Summary: Miss B complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application. We find the Council at fault for referring Miss B to the incorrect support team. This caused a delay in Miss B receiving the correct housing support. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Miss B to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss B complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application. Miss B said the Council provided incorrect information, failed to support her in securing a suitable property and failed to respond to her complaints. Miss B told us the delays, misinformation and responses from Council staff have caused her stress and anxiety and she feels let down by those who should have helped her. Miss B would like the Council to pay compensation and allocate her a case worker who knows how to provide her the correct support.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
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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What I have and have not investigated

5. Miss B complained to us in March 2025 about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application. Miss B submitted a formal homelessness application in January 2023 and the Council responded to this application. The law says we should not investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons for the delay. I have seen no reason Miss B could not have complained about her January 2023 application earlier.
6. Miss B contacted the Council due to a change in circumstances in November 2024. This is within 12 months of Miss B’s complaint. My investigation looks at the Council’s handling of Miss B’s homelessness application from November 2024 until she secured a privately rented property in April 2025.

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How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Miss B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Miss B 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

Legal and administrative background

9. 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.
10. 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)
11. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with 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)

The relief duty

12. 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

13. 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).

Background information

14. Miss B submitted a homelessness application to the Council in January 2023 after fleeing an abusive relationship.
15. The Council assessed Miss B’s 2023 application and determined she was not homeless as she was living with family.

What happened

16. The following is a summary of key events. It is not intended to be a detailed chronology.
17. Miss B contacted the Council in November 2024 as she and her child had been asked to leave the accommodation they were sharing with family. Miss B told the Council she would be homeless by the end of November.
18. The Council considered Miss B’s application within 14 days. Towards the end of November the Council wrote to Miss B to explain it had accepted the relief duty. The Council provided Miss B with a personalised housing plan and referred her for support from a housing officer. Miss B was incorrectly referred to a housing officer from the team which supports individual applicants. Miss B was not an individual applicant as she was seeking support for herself and her child. This resulted in Miss B being given inaccurate information about her application.
19. At the end of November, Miss B contacted her housing officer to explain she had found a property which may be suitable. Miss B asked the housing officer to proceed with securing the property. The housing officer did not respond to Miss B’s email.
20. Miss B contacted the Council in January 2025 to request a new housing officer as she was not satisfied with the support she was receiving.
21. At the beginning of February 2025, Miss B was contacted by a housing officer from the Council’s Private Sector Housing Procurement (PRS) team. The officer explained how the Council could support Miss B with securing a property in the private rented sector.
22. The Council told Miss B it had a scheme which could provide support with securing a private rented property rather than providing temporary accommodation. Where applicants choose to secure private rented accommodation instead of temporary accommodation the Council will award them additional points on its housing register. Miss B confirmed she wanted to secure private rented accommodation and additional points rather than move into temporary accommodation.
23. From March 2025 Miss B also received support from a domestic abuse housing officer. This officer contacted Miss B to discuss her case. Following the phone call the officer wrote to Miss B to say the Council had accepted the relief duty.
24. In April 2025 the Council supported Miss B in securing a private rented property. This discharged the Council’s relief duty.
25. In response to our enquiries the Council confirmed it accepted the main housing duty in May 2025. The Council made Miss B an offer of permanent social housing in June 2025. Miss B has since moved into this accommodation.

Complaint handling

26. Miss B submitted a formal complaint to the Council in January 2025. Miss B complained her housing officer had provided inaccurate information which had impacted her housing search. Miss B also complained the housing officer failed to respond to a potential suitable property and this meant Miss B was unable to secure the property.
27. The Council responded to Miss B’s complaint at the end of January. The Council agreed Miss B had been provided incorrect information which had impacted her housing search. The Council also agreed the officer’s response to the potential property was insufficient and fell below the standard of service the Council expects. The Council upheld Miss B’s complaint, apologised for the faults and said it would reallocate her case to a new officer immediately.
28. Miss B escalated her complaint to stage two the following day. Miss B explained she believed she would have secured suitable accommodation if the housing officer had fulfilled their responsibilities. Miss B also raised further concerns which included the following:
• The personalised housing plan does not explain the difficulties in securing private rented accommodation due to landlord’s requirements for a guarantor.
• Miss B did not receive proactive support in searching for a property.
• Council officers do not have sufficient training in dealing with domestic abuse survivors.
29. The Council issued a stage two complaint response at the end of February 2025. In response to Miss B’s stage two complaint the Council said:
• It acknowledged it could have provided explicit information about the challenge of landlords requiring a guarantor. The Council explained it would review its processes and ensure this information was clearly communicated in future.
• The Council apologised Miss B did not receive the level of assistance expected from the housing officer. Miss B had now been assigned a new housing officer.
• The Council apologised Miss B felt it was not sensitive to her needs. The Council explained the housing department was undergoing domestic abuse refresher training.

My findings

30. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s consideration of Miss B’s homelessness application in November 2024. The Council completed a full assessment and accepted the relief duty within 14 days of being made aware of her change in circumstances.
31. Once the relief duty was accepted, the Council referred Miss B to the wrong support team. There was a delay of approximately three months in Miss B being referred to the correct support team. This is fault which caused Miss B frustration and uncertainty and delayed Miss B receiving the correct support.
32. Between November 2023 and February 2025, the Council’s communication with Miss B was inconsistent and there was an occasion where Miss B’s housing officer failed to respond to an email about securing a suitable property. This is fault which caused Miss B distress, frustration and uncertainty. I have not seen evidence to suggest Miss B would have secured this property if not for the fault.
33. In March 2025 the Council wrote to Miss B to say it had accepted the relief duty. This is fault as the Council had already accepted the relief duty in November 2024. I do not consider this fault caused Miss B a significant injustice as the Council continued to support Miss B in securing private rented property.
34. The relief duty, accepted by the Council in November 2024, ended after 56 days, in January 2025. The Council should have made a decision following the end of the relief duty. It did not write to Miss B to accept the main housing duty until May 2025. This is a delay of approximately four months. The delay in accepting the main duty is fault, however I do not consider this caused Miss B a significant injustice as the Council was continuing to support Miss B to secure private rented accommodation which was her preferred outcome.
35. Following Miss B’s complaint in January 2025, the Council acted promptly to ensure Miss B was supported by the correct teams. There is no evidence of fault in the support Miss B received from the Council from February 2025.
36. There is no evidence of fault in the Council’s handling of Miss B’s complaint.
37. The Council has completed several service improvements in response to Miss B’s complaints. For this reason, I have not recommended any additional service improvements.

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Action

38. Within one month of the final decision the Council will:
• Apologise to Miss B for the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the faults identified. 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 its apology.
• Make a symbolic payment of £300 to Miss B in recognition of the injustice caused by the faults identified.
39. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

40. 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