Overview:

Key to names used

• Ms X The complainant
• B Her youngest child
• Mr Y Ms X’s representative

Summary

Mr Y complained on behalf of Ms X about the Council’s handling of her homeless application after she received notice to leave a private tenancy. Particularly, that the Council told Ms X to stay in the property until the court issued a bailiff warrant. Mr Y says Ms X experienced avoidable financial loss and distress.

Finding

Fault found causing injustice and recommendations made.

Recommendations

The Council must consider the report and confirm within three months the action it has taken or proposes to take. The Council should consider the report at its full Council, Cabinet or other appropriately delegated committee of elected members and we will require evidence of this. (Local Government Act 1974, section 31(2), as amended)

To remedy the injustice to Ms X and B from the fault we have identified, within four weeks of the date of this report the Council should:

• apologise to Ms X in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology;

• pay Ms X £7,690.24, being the avoidable rent arrears, court costs, and charging order resulting from the failure to provide interim accommodation when Ms X first became homeless;

• pay Ms X a further £750 to recognise her avoidable distress and uncertainty; and

• pay B £1,000 to recognise the avoidable distress and risk of harm.

To prevent the faults causing injustice to others, within four weeks of the date of this report the Council should:

• identify all open cases where an applicant who may be in priority need has remained beyond the expiry of a section 21 notice;

• in each case, make and record a decision, with reference to the Code of Guidance, about whether it remains reasonable for them to continue to occupy their accommodation and therefore whether they are homeless;

• for those applicants it decides are homeless and might be in priority need, provide interim accommodation;

• for those applicants it decides can remain despite the notice having expired, review this decision before each stage of the possession process or with any other change in circumstances.

The Council recently completed its action plan to address failings in its homelessness service following a previous Ombudsman report. We have not repeated those recommendations here. However, within three months of the date of this report the Council should take the following action to improve its services.

• Provide training and guidance to relevant staff on 6.29 to 6.38 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance, including:

  • minimum expectations for demonstrating decision making in case notes;

  • the importance of making a considered decision in each case on the facts of that case and not applying a blanket policy; and

  • the increasing likelihood an applicant is homeless as the possession process proceeds and the need to revisit decisions about whether an applicant is homeless before each stage and with any other relevant change in circumstances.

• End the blanket practice of waiting until one week before bailiffs evict an applicant to provide interim accommodation and instead approach each case on its own facts and circumstances.

• Identify and implement a process to enable officers to plan for and manage likely future accommodation supply and demand, especially where applicants are assessed as needing to remain in the borough. For example, tracking cases of applicants who will be owed interim accommodation whose notice is due to expire/homelessness is imminent and matching them to available accommodation, allowing the Council to make better strategic use of available accommodation to meet the needs of individual households.

• Share a copy of this decision with staff responsible for responding to complaints about housing along with the Council’s stage one and stage two responses to identify learning and improve complaint handling.

• Update us on the roll out of the complaint handling improvement project, including how the Council plans to review its effectiveness.

The Council has accepted these recommendations.

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