Summary: The Council was at fault for failing to provide interim accommodation or to accept the relevant homelessness duties when Miss X approached it for assistance when she was homeless after fleeing domestic abuse. This meant Miss X was left without accommodation for two months. The Council should apologise to Miss X and make a payment to acknowledge the distress and frustration caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council:
• mishandled her homeless application in February and March 2024, when she was homeless and fleeing domestic abuse. Miss X said this left her homeless, at risk and without support causing distress and hardship.
• lost a referral to adult social care, made on her behalf, in February 2024, leaving her at risk and without support.
• did not carry out the actions it said it would in response to her complaint and its communication with her has been poor, causing her distress and frustration.

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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. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
4. Most homelessness decisions carry a right of review, followed by a right of appeal to the county court on a point of law.
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 before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant 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.

Definition of homelessness involving domestic abuse

9. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)
10. It is not reasonable for a person to continue to live in accommodation if it is probable this will lead to violence or domestic abuse against them. (Housing Act 1996, Section 177)

Interim accommodation - domestic abuse

11. 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)

Duty to make inquiries

12. 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)

The prevention duty

13. If a council is satisfied an applicant is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, it must take steps to help the applicant keep their home or find somewhere new to live. In deciding what steps to take, a council must have regard to its assessment of the applicant’s case. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)

The relief duty

14. 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)

Seeking evidence about domestic abuse

15. The Homelessness Code of Guidance (the Code) says councils should obtain an account of domestic abuse and support the victim to outline their experience. However, it says if the applicant’s experience has been documented already by a domestic abuse service – where possible – councils should utilise existing statements to avoid asking the victim to re-live their experience unnecessarily. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 21)
16. The Code says councils should not have a blanket approach toward domestic abuse which requires corroborative or police evidence to be provided, as in some cases this kind of evidence is not available due to lack of adult witnesses or victims being too afraid or ashamed to report incidents to family, friends or the police. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 21)

Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)

17. A MARAC is a meeting where agencies share information on high risk domestic abuse cases. The meetings can include representatives from the police, health, child protection, housing, probation and other relevant specialists. The MARAC provides a plan to safeguard the adult victim.

What happened

Homelessness support

18. In early 2024 Miss X contacted the Family Justice Service (FJS) in Croydon. The FJS is the Council’s domestic abuse service. Miss X was fleeing domestic abuse and required support with safety planning and housing as she was unable to return to her home.
19. Miss X lived in a housing association property in the Council’s area. The Housing Association advised the FJS Miss X could not safely return to her home. However, it was not able to offer her alternative accommodation. Miss X went to stay with a friend temporarily.
20. The FJS says it submitted a referral to the Homelessness Intervention Team. The Council says it has no record of the referral being received on the date the FJS said, but it did receive a referral three days later. At this time the FJS told the Council it considered Miss X to be at high risk and in need of alternative accommodation.
21. The Council advised the FJS Miss X needed to make an online housing application and to book an appointment through its portal. The Council said it also attempted to contact Miss X to advise her of this.
22. In response, Miss X made an online housing application. The Council says Miss X made an application to join the housing register rather than a homeless application. The application was rejected as the Council said Miss X had no identified housing need. The Council did not send Miss X a decision letter, as it said she had not put an address on her application.
23. Miss X and the FJS contacted the Homeless Intervention Team several times to ask for an update. The Council did not respond to these enquiries.
24. Miss X’s circumstances were then discussed at a MARAC meeting. The outcome of the meeting was for the Independent Domestic Violence Advocate to contact Housing to ask for a progress update.
25. Miss X still had no contact from the Council. She attended the Council in person. She explained she was homeless, fleeing domestic abuse and was no longer able to stay with her friend. The Council told Miss X it had rejected the housing register application she made. It told her to complete a new self-help referral form, which she submitted the following day.
26. Miss X was given an out of hours telephone number to access emergency accommodation. She said when she called the number it was an automated response and she was unable to speak with anyone. The Council says there is an option on the response to speak with a duty officer, but Miss X may have ended the call too soon.
27. The Council says it did not make enquiries or make a decision about the homeless application Miss X made. It remained on file until the following year when the Council closed the referral with the reason ‘lost contact’.
28. Miss X says she spent two nights street homeless after she visited the Council in early 2024 and spent the next month staying with different people until, later that month, she was assisted by another domestic abuse unit to find a refuge place in another council area.
29. Miss X says she received a call from Housing Options acknowledging her applications had been lost and which said the Council would follow up her homelessness application and referral to Adult Social Care.
30. Later that year, as a result of Miss X’s complaint to us, the Council contacted Miss X to see if she needed assistance with housing support. Miss X said she now had housing in another council area. The Council issued a decision letter to Miss X stating it had no housing duty to her as she was not homeless.

Referral to Adult Social Care

31. In early 2024 Miss X’s housing association made a referral to Adult Safeguarding for Miss X. The Housing Officer received an automatic reply from the Council that a referral had been received.
32. Later that month the Housing Officer contacted the Council about Miss X’s referral and Miss X says she was told it had been lost.
33. Miss X raised this issue in the complaint she made to the Council. The Council says it has no record of receiving a referral for her.

Complaint handling

34. Miss X made a complaint to the Council after her visit to the Contact Centre. Miss X complained about:
• her missing homelessness applications.
• the assistance and advice she received on her visit to the Contact Centre.
• her missing referral to Adult Social Care.
35. She received a response two months later. The Council said it would prioritise finding and processing her housing application and social care referral. It also said it would allocate a member of staff to provide advice and support to her to help resolve her housing situation. The response also acknowledged its duty to support her.
36. Miss X contacted the Council by email after a further month as she had not had any further contact. She received no response. Three months later Miss X emailed the Council again. She provided a chronology of events, detailed her areas of complaint and requested urgent contact from the Council. Miss X received no response.
37. Early the following year we contacted the Council about Miss X’s complaint. The Council contacted Miss X who said she wanted her complaint to be considered at Stage 2 of the complaints process and detailed her outcomes.
38. The Council contacted Miss X a second time to ask her which part of the Stage 1 complaint she felt had not been adequately addressed and said it would not be able to progress her complaint until it received her response. Miss X responded, however, the Council asked for a more specific response. Miss X sent additional information.
39. The Council said it would address her complaint at stage two of the complaints procedure and would send its response the following month.
40. Miss X contacted the Council to ask for an update about the complaint response. She received no response from the Council.
41. The Council issued a stage 2 complaint response in autumn that year. In its response the Council acknowledged it did not take the actions it said it would in the stage one response and apologised for this. It said:
• A self help form and appointment should have been offered, along with assistance in completing the self help form, given Miss X was fleeing domestic abuse.
• There was no evidence the homelessness intervention and prevention team responded to the further enquiry made by the FJS in early 2024.
• When Miss X then visited the Council, the officer confirmed the Council had rejected her housing application on the basis Miss X had no housing need. It said this assessment was incorrect given Miss X was a victim of domestic abuse and it should have provided advice and support.
• Staff should have provided support and clear guidance when she attended the Council. They should have waived the requirement to complete a self help form given she was fleeing domestic abuse and assessed as at high risk.
• It had closed the application she submitted in Spring 2024 as ‘lost contact’. It said this was an inaccurate and inappropriate reason for closing the case and it should have issued a decision letter.
42. The Council apologised for its faults and for closing the homelessness application without completing the required enquiries. It offered Miss X £1450 to acknowledge the impact of its faults and said it would reassess Miss X’s housing needs.

Findings

Homelessness support

43. The FJS contacted the Council to tell it Miss X was homeless and fleeing domestic abuse. The Council should have made interim accommodation immediately available to Miss X whilst it undertook its investigations. As it did not do this it is fault. This left Miss X without settled accommodation and having to temporarily stay with friends at a time when she was particularly vulnerable and in need of support. In its complaint response to her the Council apologised for this fault.
44. When Miss X made an application to the Housing Register this was rejected as there was no identified housing need. This was fault as Miss X had a housing need as she was a victim of domestic abuse and the Council had already been made aware of this. In its stage 2 response the Council acknowledged it should have given Miss X advice and support and apologised to Miss X for closing her application.
45. During the following months, both Miss X and the FJC contacted the Council to request updates but received no response. This poor communication is fault and caused Miss X additional frustration and distress when she was trying to secure accommodation.
46. When Miss X met with the Council she said she was homeless and no longer able to stay with her friend. At this point the Council had another opportunity to offer Miss X interim accommodation whilst it made its enquiries. It did not do so which is fault and meant Miss X was left homeless and at risk.
47. The Council told Miss X she needed to complete a self-referral form. This is fault. The Council in its stage 2 response says it should have waived this requirement due to Miss X’s experience of domestic abuse and high risk.
48. Miss X was not offered assistance to find interim accommodation other than being given the Council’s out of hours telephone number to ring to access emergency accommodation. It appears Miss X had some difficulty in navigating the automated telephone system. However, to provide her with only a telephone number was not an appropriate level of support. This is fault and caused Miss X distress and left her without accommodation.
49. When Miss X submitted the self-referral form the Council did not progress the application or make a decision as to whether it owed Miss X a housing duty. The application remained on file until the Council closed it as ‘lost contact’ with Miss X. This is fault and added to the distress and frustration Miss X experienced. The Council’s failure to make a decision about its housing duty also delayed her right to review.
50. The Council did not reach a decision on Miss X’s homelessness application until late 2025. This delay added to Miss X’s frustration.
51. In its stage two complaint response the Council apologised to Miss X for not providing her with the correct assistance as someone fleeing domestic abuse. The Council says it has made service improvements since then to ensure it proactively supports vulnerable residents.
52. Miss X was left without accommodation for three months, when she was able to find a place in a refuge with support from another council. This included Miss X spending two nights street homeless during the winter and staying with different friends, at a time when she was already vulnerable as she was fleeing domestic abuse.
53. In it stage two complaint response to Miss X the Council recognised its fault and said it would share learning with the team to reinforce the importance of adhering to proper procedures.

Adult Social Care

54. There is evidence to show Miss X’s housing officer made a referral to Adult Social Care in early 2024. However, the Council says it has no record of this. When the housing officer became aware the referral had been lost there is no evidence to show any further referrals were made.
55. Losing a referral is fault and will have added to Miss X’s frustration and distress. However, it is not possible to know if the referral would have been accepted by the Council or whether Miss X would have been eligible for support.

Complaint handling

56. The Council’s stage one complaint response gave Miss X incorrect advice and said the Council would take actions it then did not do, this is fault. Miss X believed the Council was taking steps to address its faults and to provide her with support. That it did not do so caused her considerable frustration.
57. Miss X contacted the Council several times about the follow up actions to her complaint response. The Council did not respond. This poor communication is fault, adding to her frustration.
58. When the Council contacted Miss X about her complaint in response to its contact from us, it asked her for additional information a number of times, telling her it would not otherwise progress her complaint. Miss X had already sent a detailed email and the Council had a copy of the complaint Miss X had made to the LGSCO detailing her complaint. Repeatedly asking for further information was not necessary and caused further delay, adding to Miss X’s frustration.
59. In its stage two complaint response the Council apologised to Miss X and recognised her experience had fallen far short of the service it should provide. The Council offered Miss X a compensation payment of £1450. I have considered this is line with our guidance on remedies and am not satisfied it is sufficient to remedy the injustice caused.

Other investigations about this Council

60. In June 2025 we issued a report on a separate complaint about this Council and the way it responded to homelessness applications. We made recommendations to address the delays and poor complaint handling. The Council provided evidence of the actions taken to address the faults identified. I have therefore limited my service improvement recommendations to those areas not covered by the previous report.

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Agreed Actions

61. Within one month the Council has agreed to take the following actions to remedy the injustice to Miss X:
1. Apologise to Miss X for the impact of its failure to provide her with interim accommodation and for the distress and frustration the Council’s delays and poor complaint handling caused her. 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.
2. Pay Miss X an additional £550 on top of the £1,450 it has already offered to recognise the injustice caused to her by its failures.
62. Within three months the Council should:
1. Provide evidence of the changes it says the housing service implemented to ensure vulnerable residents are supported through the online application process.
2. Provide training to housing service staff to ensure they understand the housing duties owed to someone fleeing domestic abuse.
63. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

64. I find fault causing injustice and the Council has agreed to remedy that injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman