Summary: Miss X complained about the Council housing her in the unsuitable accommodation. We found fault with the Council for its failure to review suitability of Miss X’s accommodation. We also found fault in the Council’s complaint handling. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Miss X. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to recognise Miss X's distress.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the Council housing her in the unsuitable accommodation for a long time. Miss X says the Council’s failings affected her health and caused her distress at the time when she became a mother and in the first months of her daughter’s life.

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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. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
4. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. 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

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Law and guidance

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.

The relief duty and interim accommodation

9. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called 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)
10. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe they may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
11. The relief duty ends when the applicant accepts or refuses an offer of accommodation which is suitable and likely to be available for at least 6 months, or, failing this, if 56 days have passed.

The main housing duty and temporary accommodation

12. If a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need, it has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
13. The accommodation a council provides until it can end the main housing duty is called temporary accommodation. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it.

Suitability

14. Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable has a statutory right to ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability within 21 days of being notified of the decision. (Housing Act 1996, section 202). There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.
15. 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)
16. Councils must complete reviews of decisions about the suitability of accommodation within eight weeks of the date of an applicant asking for a review. A time extension is possible if the applicant agrees in writing. Applicants have the right to appeal to the county court if councils take more than the prescribed time to complete the review. (Housing Act 1996, Sections 202, 203 and 204)
17. If reviews find accommodation is unsuitable, councils must provide suitable accommodation. If reviews find accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, Section 204)
18. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is a continuing duty. Councils must keep the issue of suitability of accommodation under review and respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Paragraph 17.8)

What happened

Background

19. In December 2023 Miss X applied to the Council to be housed as a homeless person. The Council carried out a housing needs assessment for Miss X and accepted its relief duty for her. Miss X was pregnant. The Council offered her a room in the hostel it owned, which it considered suitable (the Property).

Suitability

20. At the end of February Miss X asked the Council to find her a different accommodation. She said the Property was not suitable for a new-born baby due to the smell of smoking. She also raised concerns about mould in the kitchen, which would affect her food preparation once the baby was born.
21. In mid-March 2024 the Council ended its relief duty and told Miss X it was accepting its main housing duty for her. The Council told Miss X she had the right to ask for a suitability review of her property.
22. Miss X raised concerns about the Property again in the second week of April 2024.
23. Miss X gave birth at the end of May 2024. The Council asked Miss X to provide her baby’s birth certificate, which she did.
24. In mid-August 2024 Miss X contacted the Council again querying suitability of the Property. She raised several issues, such as unsanitary kitchen and bathroom, the size of her room, the smell of smoke and the lack of privacy.
25. Three days later Miss X complained.
26. The Council did not uphold Miss X’s complaint. It said she had been on the housing transfer list since April 2024. The Temporary Accommodation team was actively working to secure a different accommodation for her. The Council said it was the first time Miss X was raising any concerns about her temporary accommodation.
27. At the end of October 2024 Miss X asked for her complaint to be considered at stage two of the complaint process. In its response the Council said Miss X had been added to the housing transfer list at the end of July 2024. The Council explained the shortage of housing in the area and advised Miss X to continue bidding regularly showing flexibility about the area and the property type.
28. After another communication from Miss X in February 2025, the Council referred her to us.
29. In the third week of April 2025 Miss X moved to a one-bedroom property offered by the Council.
30. In its response to our enquiries the Council did not accept the Property was not suitable for Miss X and her baby, quoting statutory regulations concerning overcrowding. The Council explained it had placed her on the transfer list as it was aware of her need for a larger property.

Analysis

31. The Council considered the Property was suitable for Miss X both before the birth of her baby and afterwards. The Council accepted Miss X needed a larger flat after her baby was born and therefore placed her on the transfer list.
32. From the end of February 2024 Miss X regularly asked the Council to find her a different property, raising various concerns. Apart from the size of the Property she commented on the state of the Property’s kitchen and bathroom, smoke and the lack of privacy.
33. The Code refers to the Council’s duty to keep the suitability of temporary accommodation under review. Although Miss X did not specifically ask the Council to review suitability of the Property, her communication with the Council should have triggered a suitability assessment, possibly leading to a review. The size of the Property was not the only issue raised by Miss X so placing her on the transfer list was not sufficient.
34. The Council’s failure to review suitability of the Property for Miss X is fault. We cannot say, even on the balance of probabilities, what the Council’s decision would have been if it had carried out a suitability review. Even if the Council had considered the Property unsuitable, due to the general housing situation it would have been unlikely to find a different accommodation for Miss X any sooner than it did.
35. The Council’s fault caused Miss X distress. She spent much time contacting the Council and explaining her circumstances but the Council failed to acknowledge this correspondence and act upon it. Miss X’s distress was increased by the specific circumstances of her life at the time and her vulnerability before and after the birth. Part of Miss X’s injustice was also uncertainty what the outcome would have been if the Council had carried out a suitability review. If the Property had been considered unsuitable, even if the Council could not have offered a different accommodation it might have taken some actions to address Miss X’s concerns such as mould in the shared areas.
36. I also found fault in the way the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint. The Council’s responses were confusing as at both stages of the complaint process the Council suggested different dates of placing Miss X on the transfer list. Besides the Council suggested that Miss X’s complaint was the first time she communicated her concerns about the Property’s suitability for her, which was not correct.
37. The Council’s confusing statements in its complaint responses increased Miss X’s distress.

Service improvement

38. In the last year we issued several decisions in which we recommended the Council undertake some actions to improve its services when the suitability of interim or temporary accommodation is queried. We said the Council should:
• review its procedures for acting on reports of disrepair in interim/temporary accommodation to ensure property inspections are arranged promptly;
• identify what further steps it can take to reduce the time it takes to process statutory and non-statutory review requests and include this in the Housing Needs Improvement Plan;
• consider reviewing how it can improve its general oversight of the condition of temporary homeless accommodation it has organised under its homelessness duties in line with the Housing Act 1996. It should also remind relevant officers and managers of the need for the Council to inspect accommodation itself if there are persistent reports of disrepair issues. This will help to ensure the Council itself has a clear picture of accommodation it is placing homeless applicants into, rather than relying on information from third parties;
• ensure it has mechanisms in place to assess the suitability of temporary accommodation following reports of disrepair from tenants.
• ensure it considers the suitability of temporary accommodation in response to complaints of disrepair, including damp and mould, and issues a written decision setting out the applicant's right to ask for a suitability review. It will provide training or guidance as needed.
39. In October 2024 the Council started a Temporary Accommodation Improvement Project which aims at improving the Council’s services in this area.
40. We recognise it will take some time for the Council to address its failings identified in our recent investigations. We will be monitoring the effectiveness of the Council’s actions following our recommendations through our casework.

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Action

41. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, we recommend the Council complete within four weeks of the final decision the following:
• apologise to Miss X for the injustice caused to her 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 the apology I have recommended;
• pay Mrs X £750 to recognise her distress.

The Council will provide the evidence that this has happened.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has accepted my recommendations, so this investigation is at an end.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman