the application had not yet been completed and said the delay was due to pressures the Council was facing and changes in staffing. It said it had hoped to resolve the matter soon.
24. Miss X complained again as the Council had still not provided her with a decision on her request for a reimbursement of funds.
25. In September 2024, the Council provided a further response to Miss X and said it:
• recognised it had poorly communicated with her and delayed responding to her complaints; and
• delayed processing her application for a reimbursement of funds. It said it had now fast-tracked Miss X’s application.
• apologised and offered her a symbolic payment of £425 for the distress it had caused her. It asked Miss X to send her bank details to the Council via email to a specific email address so it could process the payment.
26. Miss X remained unhappy and complained to us in October 2024.
27. In March 2025, I spoke with Miss X and she said she was not clear if the Council was going to reimburse her the funds. She also said it had not made her the symbolic payment of £425.
28. Between February and April 2025, the Council responded to our enquiries and said:
• Miss X had taken out a personal loan to secure her accommodation. It was concerned the personal loan could place Miss X at risk of being threatened with homelessness again. The Council said it was liaising with Miss X, the managing agent of the property and the landlord to “bring about a positive solution utilising its homelessness prevention fund”. It said it would need to carry out necessary checks before releasing the funds; and
• it had not made a payment to Miss X as it had given Miss X an incorrect email address to respond to with her bank details. The Council said it had since contacted Miss X to make the payment.
29. In May 2025, I spoke with Miss X again. She said she was still unclear if the Council was going to reimburse her the funds and it had still not paid her the symbolic payment.
30. The Council also informed us it had made changes to its prevention fund policy in August 2024. The policy highlights if the Council approves an application, it cannot:
• make a direct payment to an applicant and:
• use the funding to reimburse an applicant for costs they have already paid.

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Findings

31. Miss X’s personalised housing plan states the Council would assist Miss X with a deposit and she would need to apply for assistance with funding private accommodation and the Council would assess her application. When Miss X approached the Council in September 2023 and asked it for this help the Council’s records show it told her she would need to provide supporting information before it would approve an application. Therefore, I cannot say the Council was at fault as it made Miss X aware it would not automatically provide her with funds to secure private accommodation.
32. Although the Council told Miss X she would need to apply for funding and that it would need to assess her application, there is no evidence it told Miss X it would only make payments direct to a landlord and would not be able to make a payment directly to her. The Council’s policy at the time also did not make this clear. This was fault. The Council also failed to communicate effectively with Miss X to clearly explain the circumstances in which it would provide funding. The Council in its complaint response dated December 2023 accepted it could have provided Miss X with clearer information regarding the prevention fund scheme. The Council had since updated its policy to reflect it cannot make payments direct to applicants. This was appropriate.
33. As part of her complaint, Miss X asked the Council to reimburse her with the payment she had made to secure the private accommodation. The Council’s complaint responses dated December 2023, May and September 2024, said it was considering her request and processing an application. The Council explained to Miss X there was a delay in its service and explained the reasons for the delay. However, the Council has still not decided as to whether it will reimburse Miss X with the costs and if so, how it will do this. This was fault.
34. The above faults caused Miss X, distress, frustration and uncertainty. The Council recognised this and offered Miss X a symbolic payment of £425. This was appropriate. However, it had failed to make this payment to Miss X. This was fault and caused Miss X further injustice.

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Agreed Actions

35. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will apologise to Miss X for the distress, frustration and uncertainty it caused her by:
• not initially informing her it would not make payments direct to applicants to secure private accommodation;
• delaying making a decision on her application for a reimbursement; and
• delaying paying her the symbolic payment of £425.
36. 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 in making the apology.
37. Within one month of the final decision, the Council will also:
• decide, based on the particular circumstances of this case on whether to reimburse Miss X with the payment she made to secure private accommodation. If the Council agrees to make the payment, it should do so within one month of this decision too; and
• pay Miss X the symbolic payment of £425 it had offered to her in September 2024.
38. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final Decision

39. I have now completed my investigation. The Council was at fault and has agreed to remedy the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman