Summary: Mr Z complains on behalf of Miss X that the Council placed her in Bed and Breakfast accommodation with her small children for longer than the law allows. Mr Z said the area the Council placed Miss X was unsuitable due to the crime rate. Mr Z has also complained about the way the Council has investigated his complaint. Mr Z says Miss X has been caused distress and has been placed in accommodation which was not suitable. We find no fault in the actions of the Council.

The complaint

1. Mr Z complains on behalf of Miss X that the Council placed her in Bed and Breakfast (B&B) accommodation with her small children for longer than the law allows. Mr Z also said the area the Council placed Miss X was unsuitable due to the crime rate. Mr Z has also complained about the way the Council has investigated his complaint.
2. Mr Z says Miss X has been caused distress and has been placed in accommodation which was not suitable.

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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. 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)
5. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by the Council and Mr Z as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Mr Z and the Council were invited to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

Homelessness accommodation

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.
9. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
10. A council must secure accommodation for applicants and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
11. Examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age;
• care leavers; and
• victims of domestic abuse.

12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally 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 the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
13. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2). Councils must keep the suitability of accommodation under review.
14. Bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. B&B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.35)
15. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of several council decisions, including a decision that accommodation offered to the applicant after the council accepted the main housing duty was suitable.
16. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
17. 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 (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Complaints handling

18. The Council has a two stage complaints procedure which covers issues including homelessness accommodation. Its policy says that, at stage two, it will appoint an independent senior officer to review the complaint and that this will not be the same person who responded at stage one.
19. The Ombudsman’s Complaints Handling Code says a person responding to a complaint at stage two should not be the same person that considered the complaint at stage one.

What happened

20. Miss X contacted the Council in November 2023 and told it she was about to become homeless with her two small children.
21. The Council accepted the prevention duty in January 2024 and issued a personalised housing plan.
22. The Council accepted the relief and interim accommodation duties in early May 2024 and Miss X moved into B&B accommodation towards the end of May 2024.
23. The Council moved Miss X to another accommodation in late June 2024. In early July, the Council accepted it owed Miss X the main housing duty. This meant Miss X’s housing became temporary accommodation. Miss X raised issues with the accommodation in late July 2024 and said she was having issues with other residents and was unhappy with the local area.
24. The Council responded to Miss X the following day to say it would look into the issues with other residents, but it could not control what happened in the local area. The Council said it would look to move Miss X.
25. The Council moved Miss X to a third accommodation in early August 2024.
26. Mr Z complained to the Council on Miss X’s behalf in mid-October 2024. He said Miss X had been placed in B&B accommodation with small children and had stayed in B&B accommodation for more than six weeks.
27. The Council responded at stage one of its complaints procedure to say Miss X had been moved out of B&B accommodation after five weeks. It explained it had decided the second accommodation Miss X was moved to was not classed as B&B accommodation as it had individual cooking facilities in the form of a microwave the Council had supplied for Miss X’s sole use.
28. Mr Z disagreed with the Council and asked it to respond at stage two of its complaint’s procedure in early December 2024. Mr Z said he was concerned with the location of the second accommodation Miss X had been placed in. Mr Z also said he did not agree with the Council’s decision that the second accommodation was self-contained and that he felt there were wider issues with the Council’s use of B&B accommodation.
29. The Council issued a stage two response in mid-December 2024 which said it did not offer Miss X a remedy payment as it did not agree she had been in B&B accommodation for longer than six weeks and the accommodation was not unsafe. The Council said it accepted there were concerns about the area but, the level of crime there was lower than in other years. It noted it had not received reports of issues with the area from other residents, other than with noise. The Council said it was satisfied the sole use of a microwave meant it was self-contained, and it did not agree its use of B&B accommodation was avoidable. The Council also said the costs of the accommodation was comparable with other temporary accommodation it used.
30. The Council has also explained it has taken action to try and source additional accommodation.

Analysis

Bed and Breakfast accommodation

31. The Ombudsman makes findings on maladministration. This can occur if a council has not acted in line with relevant law and guidance. We cannot make judgements on how to interpret legislation.
32. The Council has decided that by providing a microwave to homeless applicants living in a B&B, it was providing self-contained accommodation. This means it could house applicants there for more than six weeks. The Council has applied that approach consistently on similar applications, which is what we would expect to see. Whether or not the Council’s interpretation of what constitutes B&B or self-contained accommodation was correct is not something the Ombudsman can decide; it is for the courts to consider. We therefore cannot achieve Miss X’s desired outcome of reaching a decision as to whether the second accommodation should be classed as B&B accommodation and we discontinue our investigation into this point. It is open for Miss X to challenge the Council’s decision through a judicial review.
33. Mr Z also raised complaints about the area the second accommodation was located. The Council has accepted there were concerns about the area but, the level of crime there was lower than in other years. It noted it had not received reports of issues with the area from other residents, other than with noise. While I appreciate Miss X may have been unhappy with the location of the second accommodation. However, the Council has investigated her and Mr Z’s concerns and reached a view that the location was suitable. I have found no fault in the Councils actions.
34. Mr Z has also noted what he feels are systematic and ongoing issued with the Council’s service. While the Ombudsman has power to make recommendations to improve a council’s practice, we do so based on complaints about personal injustice. We have no power to have ongoing oversight over a Council’s service. We therefore cannot achieve Mr Z’s desired outcome and as such will not investigate this part of his complaint.

Complaints handling

35. Mr Z feels the Council’s complaints handling was poor because the person that responded at stage two was insufficiently independent because they were in a management position within the housing department responsible for interim and temporary accommodation. The Ombudsman would expect the senior officer appointed to respond to a stage two complaint to have sufficient understanding of the issues to answer the complaint. This is likely to mean the officer is based in the department responsible for the matters complained about.
36. The senior officer was sufficiently independent from the matters Mr Z complained about on Miss X’s behalf, which was in accordance with its complaints policy, and which was itself in line with the Ombudsman complaints handling code.

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Decision

I find no fault.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman