Summary: The Council was at fault in its handling of Miss X’s homelessness. It took too long to provide interim accommodation, provided unsuitable accommodation and delayed accepting duties. There was no fault in the Council’s application of its housing allocations policy to Ms X’s case. To remedy the injustice the Council has agreed to apologise, make payments and act to improve its service.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness. In particular, she says the Council:
1. Failed to take steps to prevent her homelessness;
2. Delayed providing interim accommodation, leaving her to be evicted by bailiffs;
3. Provided unsuitable interim accommodation outside the Council’s area;
4. Delayed accepting the main housing duty;
5. Communicated poorly; and
6. Refused to allow her to continue to bid for two-bedroom social housing.
2. As a result, Miss X says she and her children experienced significant and avoidable distress and her children missed out on education.

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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. We make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. 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

6. I considered the complaint and the information Miss X provided.
7. I made written enquiries of the Council and considered its response along with relevant law and guidance.
8. I referred to the Ombudsman's Guidance on Remedies, a copy of which can be found on our website.
9. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness law and guidance

10. 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.
11. 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)
12. 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 usually lasts 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
13. 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)
14. The law says councils must ensure all accommodation provided to homeless applicants is suitable for the needs of the applicant and members of his or her household.  This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main homelessness duty.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
15. If, at the end of the relief duty, a council is satisfied an applicant is 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

What happened

16. Miss X approached the Council for help with her housing in May 2023. The landlord of her privately rented property had issued a notice seeking possession (section 21 notice).
17. The Council’s records show it completed an assessment a few days later. It told Miss X she “must remain in the property until [the] court process has been exhausted.” The Council asked Miss X to provide copies of various documents. It accepted the prevention duty and attached a personalised housing plan (PHP). The PHP set out actions for Miss X and the Council to take. One action for Miss X said “do not voluntarily vacate your accommodation whilst you still retain the legal right to occupy”.
18. In November, the Council’s records show it knew the court granted Miss X’s landlord possession of the property. Miss X contacted the Council again in February 2024. A different officer dealt with her case. The Council advised Miss X to continue looking for privately rented accommodation and to tell the Council when she received notice of eviction. The Council accepted the relief duty.
19. The Council next recorded action on Miss X’s case in May, when she told it bailiffs would evict her in mid-August. The Council contacted the managing agent for Miss X’s landlord for the first time.
20. The Council spoke to Miss X on the phone in May. It sent an email following the call summarising its discussion. This said it had explained to Miss X that it could place her in interim accommodation now but that this may be in a B&B outside the Council’s area until it could find something more suitable. The Council said Miss X told it she wanted to stay in her property for now and wait until the beginning of August to move into interim accommodation.
21. Miss X replied to this email. She said during the call the Council asked her if she wanted to move now or in August. She said she was open to moving as soon as the Council had a suitable property available.
22. Miss X complained to the Council in July. She said the Council provided no communication or support. She said:
• The Council had not communicated with her well since she approached, and officers often did not respond
• Her allocated officer left but the Council did not assign a new officer
• It had missed opportunities to prevent her homelessness
• Because of the age and gender of her children, she was now required to bid for three-bedroom properties. She said she had been high on the list for a two-bedroom property and wanted to continue bidding for these.
23. In mid-August, a week before her eviction, the Council told Miss X about a property (Property 1). This was a two-bedroom privately rented property within the Council’s area. An internal email shows the Council identified that despite accepting the relief duty in February, it had not decided if it owed the main housing duty.
24. Miss X asked the Council when she could view Property 1. She also asked about arrangements for moving out of her current property and storing her furniture before she was evicted. The Council told Miss X it would arrange removal and storage the day before the eviction. It said Property 1 needed works and so Miss X would need to move into interim accommodation for a short time.
25. The Council carried out a “risk assessment” form for interim accommodation which set out Miss X’s circumstances. The form asks if there is a reason it is essential the applicant is placed in the borough. The Council answered “yes” to this question and gave as a reason the age of Miss X’s children and the location of their schools. On the day she was evicted, the Council provided Miss X and her children with interim accommodation. This was a B&B in another borough.
26. Miss X expressed concerns about the suitability of the B&B. She asked for an update about Property 1. The Council said it needed works and it would update her when it was ready to view.
27. At the beginning of September, Miss X contacted the Council. She said the school term was about to start and she would not be able to get her children to school from the B&B. She told the Council that, because of the impact of her mental health condition, the school had been supporting her by arranging to collect her child for school. The school could not do this from the other borough. Miss X chased the Council for a response to her complaint.
28. Miss X viewed Property 1 in mid-September. The landlord rejected her application. Miss X told the Council she was frustrated as she had believed it had already offered her the property and now it told her another family was moving in instead. Miss X said she could not apply for secondary school places for her older child because she did not know where they would be living. She said she was signed off sick from work because of the impact on her mental health. She said without access to proper cooking facilities, she had not been able to cook a meal for her children for over a month.
29. In late September, the Council identified self-contained temporary accommodation for Miss X (Property 2). She signed the agreement and prepared to move in. The Council records show, however, that it withdrew this offer the same day because “the property is not ready due to compliance”. The Council therefore placed Miss X and her children in a hotel.
30. Ms X moved into self-contained temporary accommodation in a different borough in early October.
31. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint at stage one of its process in late October. It said:
• It was sorry for the delay responding to the complaint
• Miss X’s rent arrears were a barrier to finding her alternative privately rented housing
• It would make a decision about the main housing duty as soon as possible
32. In December, the Council assigned Miss X’s case to its team dealing with its backlog of cases awaiting a main housing duty decision.
33. The Council responded to Miss X’s complaint at stage two of its process in mid-December. It said:
• It was sorry about issues Miss X experienced contacting her allocated officer in the past. It said “there were staff absences due to unforeseen circumstances. I apologise if this caused a delay in the communication and the reassigning of your case.”
• Miss X needed to address her rent arrears and keep looking for privately rented housing.

My findings

34. I set out my findings on the complaint in the order they appear in paragraph one.

Prevention

35. Miss X asked the Council for help in May 2023. It accepted the prevention duty and issued a PHP in good time. However, there is no evidence the Council kept in touch with Miss X or took any of the actions it said it would take in the PHP. Failure to do so was fault.
36. I cannot say Miss X would have been able to secure alternative housing before she had to leave her tenancy. But at that time, Miss X did not have any rent arrears and so this would have been easier. Miss X must live with the uncertainty, which is an injustice.

Delay providing interim accommodation

37. The Homelessness Code of Guidance says councils should decide, in individual cases, the point in the possession process when the applicant becomes homeless. It says it is unlikely to be reasonable to continue to occupy after the notice expires. It is highly unlikely to be reasonable to occupy once the court grants possession. The Code is clear that homeless applicants owed interim accommodation should not be evicted by bailiffs because of a failure to provide accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 6)
38. The Council told Miss X not to leave her property while she had a legal right to occupy it. It is not fault to tell people about their legal rights to remain. However, it was fault for the Council not to consider whether it was reasonable for Miss X to remain before telling her to do so.
39. The Council accepted the relief duty in February 2024. This means it accepted Miss X was homeless because it was not reasonable for her to continue to occupy the property. There is no evidence the Council considered providing interim accommodation at this point or explained its duty to Miss X. Failure to do so was fault.
40. In May 2024, the Council recorded that Miss X chose to stay in her property until closer to the eviction date. However, Miss X told the Council she would move earlier if possible. There is no evidence the Council offered her interim accommodation in May. Failure to do so was fault.
41. It is likely the Council would have provided interim accommodation in a B&B initially, and this may well have been outside its area. Miss X might, therefore, have chosen to remain in her tenancy for as long as she could. However, the Council’s fault denied her the opportunity to make an informed decision. This is an injustice to Miss X. In response to my enquiries, the Council offered £500 as a remedy for its delay arranging interim accommodation. This is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Suitability

42. All accommodation provided to meet a homelessness duty must be suitable. Councils must keep suitability under review and assess suitability for each household individually. (Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.8 and 17.9) Location will always be a relevant factor. (17.4)
43. Miss X says the interim accommodation provided by the Council when she was evicted was unsuitable because of its location. The Council’s assessment of Miss X in August identified she needed to be in the borough because of her children’s education. There is no evidence showing whether or how the Council considered this before deciding the B&B was suitable in August 2024. Failure to do so was fault.
44. There is also no evidence the Council considered whether the accommodation remained suitable once the school term started in September. Miss X provided evidence that the school had been providing direct assistance with the school run because of her mental health. It could not continue to do so now she was living so far away. The Council has to be mindful of its duty under section 11 of the Children Act to safeguard and promote the welfare of children (17.55). Failure to consider this was fault.
45. On balance, the accommodation was unsuitable once the school term started and Miss X could not reliably get her child to school. This means Miss X and her children spent a month in unsuitable accommodation. This is an injustice to Miss X.

Delay accepting duties

46. The Council accepted the relief duty in February 2024. This means it should have decided whether it owed the main housing duty in April. The Council still had not made this decision when it responded to Miss X’s stage two complaint in December. This delay was fault. As a result, Miss X did not have the statutory right to review the suitability of her accommodation. This is an injustice to Miss X.
47. In response to my enquiries, the Council offered £500 as a remedy for the injustice caused by this fault. This is a suitable remedy.

Communication

48. The records show that Miss X’s allocated officer changed multiple times. There were periods when no officer was allocated to her case. The Council’s communication with Miss X about this was poor. This was fault. It caused Miss X avoidable distress and uncertainty, which is an injustice.
49. The Council offered Miss X Property 2 and withdrew it the same day. Miss X says she was there for a few hours and had started cleaning and getting set up when the Council withdrew the offer. It is not the Council’s fault that the property did not meet its standards. But the Council should have ensured the property met its compliance standards before Miss X signed up for the property. Not to do so was fault. This avoidably raised Miss X’s expectations and she experienced the frustration and inconvenience of moving only to have to move again the same day. This is an injustice to Miss X. Miss X says she was “absolutely devastated” at having to move back into a hotel.

Allocations

50. Because of the age and gender of her children, Miss X has a three-bedroom need under the Council’s allocations policy. It was not fault for it to amend her application to reflect this.
51. Miss X asked the Council to allow her to continue to bid on two-bedroom properties. The Council said she could not do this under its allocations scheme.
52. The allocations scheme says:

“to ensure applicants do not face undue financial hardship…they will be permitted to bid for properties that have one bedroom and one bed space less that their assessed housing need”

But also:

“Two siblings of the opposite sex will only be able to share a bedroom if both are under 10 years old.”

53. Ms X’s children are not both under 10 and are not the same sex. This means, under the Council’s allocations policy, they cannot share a bedroom. The Council correctly applied its policy to Ms X’s application and was not at fault.

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Action

54. In addition to the £1,000 offered by the Council in response to my enquiries, the Council has agreed to also take the following action to remedy the injustice to Miss X from the faults I have identified:
1. Apologise to Miss X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology;
2. Pay Miss X £250 for the month she spent in unsuitable accommodation;
3. Pay Miss X a further £250 for her avoidable distress, uncertainty, and raised expectations.
55. The Council should take this action within four weeks of my final decision.
56. The Council has agreed numerous recommendations following previous investigations to improve its homelessness service. I have not repeated those here.

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Decision

57. I have completed my investigation. There was fault by the Council. The action I have recommended is a suitable remedy for the injustice caused.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman