Summary: Mr X complained that the Council delayed moving him to suitable alternative temporary accommodation after he reported his temporary accommodation was unsuitable in July 2023. The Council was at fault as it failed to find him suitable alternative temporary accommodation for nine months after concluding in July 2023 his current accommodation was unsuitable. The Council was also at fault for taking six months to issue a stage two response to Mr X’s complaint. This caused Mr X distress, uncertainty and meant he stayed in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise this.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained that the Council delayed moving him to suitable alternative temporary accommodation after he reported his current temporary accommodation was unsuitable in July 2023. This caused Mr X distress, uncertainty and meant he stayed in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary.

Back to top

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. 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)
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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

5. 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). Some of Mr X’s complaint is late as he says he reported his accommodation was unsuitable in October 2021 but did not complain to us until October 2024, three years later. I have exercised discretion to investigate from July 2023 at the point the Council concluded Mr X’s temporary accommodation was unsuitable. This is because the Council took eight months to complete the complaints process which delayed Mr X complaining to us.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

8. 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)
9. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
10. 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)

The Council’s allocations policy

11. Band one is the highest priority band in the Council’s allocations scheme. It means that an applicant is at the top of the priority list and is very likely to be rehoused. To qualify for band one the applicant might:

• Need a specially adapted accommodation so that they can leave hospital; or

• Have sustained serious illness/injury during service in the armed forces.

Council’s complaints policy

12. The complaints policy says the time frame for a full response to a complaint is 10 working days for stage one and 20 working days for stage two complaints.

What happened

13. Mr X was a homeless applicant. In October 2021 the Council placed him in temporary accommodation. In July 2023, Mr X reported to the Council the property was no longer suitable since his medical conditions had declined. The same month the Council agreed the property was no longer suitable as Mr X was a wheelchair user and the property had internal steps. The Council moved Mr X to band one which is the highest priority for bidding on properties and added his application to the adapted property waiting list.
14. The Council offered Mr X two different temporary accommodations in October and November 2023 but Mr X rejected these as they were unsuitable. The records held for the two properties indicated there were no internal and external steps. However, both transpired to have internal steps which meant they were ultimately unsuitable.
15. In February 2024, Mr X raised a stage one complaint as the Council had still not found him suitable temporary accommodation for him to move into. Mr X said he had two falls in the property as it was not suitable for his wheelchair.
16. The Council issued a stage one complaint response the same month. It apologised for the length of time taken to resolve Mr X’s issue.
17. In March 2024, Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two of the complaints process.
18. In April 2024, Mr X moved into alternative temporary accommodation where he resided until July 2024. He then secured a tenancy following a successful property bid.
19. The Council updated Mr X to tell him the stage two complaint response would be delayed at the end of April. It did not provide a timescale or any further updates since then.
20. The Council issued a stage two complaint response in October 2024. It apologised for its delay in responding to the complaint. The Council said it was unable to find fault with the time taken to find suitable alternative temporary accommodation. It said this was beyond the Council’s control as the availability of properties is limited particularly if there are specific suitability needs such as for wheelchair users. The Council apologised for offering two different temporary accommodations which were unsuitable. It said it would review how it records property information so it can avoid making the same errors in future. The Council offered Mr X a £400 financial remedy.
21. Mr X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s handling of the matter and complained to us.

My findings

Suitability of accommodation

22. The Council had an immediate duty to find Mr B suitable temporary accommodation from July 2023 when it concluded his accommodation at the time was no longer suitable for his needs. However, it took the Council nine months to find suitable alternative temporary accommodation. The Ombudsman can make findings of fault where there is a failure to provide a service. We accept the Council tried to find suitable accommodation. However, due to shortage and availability of accommodation suitable for Mr X’s needs, the Council significantly delayed moving Mr X to another property. This service failure is fault and meant Mr X was left in unsuitable temporary accommodation longer than necessary which caused him distress and uncertainty.
23. We have found similar fault with the Council on a separate case which has resulted in a service improvement. In January 2025 the Council implemented a dynamic purchasing system which created a pre-approved pool of temporary accommodation providers. This means different types of temporary accommodation should be more readily available for those with disabilities.

Complaint handling

24. When Mr X escalated his complaint to stage two in March 2024, the Council should have issued a stage two complaint response in 20 working days and no later than end of April 2024. The Council did not issue the stage two complaint response until end of October 2024. This was a delay of six months and fault. This caused Mr X distress, frustration and uncertainty.
25. The Council has already apologised for this which is an appropriate remedy for any injustice caused.

Back to top

Action

26. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. Apologise to Mr X to recognise the distress of living in unsuitable accommodation between July 2023 and April 2024. 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 I have recommended.
2. Pay Mr X £1800 to recognise the distress of living in unsuitable accommodation between July 2023 and April 2024. This includes the £400 offered to Mr X when the Council issued its stage two complaint response.
3. Provide an update on the dynamic purchasing system the Council has implemented including the impact this has had on availability of temporary accommodation suitable for people with disabilities.
4. Remind relevant officers to issue complaint responses within the timescales set out in the Council’s complaints policy.

27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

28. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman