Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to secure suitable temporary accommodation for him and his family. We find the Council at fault for not moving Mr X to suitable temporary accommodation, causing stress and upset. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the Council’s handling of him and his family’s housing situation. Specifically, Mr X has said his studio flat is unsuitable temporary accommodation for his family. The Council has accepted this property is unsuitable due to overcrowding and also not fit for human habitation, but it has not yet found him another accommodation to suit his family’s needs. Mr X says this is causing real distress and frustration for his family as well as health issues.

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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(1), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mr 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 law and policy

6. 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.
7. 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)

What happened

8. Mr X presented as homeless to the Council with his wife and two children. The Council accepted a homelessness duty to Mr X’s household and provided them with a studio flat in a neighbouring borough as temporary accommodation.
9. In August 2024, Mr X contacted the Council to explain there were issues of disrepair in the flat, including damp and mould, and asked for a transfer to a different temporary accommodation. The Council passed these concerns onto the property managing agent to resolve.
10. The property managing agents told the Council they had treated the issues complained of in order to resolve them.
11. Mr X contacted the Council again to explain he did not believe the accommodation was suitable for him and his family and asked to be transferred to a different property. Mr X said the damp and mould had not been resolved and there were numerous disrepair issues.
12. The Council inspected Mr X’s temporary accommodation in December 2024. The Council’s inspecting officer found that in its current condition, the temporary accommodation was not suitable for human habitation and was too small for Mr X and his family. The inspecting officer concluded Mr X and his family should be moved as soon as possible and the Council placed them on a list to await a transfer.
13. In July 2025 Mr X viewed and accepted a direct offer of accommodation from the Council at a different flat. Mr X has confirmed he is happy with this flat and has no concerns around suitability for him and his family.
14. In response to our enquiries, the Council has said it takes a strategic approach to the supply and demand of accommodation. It says it has a dedicated team who support service users in temporary accommodation to find suitable settled accommodation and it provides support and advice to relieve homelessness without the need for temporary accommodation. The Council also says it has recruited a procurement lead to explore the market to source available accommodation to ease the demand for housing.

Analysis

15. The Council responded to Mr X’s initial reports of disrepair, damp and mould by asking the property managing agent to resolve these issues and followed up with them to ensure work was completed. While I appreciate Mr X has said the issues quickly recurred, I do not find the Council at fault here as it acted to rectify the issues he had reported.
16. Mr X then told the Council the issues had not been properly resolved and the property was too small for his family and asked it to consider transferring him to a new property. At this point the Council identified it had a duty to consider the suitability of the accommodation. The Council inspected Mr X’s property and agreed it was not suitable for human habitation in December 2024, so it placed him on a waiting list for a transfer.
17. We do not consider that simply waiting for a suitable property to become available is sufficient for a council to demonstrate how it is meeting its duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation. Not moving Mr X and his family as soon as it identified their temporary accommodation was unsuitable amounts to fault by the Council and, as a result, Mr X remained in unsuitable temporary accommodation for a period of seven months, which is injustice.
18. The Council has set out the steps it is taking to increase the supply of accommodation to prevent a recurrence going forward and it has now placed Mr X in suitable accommodation. However, I find it ought to do more to recognise the personal injustice to Mr X between when it identified his accommodation was unsuitable in December 2024, and when it placed him in new accommodation in July 2025.

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Action

19. The Council should complete the following actions within one month of the date of my final decision:
• Provide Mr X with a written apology for failing to arrange a transfer to suitable temporary accommodation between December 2024 and July 2025. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Mr X £1,400 to recognise the time he spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation between December 2024 and July 2025.
20. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

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

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman