Summary: Miss Y complained about the response to her reports of issues at the temporary accommodation the Council provided for her. We have found fault, causing injustice, because of delays by the Council’s agents, for which the Council is responsible, in responding to Miss Y’s reports of issues with the cooker at the accommodation. The Council has agreed to remedy this by apologising to Miss Y and making a payment to reflect the upset caused.

The complaint

1. Miss Y complains the Council, and its agents managing the temporary accommodation the Council provided for her under its homelessness duties, failed to respond adequately to her reports about:

• an issue with the thermostat: Miss Y says the accommodation has had no working thermostat since she moved there in November 2023. Because of this, she has been unable to control the heating and temperature at the accommodation and incurred excessive energy bills over the last two years; and
• the cooker: She says it stopped working in November 2024. It was left in a dangerous condition with exposed wiring following a visit from the agents in January 2025. A new cooker was not installed until March 2025. She was very worried about the danger from exposed wiring to her children. She was unable to cook for her family while the cooker was not working.

2. Miss Y says she and her family have been left living in unsuitable accommodation because of the impact of these issues. She wants the Council to arrange a replacement of the thermostat with a functional, programmable, or smart, device and pay redress for the excessive energy bills, distress and impact on her family.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. We investigate complaints about councils and certain other bodies. Where an individual, organisation or private company is providing services on behalf of a council, we can investigate complaints about the actions of these providers. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 24A(1)(A) and 25(7), as amended).
4. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these.
5. 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)
6. 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

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

What should have happened

Suitability of accommodation

9. 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. Councils must also ensure the accommodation is free from disrepair or hazards. This duty applies to interim accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
10. A council is responsible for the actions of providers of interim or temporary accommodation because they are acting on its behalf.    
11. 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.,

What happened

12. I have set out a summary of the key events below. It is not meant to show everything that happened. It is based on my review of all the evidence provided about this complaint.

Background

13. In November 2023, the Council provided Miss Y and her children with temporary accommodation under its homelessness duties.
14. The accommodation is owned by a private landlord. The Council’s agents manage this property, and other temporary accommodation placements, on its behalf.
15. The agents’ service standards say it:

• performs a pre-tenancy inspection to assess the condition of the home. This includes ensuring all fixtures and fittings with plumbing, electrics and heating and fully working. It also carries out an efficiency test to ensure boilers and loft insulation meet current government regulations;

• arranges scheduled servicing of boilers, alarms etc to prevent breakdowns. It responds to any unforeseen repair requests by prioritising on an urgency and safety basis. It has a 24/7 emergency helpline; and
• has a team which handles all maintenance/defects and uses monitoring and tracking systems which allows these to be completed within the required timeframe.

16. The agents provided Miss Y with an information sheet when she moved in setting out details of its service and her responsibilities regarding the accommodation. This information:

• set out the agents’ contact details, including the emergency number and email address for maintenance issues; and
• said any maintenance issues should be reported by email. It would aim to respond within 24 hours. If a response was not received within 48 hours, the issue should be reported to its office.

March 2024: room thermostat request

17. Miss Y has provided a screenshot of her message to the agents on 11 March 2024. In this message she told the agents:

• an electrician had attended to replace the gas and electricity meters with smart meters. But this couldn’t be done because the request for replacement had to be made by the landlord; and
• asked it to book a new appointment for the meter replacement, and for the room thermostat to be changed as well.

18. The agents replied to the message asking for Miss Y’s property address, which she confirmed.
19. I haven’t seen records of any further contact between Miss Y, the agents or the Council about the thermostat until November 2024.

November 2024: report of oven/cooker issues

20. Miss Y has provided a screenshot of her message to the agents on 7 November. She told it the oven had completely stopped working that afternoon and must be changed for a new one. The agents said the request would be forwarded to the office.
21. Miss Y sent a further message on 8 November chasing the request. The agents said they were waiting for an update.
22. On 14 November Miss Y contacted the Council. She said she had reported the cooker had stopped working to the agents on 7 November, been told it would be repaired but nothing had been done yet. She also said she had asked the agents to replace the current meter with a smart meter but had not received any response to this either.
23. The Council forwarded Miss Y’s concerns to the agents.

December 2024: agents’ record of contact

24. The agents’ record refers to a report on 2 December Miss Y’s oven was not getting hot and she was unable to use it to bake. The agents’ instruction was to investigate and rectify and it recorded an end date of 31 December.
25. The agents have said their technician working for the agents attended to inspect the oven and the hob. They provided video evidence showing three out of the four burners on the hob were working, the technician repaired the fourth burner and the oven.
26. I haven’t seen records of any further contact between Miss Y, the agents or the Council about the oven/cooker issue in December.

January 2025: further contact about the oven/cooker

27. Miss Y has provided a screenshot of her message to the agents in which she said the oven and cooker had not worked at all since the evening of 7 January.
28. I understand the agents’ technician inspected Miss Y’s cooker. Miss Y has said they disconnected the cooker but left the cables exposed and this was a safety risk to her children. She was told an electrician would come to fix it the next day, but nobody came.
29. The agents have said the cooker was disconnected from the power supply, there were no exposed live cables and it was left in a safe condition.

Miss Y’s complaint to the Council

30. Miss Y complained to the Council on 15 January. She said:

• there had been a lack of communication and response to her reports of cooker issues and safety risks. The Council should repair or replace the cooker immediately and deal with the dangerous wiring;
• she had repeatedly asked for the replacement of the thermostat in her home with a smart meter to help her manage her energy bills. The current system forced her to choose between extreme heating or no heating. The agents had not taken any action to obtain the landlord’s approval for a smart meter; and
• the Council should reassess her housing situation. Her current temporary accommodation was unsuitable and she should be prioritised for permanent social housing.

Council’s action in response to the complaint

31. The Council asked the agents to investigate the issues raised in Miss Y’s complaint. The agents told the Council on 31 January they had visited Miss Y’s accommodation that day and:

• there had been some issues due to the landlord’s lack of communication. A new oven was delivered the previous week but not installed;
• an engineer was attending the next day to install the oven and remove the old one. There were no exposed wires. Miss Y had been referring to the sockets behind the oven which were not visible or accessible, and would be dealt with when the new oven was fitted; and
• the thermostat was not working but they had shown Miss Y how to select the heating temperature on the boiler. They could fit a new thermostat if required.

32. The agents advised the Council the new cooker was installed on 1 February and the old one removed.
33. In its response of 6 February to Miss Y’s complaint the Council confirmed what it had been told by the agents about the installation of the new cooker on 1 February, the safety of the old cooker, and the response to the thermostat issue.
34. The Council also told Miss Y:

• permanent social housing was allocated through the bidding process; and
• it had not upheld her complaint. There had been no service failures by the Council. The problems she experienced were with the agents.

The Council’s final response to Miss Y’s complaint

35. Miss Y asked the Council to review her complaint. She said she had been without a working cooker for over three months and had had two years without proper heating control, resulting in high bills.
36. In its final response, the Council said:

• the agents had provided evidence showing, prior to their repairs to the cooker, three of the four burners were working as expected, and only the front right burner was not working. This was repaired the same day;
• although it was not ideal to be without an oven for a period of time, she had been able to cook using the three functioning gas burners until the oven was repaired;
• the thermostat was not working but the agents confirmed they had shown her how to operate and select the relevant temperature from the boiler. She was able to control the temperature in her property in this way; and
• the agents advised they would contact her to arrange the thermostat repair/replacement.

37. Miss Y was not satisfied with the Council’s response and brought her complaint to us in March 2025.

My decision – was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

Our approach to complaint about disrepair in temporary accommodation

38. An applicant provided with temporary accommodation by the Council is expected to report any defects or disrepair to the landlord or managing agent in the first instance.
39. But if the landlord or agent fails to respond or does not inspect the property and arrange for works to be done in a reasonable time, the applicant may then contact the council. The council should then liaise with the landlord or managing agent to get necessary repairs done and check works have been satisfactorily completed.

The Council’s response to Miss Y’s reports of disrepair

40. I have not found fault with the Council’s response to Miss Y’s contact about the issues with the cooker and the thermostat.
41. I haven’t seen any evidence Miss Y reported the issue about the cooker to the Council until 14 November. The Council properly referred Miss Y’s reports to the agents.
42. I haven’t seen any evidence Miss Y contacted the Council again about the issues until her complaint in January 2025. In my view the Council then properly investigated the issues with its agents. The outcome of its enquiries indicated the agents were taking action to resolve the issues and the Council then confirmed the position to Miss Y.

The agents’ response to Miss Y’s reports of disrepair

43. I haven’t seen any evidence Miss Y reported an issue with the thermostat until her complaint to the Council in January 2025.
44. Her only previous contact with the agents in March 2024 had been about her request for the installation of smart meters. Although she also asked for the room thermostat to be changed as well, she did not report any problem with this.
45. Following Miss Y’s contact about the thermostat with the Council in January 2025, the agents visited Miss Y and showed her how to set the heating temperature using the controls on the boiler.
46. With regard to the cooker and oven, based on the information I have seen, my understanding is:

• there was an initial delay by the agents in responding to Miss Y’s contact on 7 November about the oven issue with the oven. The agents do not appear to have taken any action to check this until December; but
• according to the agents’ record of 2 December Miss Y reported the oven was not heating up properly. The agents’ evidence is, when they attended to inspect the cooker, three out of the four burners on the hob were working. They then repaired the fourth burner and the oven;
• in response to Miss Y’s message the oven and hob had stopped working on the evening of 7 January, a technician attended on or about 10 January and disconnected the cooker; but
• there was then a delay by the agents in arranging for a new oven and hob to be supplied and installed by the landlord. The evidence I have seen shows the new cooker was fitted on 1 February.

Conclusion

47. I appreciate why Miss Y might like the existing gas and electricity meters and thermostat to be replaced with smart meters and devices. But I don’t consider the decline of her requests for these affect the accommodation’s suitability. The agents have confirmed the heating is working and its temperature can be set using the boiler controls.
48. I have not found fault with the Council’s response to her reports of issues with the cooker and the thermostat.
49. But I have found fault by the agents, for which the Council is responsible because of their delay:

• in responding to Miss Y’s initial report about the oven in November 2024. This caused Miss Y uncertainty and inconvenience until it was repaired in December 2024; and
• arranging a replacement cooker in January. This left Miss Y without a working oven or hob from 7 January to 1 February. This caused her additional uncertainty and inconvenience.

50. Based on the information and photos provided I don’t consider there is evidence the cooker was left in a dangerous condition in January. Although I appreciate why Miss Y may have been worried, the Council explained the position in response to her concerns.

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Action

51. When a council commissions or arranges for another organisation to provide services we treat actions taken by or on behalf of that organisation as actions taken on behalf of the council and in the exercise of the council’s functions. Where we find fault with the actions of the service provider, we can make recommendations to the council alone.
52. To remedy the injustice caused by the above faults, and within four weeks from the date of our final decision, the Council has agreed to:
1. apologise to Miss Y for the distress and uncertainty caused by its agents’ delay in responding to her reports of issues with the cooker at her accommodation. This apology should be in line with our guidance on Making an effective apology; and
2. pay Miss Y £150 to reflect the upset caused by its agents’ delays. This is a symbolic amount based on our guidance on remedies
53. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

54. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above action to remedy this injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman