Summary: The Council did not take a homeless application when it was told that a service user had no accommodation for a second night. This was fault. The Council has agreed to apologise, review its procedures and make a symbolic payment. This remedies the uncertainty caused, as the complainant will never know if the situation might have been different.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Ms X, complains the Council did not take a homeless application immediately when the complainant visited the Council offices and said she was homeless due to domestic abuse.
2. Ms X says that the Council’s actions increased her anxiety and she had to pay for bed and breakfast accommodation for a couple of nights.

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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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. 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

7. 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.
8. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
9. If someone contacts a council seeking accommodation or help to obtain accommodation and gives ‘reason to believe’ they ‘may be’ homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days, the council has a duty to make inquiries into what, if any, further duty it owes them. The threshold for triggering the duty to make inquiries is low. The person does not have to complete a specific form or approach a particular department of the council. (Housing Act 1996, section 184 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 6.2 and 18.5)
10. Councils can suggest alternative solutions in cases of potential homelessness where these would be suitable and acceptable to the applicant. However councils must not do this to avoid their legal duties, especially the duty to make inquiries into the applicant’s homelessness. The Ombudsman has criticised councils for ‘gatekeeping’ practices, for example, failing to take a homelessness application at the earliest opportunity.
11. After completing inquiries, the council must give the applicant a decision in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons. All letters must include information about the right to request a review and the timescale for doing so. (Housing Act 1996, section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance 18.30)
12. If a council has reason to believe an applicant may be homeless as a result of domestic abuse, it should make interim accommodation available to the applicant immediately whilst it undertakes its investigations. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 21.25)

Key Facts

13. Ms X has the tenancy of a house in another Council’s area, where she is currently living.
14. The file notes show that Ms X visited the one of the Council’s housing offices at 4 pm on Thursday 1 February 2024. Ms X said she was homeless due to domestic abuse. The Council’s file notes say that ‘the housing officer attempted to find supported accommodation for her but due to the time there was nowhere available. Ms X was provided with the Council’s out of hours housing telephone number and directions to the nearest police station. Ms X was asked to go the domestic abuse hub the next day to complete an assessment’.
15. Ms X visited the housing offices the next morning. She was given a support workers telephone number and directions to temporary accommodation.
16. In the afternoon, the file notes show that Ms X contacted the Council to say that the external support worker would not allow her to make a dual housing benefit claim, which would allow her to keep her existing tenancy.
17. Ms X emailed the Council on Friday at 4 pm saying she needed accommodation tonight. The Council officer provided her with the out of hours telephone number.
18. Ms X stayed in accommodation at the weekend which was funded by the church she attended.
19. On Monday 5 February the Council sent a referral to the domestic abuse hub. On 5 February the hub found Ms X a place in a hosing charity hostel, who said they would need to look into the dual housing benefit. Ms X also said that she did not want this accommodation. On 6 February Ms X accepted a room via the hub and she left the room paid for by the church.
20. On 4 March, Ms X emailed the Council to say she did not feel safe at the accommodation.
21. The housing provider served Ms X with a notice to leave the property and informed the Council she would be homeless on that 20 March 2024.
22. Ms X made a homeless application on 20 March 2024 and the Council accepted the Prevention duty. Ms X remained at the property but was due to be evicted due to her behaviour on 21 March 2024.
23. Ms X said on 21 March 2024 that she wanted to return to her property in another area and the Council arranged a taxi for her to do this. The Council confirmed that she had a property in another area that was available to her and she had the keys to.

My analysis

24. The Council has accepted that it should have ensured that a homelessness application was taken from Ms X when it became aware that accommodation could not be provided for her on 2 February 2024.
25. It is not possible to decide what would have happened differently if the fault had not occurred. The Council has apologised and I consider it should make a symbolic payment of £250 towards her distress and expenses.

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Action

26. Within one month of the date of the decision on this complaint the Council has agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X in writing. 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 Ms X £250.
• Confirm the approach that should generally be taken in dual housing benefit circumstances and provide evidence to show support workers and the domestic abuse hub are informed of this.
27. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

28. I have completed my investigation. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy the injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman