Summary: Ms D complained the Council had placed her family in unsuitable interim and temporary accommodation. Based on current evidence I have upheld the complaint and the Council has agreed to pay financial redress to Ms D to recognise the time her family had to spend in unsuitable accommodation.

The complaint

1. Ms D complains the Council failed to assist with her homelessness and did not provide suitable interim accommodation in June 2024. Ms D says her family was left in unsuitable accommodation and caused distress and out of pocket expenses.

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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 future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. 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

4. I have looked at what happened from January 2024, when Ms D applied to the Council as homeless, through to 9 November when the complaint was referred to our Assessment Team. Any incidents occurring after 9 November would need to be put in a new complaint to the Council before Ms D can bring them to the Ombudsman.

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms D and the Council as well as relevant law, policy, guidance and the Ombudsman’s ‘Guide for Practitioners: Unsuitable Temporary Accommodation’.
6. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

What happened

7. On 30 January 2024 Ms D told the Council she had been served a Notice to Quit her rental property which she occupied with three dependants. Ms D and one of her children had medical conditions impacting their mobility and they would prefer to move to an accessible property. She provided supporting evidence about the health matters. A Housing Solutions Officer (Housing Officer) advised Ms D to stay at the property until she was evicted. On 1 February the Housing Officer sent Ms D a copy of the Personalised Housing Plan stating the Council would look to assist her with a deposit for alternative accommodation.
8. On 15 March Ms D sent the Council a copy of the possession order for the property. The Housing Officer noted “case moved from prevention to relief [duty]”. The Council told Ms D that day it would assist her with emergency accommodation when she was evicted if she had not found alternative accommodation. The Housing Officer sent Ms D an email stating because the case had to go to the housing panel she could not do too much ahead of time because properties were not reserved for allocation. “it’s a matter of allocating what’s available on the day”. But she would take the case to the housing panel “a few days ahead of schedule” to help Ms D plan and let her know the outcome on the day of the panel hearing. In April the Council’s Private Sector Housing Team were involved with the case and Ms D’s landlord confirmed they wanted vacant possession of the property to carry out works.
9. On 3 May Ms D gave the Council details of the eviction date (scheduled for 4 June). The Housing Officer asked the Supply and Acquisitions Team if they had any suitable properties available for Ms D. On 21 May the records show “information on health conditions” provided to the Temporary Accommodation Team. On 28 May Ms D emailed the Housing Officer for an update, she was concerned because the bailiffs would be coming in a few days. The same day the Supply and Acquisitions Team told the Housing Officer they had a three bedroom property which could be offered to Ms D. On 29 May the Housing Officer asked the Supply and Acquisitions Team to check if the property was suitable for Ms D and her child’s disabilities. Ms D also sent a further email asking for an update on her case. The Housing Officer replied that she would contact Ms D after the housing panel on 31 May.
10. On 31 May the housing panel met and considered Ms D’s case. No notes were made so I cannot say what evidence was discussed. The Council says it approved Ms D for interim accommodation staring on 4 June. On the same day the Housing Officer emailed Ms D and explained the panel’s decision. She was also looking into a house which would be a permanent offer. (I understand that property was subsequently found to not be suitable, but I cannot see evidence this was explained to Ms D at the time). Ms D asked what the process was for 4 June. She was told the Temporary Accommodation Team would source accommodation and contact her on the day, she might not need to come to the Council’s offices.
11. On 4 June Ms D was evicted from her home. She emailed the Housing Officer twice in the morning asking what she should do. At 10.05 the Housing Officer emailed the Temporary Accommodation Team asking them to contact Ms D about her placement. Ms D was at the Council office if she needed to sign anything. Ms D waited in her car with her family outside the Council office. It appears she was contacted by the Temporary Accommodation Team and was told to accept a housing offer for a second floor flat without lift access. Ms D emailed the Housing Officer at 11.26 a.m. stating it seemed her disability and her child’s disability had not been taken into consideration. The Council tells me a Manager considered the case and saw there was no ground floor accommodation available, a first floor flat was identified as ready to occupy. The Housing Officer replied at 1.24 pm that the disability information was included in the paperwork but the Temporary Accommodation Team “can only offer you what is available”. She had asked the Team to check the offer for suitability. Only one offer was made to an applicant so if Ms D did not accept the Council might discharge its duty to assist her. Around 4pm it appears an Officer told Ms D there was an offer of interim accommodation for a first floor flat (no lift access). If she refused the offer, she may not receive any accommodation. Ms D says she felt obliged to accept. Ms D then took her family to meet the landlord and receive the keys. At around 5.30 pm Ms D called the Council that no-one had produced the keys, and she was in pain and so was her child. The keys were not provided until 8pm. Ms D says the flat was unbearably smelly due to faeces on the carpets throughout the property. At 10pm she called the Council’s Out Of Hours Team for help and was subsequently provided with one night in a hotel while the flat was cleaned. Ms D returned to the flat the next day and said the carpets were stained from the excrement and the flat still had a strong odour. She did not want her family touching the carpets, so she had to buy a cheap underlay (costing £200) to cover the flooring on 5 June. Ms D also contacted the Council about the condition of the property.
12. On 12 June Ms D emailed the Council about problems with the flat. It was unsuitable because of health issues. The Council advised that there were no statutory review rights for interim accommodation, but it had passed her concerns to the Supply and Acquisitions Team to look into. It had also asked the Temporary Accommodation Team to look at the suitability of the accommodation. The same day the Supply and Acquisitions Team stated the landlord had agreed to replace the flooring and had accepted the flat had not been cleaned by mistake. The landlord replaced the flooring on 17 June. On 18 June Ms D submitted a detailed formal complaint about what happened on 4 June and that she was in unsuitable accommodation. On 21 June an Officer noted Ms D and her child were “struggling physically to manage the steps” at the flat and were in “some distress” as a result. She asked if the Council could provide alternative interim accommodation if a ground floor property became available because “they have severe mobility issues”. She also advised Ms D that she would have a right to request a statutory suitability review once the Council accepted a main housing duty towards her. On 28 June the Council sent Ms D its complaints response. It said it relied on the landlord to ensure a flat was clean and ready to occupy. It apologised for the inconvenience Ms D faced because the flat had not been cleaned.
13. On 1 July the Council accepted a full housing duty to Ms D. The same day Ms D emailed the Council requesting a suitability review of her temporary accommodation. She said the property did not meet the medical needs of the household and she had only accepted it after waiting eight hours on the day of her eviction. On 16 July Ms D asked the Council to escalate her complaint. There had been prolonged disruption caused by the removal of carpets and painting walls which had gone on for weeks. This had made Ms D’s stress worse. She reiterated the Council had been given sufficient time before her eviction to arrange suitable accommodation and had failed to do so. On 19 July Ms D emailed the Council. She said she had sent multiple emails with no reply. She had been in the accommodation for over two months with no resolution to the unsuitable property. She asked for some urgent action on her case.
14. On 19 August the Council emailed Ms D. It said it was not possible to predict how long she would be in temporary accommodation. It tried to find suitable placements for families but could only provide what was available at the time. The Supply and Acquisitions Team was working to find a suitable and affordable property. The Council could look at assisting with the cost of a rental deposit on a private rental property and she was also on the housing register. The Council offered a property to discharge its housing duty on 22 August and Ms D requested a suitability review for that accommodation the same day. A Suitability Reviews Officer noted on 23 August that the family would be better suited to a bungalow. The family were currently in accommodation with stairs, but this was because no ground floor accommodation had been available in June. The Council had, at that time, advised Ms D she would be placed ‘on the move list when something suitable became available’ and Ms D accepted the accommodation rather than have the Council discharge its duty towards her. The Officer said, ‘this client has been raising concerns regarding stairs since the beginning of moving into the’ accommodation and ‘there have been constant emails from her due to the struggle she is having’. She said the Council needed to clarify Ms D’s needs and check if any properties offered would require adaptations.
15. On 27 August the Supply and Acquisitions Team emailed Ms D that an offer of accommodation would be made when something suitable became available. On 5 September the Council sent its final complaint response to Ms D. It said the “property given to you was not habitable or ready to move in” and this had caused her avoidable distress. It offered £100 redress for the distress caused to the family.
16. I have seen the Council’s records and there were no suitably sized ground floor properties available to use as temporary accommodation during the period I have investigated.

Events after the period being investigated

17. In 2025 the Council concluded its suitability review of the temporary accommodation and found it was unsuitable. Ms D was subsequently moved to a bungalow.

What should have happened

Homelessness legislation and statutory guidance

18. 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.

Interim and temporary accommodation

19. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
20. 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. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
21. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally 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. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
22. 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 17.2)
23. 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)
24. 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.

Council processes

25. The Council allocates a Housing Officer to an applicant. That Housing Officer carries out an assessment and should work with the applicant to develop a personalised housing plan (PHP) to prevent or relieve their homelessness, depending upon the circumstances. The PHP sets out the steps both the Council and the applicant will take to try to resolve the applicant’s homelessness. The Housing Officer can ask the Supply and Acquisitions Team if they have any suitable private sector accommodation. This is not done before the eviction warrant is served.
26. When the Council receives proof an eviction warrant has been served on an applicant the Housing Officer will present the case to a housing panel for temporary accommodation. The panel is held near to the eviction date. The panel assess if the applicant is eligible for housing assistance. As I understand it the panel should consider any evidence of medical need. No notes are made by the panel. The Housing Officer will update the applicant about the panel’s decision. A Temporary Accommodation Assistant should also contact the applicant to offer accommodation on the day of the eviction.
27. The Council says that whilst it considers an applicant’s medical need when offering interim accommodation, it has a limited housing supply so it can offer a property similar to the one the applicant had been occupying whilst trying to source something more accessible.
28. If an applicant reports their interim accommodation is unclean or needs repairs the Council will liaise with the landlord.
29. Where an applicant in interim accommodation raises suitability issues with the Council the Supply and Acquisitions Team can look for alternative accommodation. However, they are limited by only being able to offer what rentals become available. Where the applicant is in temporary accommodation, they can request a suitability review. The Council should log the request with its Review Team who will them aim to assess the case and issue a decision within 56 days. If the Council find the property is unsuitable it will look for suitable alternative accommodation.

Was there fault by the Council

30. The handling of the case on 4 June was unacceptable. Ms D and her family were already subject to an upsetting eviction process and the poor handling of the case caused additional unnecessary distress. Ms D did not receive details of the interim accommodation until the afternoon. She did not gain access to the property until 8pm. She was unable to remain in the flat due to excrement on flooring throughout the property. She then had to contact the Out of Hours service at the Council who did promptly arrange hotel accommodation for the night. This meant the family, including Ms D’s disabled child, were left without access to facilities for at least 12 hours.
31. The Council had a duty to provide Ms D and her family with suitable interim accommodation. It was aware of Ms D’s medical needs and those of her child. Ms D had made it clear to the Council during the months prior to her eviction that stairs within her accommodation were very difficult to manage. I have no evidence to show how the family’s medical needs were considered at the housing panel meeting on 31 May because no notes were made. I am unable to say whether the panel considered what type of accommodation would be suitable for the family. The Council offered Ms D accommodation with stairs on 4 June. It was clear that Ms D was concerned about this and that mobility issues had not been considered however she felt obliged to accept or face being street homeless. Ms D continued to raise the problem with the Council once she was in the interim accommodation.
32. In addition, the Council placed Ms D in a dirty flat that could not be occupied on 4 July. I understand the Council does not have the capacity to check each interim accommodation before it is let but it still has a duty to provide accommodation that meets a reasonable standard.
33. The Council also failed to log and consider Ms D’s suitability review request which she sent to the Council on 1 July, the same day the property status changed to temporary accommodation. It was clear she was seeking a suitability review, and I see no reason why this was not dealt with particularly given Ms D continued to tell the Council, that month, the property was unsuitable. Ms D should have received a decision on the review by the end of August but instead had to wait until early 2025 when the Council accepted the property was unsuitable.
34. I cannot see the Council told Ms D what happened with the potential offer of a three bedroom house which she was told about in May 2024. The Council says the property was actually a two bedroom house and so unsuitable for Ms D and the offer was withdrawn. I would have expected the Council to document explaining to Ms D why the property offer had been withdrawn.
35. The formal complaint responses were poor. Both replies focussed on the state of the property and failed to address the other issues Ms D had set out including the unsuitability of her accommodation.
36. I appreciate the Council has a limited supply of interim/ temporary accommodation and so it is not always able to fulfil its requirement to supply suitable accommodation. It did continue to look for a ground floor property for the family, but no suitable properties were available from June to September. However, in such cases the Ombudsman expects the Council to evidence a concerted effort to fulfil its duties. Simply waiting for a suitable property to become available is not sufficient. The Council may find it helpful to refer to our Guide for Practitioners document on ‘Unsuitable Temporary Accommodation. May 2023’. This sets out the type of actions the Ombudsman expects a Council to take.

Did the fault cause an injustice

37. The interim accommodation provided was dirty with excrement and urine stained carpets. Ms D felt she had no choice other than to accept the accommodation pending a move to suitable interim accommodation. Her family had mattresses on the floor and so she needed to cover the stained carpets until they were replaced two weeks later. This was further distress for Ms D that could and should have been avoided.
38. The family were in unsuitable accommodation from 4 June onwards. I can only consider injustice and redress replating to events up to 9 November, but the Council may want to also look at whether additional redress should be paid at the same monthly rate (set out below) for the remaining period the family were in unsuitable accommodation.

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Action

39. The Council had previously offered Ms D £100 redress but now accepts this offer did ‘not reflect the inconvenience and experience’ of the family. The Council has agreed to:
• Pay Ms D £150 for the time and trouble she was put to because of fault by the Council
• Pay Ms D £1,250 for being placed in unsuitable accommodation (this is for 4 June to 9 November) at a rate of £250 per month which takes into account the vulnerabilities of the household
• Pay Ms D £200 for out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the poor condition of the interim accommodation.
40. In addition, the Council should also:
• Consider making a record of the decision making process by the housing (temporary accommodation) panel in future cases
• Consider the Ombudsman’s ‘Guide for Practitioners: Unsuitable Temporary Accommodation’ (May 2023) and set out what improvement actions will be taken
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions. The payments to Ms D should be made within four weeks of the investigation ending., The service improvement recommendations should be responded to within six weeks of the investigation ending.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice. I have completed the investigation because the Council accepts the proposed remedy.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman