Summary: Ms X complained there were failings in the way the Council dealt with her homelessness application causing distress and uncertainty. We find fault by the Council as it failed to offer Ms X temporary accommodation after it accepted a main housing duty towards her and to carry out a suitability assessment of the accommodation she was living in then. We have recommended a suitable remedy in this case so have completed our investigation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains there were failings in the way the Council dealt with her homelessness application causing distress and financial loss. In particular Ms X says the Council:
• Failed to tell the hotel she had been allocated as temporary accommodation of her child’s disability. This led to an argument with the hotel asking her to leave. The Council then failed to follow up her concerns about disability discrimination by the hotel against her child.
• Provided her with temporary accommodation out of the borough causing Ms X difficulties getting her child to school. Ms X says the Council then failed to tell the next hotel about her child’s disability and needs.
• Offered her unsuitable interim temporary accommodation and then unlawfully discharged the s188 relief duty as she refused the accommodation alleging mould at the property.
• Failed to provide temporary accommodation between 4 April 2024 and 18 May 2024 despite accepting a s193 main housing duty causing Ms X financial loss as she had to fund her own accommodation.
• Provided unsuitable temporary accommodation from May 2024 to December 2024. Ms X says the Council should compensate her for each month she remained in the temporary accommodation she found inaccessible.
• Failed to consider a potential conflict of interest between Ms X and a housing officer.

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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. 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 investigated Ms X’s complaints from February 2024 when the Council provided interim accommodation until November 2024 when it offered her permanent accommodation under the main housing duty.
5. I have not considered Ms X’s complaints about the suitability of the temporary accommodation offered to her in May 2024. This is because Ms X would have had the right to seek a review of the suitability of the temporary accommodation followed by an appeal to the county court. It is reasonable to expect Ms X to have sought a review and then appealed to the courts. This is because the courts can decide on the facts of the case and whether the Council’s original decision was correct.

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How I considered this complaint

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

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What I found

Relevant legislation and guidance

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.

The prevention duty

9. If a council is satisfied an applicant is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, it must take steps to help the applicant keep their home or find somewhere new to live. In deciding what steps to take, a council must have regard to its assessment of the applicant’s case. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
10. A Council will often secure interim accommodation for an applicant while it considers their application.

The relief duty

11. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)

The Main Housing Duty

12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to make accommodation available. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39). The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
13. 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)
14. 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

What happened in this case

15. The following is a summary of key events relevant to my consideration of the complaint. It does not include everything that happened.
16. Ms X approached the Council for housing assistance in September 2023. Ms X and her child were living in privately rented accommodation, but their landlord was threatening to evict them. The Council accepted the prevention duty towards Ms X in October 2023 after making enquiries about her situation.
17. Ms X’s landlord issued a notice of eviction. The Council accepted a relief duty towards her in February 2024 and issued her with a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP). This advised of the steps the Council was taking and steps she needed to take to relieve her homelessness. The Council assessed Ms X’s application under its Housing Allocations scheme and awarded her Band 2, the second highest banding.
18. The Council provided Ms X with interim temporary accommodation on 6 February 2024. Ms X was liable to pay rent to the Council for the interim accommodation placements. It advised Ms X to claim for housing benefit to help towards her housing costs and it would consider Ms X’s income when deciding any housing benefit claim. The Council says it only provides hotel accommodation to clients with children as a last resort when it has no other options available.
19. The Council moved Ms X to another hotel when she had to leave the first hotel as it would not allow Ms X to stay. The hotel said it was due to Ms X refusing to allow staff to come in and clean her room as required by its policy.
20. Ms X provided medical information about her child. The Council sent this to its medical assessor to consider whether the hotel as interim accommodation was suitable to meet the child’s needs. The medical adviser considered the offer of hotel accommodation as suitable on an interim basis.
21. The Council looked for self-contained interim accommodation for Ms X and in March 2024 offered her a one bedroomed accommodation. The Council considered it suitable to meet the needs of Ms X and her child. It says the offer was in line with its Temporary Accommodation Placement Policy.
22. Ms X declined the offer saying there was mould in the bathroom. The Council made enquiries about the accommodation with the provider who confirmed there was no issue with mould at the property. After considering evidence provided the Council was satisfied the property was fit for occupation.
23. Despite the Council’s enquiries about the accommodation, Ms X remained unwilling to accept it. So, the Council discharged it s188 duty to provide her with interim accommodation on 21 March 2024. Ms X’s homelessness application remained open and under consideration by the Council.
24. The Council referred Ms X to Children’s Social Services in March 2024 due to her decision to refuse the interim accommodation and the possibility of her child becoming homelessness. A social worker spoke to Ms X. The social worker’s notes say Ms X confirmed her child would not become street homeless as she would self-funded her own accommodation and could stay with her grandmother. In commenting on the draft decision Ms X says she did not advise the social worker she could stay with her grandmother, just that she had family in the area. Ms X says her grandmother’s flat was one bedroomed and in a complex for people over 60 years old so not suitable.
25. The Council says it has no liability to pay for Ms X’s self-funded accommodation. And Ms X could have applied for housing benefit to see if it would cover the cost of the accommodation.
26. The Council asked Ms X to advise where she was staying so it could contact her about her application. Ms X responded on 22 March 2024 saying she was remaining at the hotel paying by credit card. But would shortly run out of funds and be homeless. On 25 March 2024 Ms X’s housing officer contacted social services with concerns about Ms X who had advised she had no money left for hotel accommodation and no family to stay with. Social services said it would not accept a referral to its service as it considered Ms X was clear she had family to stay with.
27. The Council contacted Ms X and informed her it had discharged the interim duty, so she needed to find her own accommodation. It had been advised by social services she had family she could stay with. Ms X responded she was staying in a hotel and had not said she had family she could stay with.
28. The Council accepted the main housing duty towards Ms X on 4 April 2024 as 56 days had passed since it accepted a relief duty. It considered Ms X was in priority need, eligible for assistance and homeless. On 5 April 2024 the Council made Ms X an offer of a housing association flat under part VI of the Housing Act 1996. This was an offer of accommodation to end the housing duty owed to her. The Council consider the accommodation suitable for her and an unreasonable refusal would also end the housing duty. Ms X would then need to make her own housing arrangements.
29. Ms X spoke to a housing officer about the offer on 11 April 2024. The housing officer said it was above the local authority housing rate so the Council could not proceed with the offer as unaffordable for her. The officer noted Ms X said she was away with work for two weeks and would then stay with a family member.
30. Ms X provided further information disputing the suitability of the property being offered under the main housing duty. On 22 April 2024 the Council recorded Ms X refused the accommodation due to the distance from her child’s school. The Council withdrew the offer of the accommodation and did not regard it as a discharge of its duty. So, it continued to have a housing duty towards her.
31. The Council offered Ms X temporary accommodation under the main housing duty on 20 May 2024 which Ms X accepted. In correspondence with the Council Ms X confirmed she had just moved in to live with her grandmother on 18 May 2024. Ms X said she had been living in hotel accommodation previously which impacted on her financially and had no other choice but to live with her grandmother.
32. In April 2024 Ms X complained to the Council at stage 1 and pursued a stage 2 complaint in June 2024 as she remained unhappy with the Council’s response. In summary Ms X complained the Council:
• Did not protect her and her child from discrimination and victimisation when made to leave the hotel. And the Council failed to tell the hotel about her child’s disability so it could make reasonable adjustments.
• Then moved her to hotel accommodation further away from her child’s school causing extra financial costs to travel to school. Once the hotel apologised for its actions Ms X was allowed to return but the Council did not move her back there for 10 days despite her requests.
• Allowed a housing officer had a potential conflict of interest with to deal with her case which was inappropriate.
• Unlawfully discharged its s188 duty as it did not properly investigate the mould she reported at the interim property. And then did not provide her with temporary accommodation on the same day it accepted a main housing duty towards her.
33. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaints and did not uphold her complaints. The Council:
• Confirmed it had assessed the medical information provided by Ms X about her child. It considered based on advice from the medical assessor Ms X, and her child could have left the hotel room for the 30 minutes it was being cleaned and waited in the hotel lobby.
• Confirmed it did not tell the hotel about the child’s disability as it would have been excessive information sharing and it considered no reasonable adjustments were necessary for them. This was in line with the suitability assessment carried out before offering Ms X the hotel accommodation.
• Noted Ms X’s concerns it did not challenge the lawfulness of the hotel’s decision to require entry to the room and to ask Ms X to leave. The Council advised that hotels were private establishments, and it could not compel them to accept the Council’s clients.
• Explained it used emergency temporary accommodation as a last resort. It placed Ms X at the second hotel in line with its Temporary Accommodation Placements Policy. It noted Ms X was using taxis to get her child to school. But considered she could have used nearby public transport as a cheaper alternative. However, the Council acknowledged the financial strain moving to the second hotel caused and agreed to reimburse Ms X £250 for half of the fares she claimed if she provided evidence of the fares as a good will gesture. The Council said it moved Ms X back to the first hotel as soon as it could.
• Interviewed the housing officer about the possible conflict of interest but did not uphold the concern and noted her case was dealt with by at least six other officers. The Council noted Ms X had not raised any concerns she was unhappy with the officer’s involvement in her case, so the Temporary Accommodation team were unaware of the matter.
• Confirmed that before letting properties it required managing agents to carry out an inspection to ensure the properties were a lettable standard. There had been such an inspection with the property offered to Ms X as interim temporary accommodation. The Council raised Ms X’s concerns with the managing agents who confirmed there was no mould in the bathroom. Ms X was advised of this, that she could move in and then complain about the condition of the property to the Contracts and Compliance team. The team would be able to help resolve any repair issues. Ms X was also advised if she refused the interim temporary accommodation the Council would discharge its duty to house her while considering her homelessness application. The Council allowed Ms X additional time to decide about the property. As Ms X refused the property, the Council discharged its s188 duty. The Council says it later it offered the property to another applicant who did not report any mould.
• Noted Ms X’s concerns she was offered temporary accommodation under the s193 duty when she had been previously refused accommodation so made alternative arrangements to provide some stability for her and her child. Ms X said she was threatened that the Council would discharge its main housing duty towards her if she did not move into temporary accommodation offered in May 2024.
• Confirmed it had discharged its s188 duty towards Ms X as she had refused the interim temporary accommodation it offered. But it accepted a main housing duty towards she so now had a duty to provide her with temporary accommodation under the s193 duty. The Council said when it notified her it accepted the main housing duty Ms X advised she was staying with a family member and so had accommodation available to her. Due to the shortage of temporary accommodation, it would have provided her with emergency temporary accommodation, likely a hotel, if she had not been staying with the family member. Instead, she was able to stay with the family member which was more beneficial to her until it found her suitable alternative accommodation. The Council then found Ms X temporary accommodation and offered it to Ms X which she accepted.
34. Ms X complained the stage 2 stated she would have been offered temporary accommodation had she not been staying with a family member. Ms X disputed she was staying with a family member. Ms X said she was staying in a hotel when the Council accepted a main housing duty towards her causing her to run up a debt for the charges. Ms X has subsequently provided evidence of the cost of her hotel stays between 4 April 2024 to 18 May 2024 totalling £2,052.79.
35. The Council responded to Ms X’s concerns on 13 June 2024 about the stage 2 saying she was living with a relative. It confirmed it had reviewed the records and noted she was staying in a hotel which she self-funded. A housing officer had referred her to social services as Ms X had said she was struggling to continue to fund her stay. The Council apologised for the miscommunication and acknowledged she was staying in a hotel once it had discharged the s188 duty. It noted some miscommunication with social services who advised the housing officer Ms X could remain with family should she need accommodation beyond the hotel. Ms X then advised was not the case. But once the s188 duty had been discharged Ms X was liable to make her own arrangements either in a hotel or with family.
36. The Council said once it accepted the main housing duty it looked to provide further accommodation for Ms X although she would have been liable for the rent. But due to the shortage of temporary accommodation units available to the Council demand was a high. This made it difficult to source accommodation for clients.
37. Ms X was unhappy with the temporary accommodation offered by the Council due to access issues for her child. Ms X moved into the accommodation and remained there until November 2024. The Council then offered Ms X permanent accommodation which she accepted.

My assessment

38. The documents provided show the Council investigated Ms X’s complaints about issues with hotels and the potential conflict of interest with a housing officer. The Council did not uphold Ms X’s complaints but offered her a £250 goodwill payment towards travel costs when she moved to a hotel that was further away from her child’s school. I do not consider there are grounds for us to investigate this part of Ms X’s complaints further. This is because I am satisfied the Council has thoroughly investigated Ms X’s complaints on these matters. I do not consider we can add anything to the investigation carried out by the Council or achieve a different outcome for her.
39. The evidence shows the Council offered Ms X interim temporary accommodation to discharge its s188 duty. The Council responded to Ms X’s concerns by checking the property with the managing agents. The Council was satisfied there was no mould in the bathroom. It advised Ms X of her option to accept the property and then raise repair issues if needed. The Council gave Ms X additional time to decide whether to accept the property. Ms X refused the property, so the Council discharged its duty to provide her with interim temporary accommodation while considering her homelessness application.
40. It is not for us to say whether the accommodation offered was suitable and it is unfortunate Ms X chose to refuse the offer. But I am satisfied from the evidence provided the Council took suitable action to check Ms X’s concerns and advised her on appropriate courses of action to take. There is no evidence of fault by the Council in dealing with Ms X’s concerns about the s188 accommodation. Ms X was therefore responsible for funding her own accommodation while the Council continued to consider her homelessness application.
41. Once the Council accepted a main housing duty towards Ms X on 4 April 2024 it had a duty to find her suitable accommodation. The Council made Ms X an offer of more permanent accommodation but later withdrew it accepting it was not suitable.
42. The Council says it did not provide Ms X with temporary accommodation as she advised she was staying with her grandmother. It has provided copies of two emails from Ms X in May 2024 confirming the situation. The Council considered it was beneficial for Ms X to stay with her grandmother while it sourced temporary accommodation for her.
43. However, in the emails the Council refers to Ms X mentions living with her grandmother but only from 18 May 2024. Before that Ms X has provided evidence, she and her child remained in temporary accommodation at a hotel from 4 April 2024 to 18 May 2024. And this impacted onto her financially as she was funding the stays. The documents also show Ms X advised the Council on several occasions she was in hotel accommodation and not staying with her grandmother during that time period.
44. The Council had a duty to offer Ms X suitable accommodation once it accepted the main housing duty, temporary or permanent. If it considered she was staying with her grandmother, then it should have carried out a suitability assessment of the accommodation. This is because it has a duty to ensure it is suitable as it accepted a main housing duty. There is therefore fault by the Council. This is because there is no evidence to show it considered offering Ms X temporary accommodation once it accepted a main housing duty and withdrew the part VI offer. Or that it carried out a suitability assessment of the accommodation Ms X was living at in April 2024. This is especially as Ms X was disputing the Council’s understanding of where she was living. The Council subsequently accepted its records showed Ms X was staying in hotels.
45. I consider therefore the Council should apologise to Ms X for failing to offer her temporary accommodation on 4 April 2024 and for not carrying out a suitability assessment of the accommodation she was living in. This has caused an injustice to Ms X through distress, uncertainty whether she would be offered temporary accommodation by the Council and financial cost at having to fund her own accommodation. To remedy the fault and injustice I have identified the Council should pay Ms X £2,052.79 to cover the cost of the hotel accommodation she paid for between 04 April 2024 and 18 May 2024. The Council should also make Ms X a symbolic payment of £250 in recognition of the uncertainty and distress caused to her by the failure to offer her temporary accommodation and carry out a suitability assessment of the accommodation she was living in until it offered her temporary accommodation on 20 May 2024.

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Agreed Action

46. Within one month of the date of my final decision the Council will:
• Apologise to Ms X for failing to offer her temporary accommodation and carry out a suitability assessment once it accepted a main housing duty towards her in April 2024 causing distress and uncertainty. 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 in my findings.
• Pay Ms X £2,052.79 to cover the cost of the hotel accommodation she paid for between 04 April 2024 and 18 May 2024.
• Pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £250 in recognition of the distress and uncertainty caused by the Council’s failure to offer her temporary accommodation and carry out a suitability assessment of the accommodation she was living in.
47. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

48. I find fault causing injustice and have made suitable recommendations in this case 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