Summary: Mr K complains the Council kept him and his family in unsuitable temporary accommodation for too long, after his landlord sought to evict them. We uphold the complaint and find Mr K and his family remained in unsuitable accommodation for longer than they should have. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

The complaint

1. Mr J complains, on behalf of Mr K, that the Council:
• delayed moving Mr K and his family to temporary accommodation. It has apologised for the delay but has refused to issue any compensation for distress; and
• is in breach of its statutory duty to secure sufficient temporary accommodation.

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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. 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

4. I considered evidence provided by Mr J and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Mr J, Mr K 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

6. 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.
7. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council:

• they are likely to become homeless within 56 days; or
• they have been served with a valid Section 21 notice (a notice to quit a privately rented property) which will expire within 56 days. (Housing Act 1996, section 175(4) & (5)

The relief duty

8. 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

9. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)

Duty to arrange interim and temporary accommodation

10. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
11. A council must secure accommodation for applicants 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)
12. If, after an assessment, a council is satisfied an applicant is unintentionally homeless, eligible for assistance, and has a priority need the council has a duty to secure that accommodation is available for their occupation. This is called the main housing duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)
13. 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.  This duty applies to interim and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
14. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.
15. One court case found that a council can find that someone is living in unsuitable accommodation and so homeless. But that their current accommodation was suitable in the short term, while the council actively sought to find other accommodation. This is sometimes referred to as being 'homeless at home'. (Birmingham City Council v Ali [2009] UKHL 36)

What happened

16. The information below is a summary of relevant events, and does not include every everything that happened during this period.
17. Since the end of 2023 Mr K had been living in a house in multiple accommodation (HMO), which the Council had found for him. He lived in one room, with communal bathroom and kitchen facilities.
18. In January 2024 Mr K told the Council his wife and child were due to join him. In mid-February Mr K went again to the Council to advise his wife and child were due to arrive the following week. The advice from the Council was for Mr K’s family to move into his accommodation.
19. Soon after, Mr K went back to the Council as his landlord had served him with a notice to leave the property. The Council accepted Mr K would need to leave the property.
20. In mid-April the Council accepted a relief duty. Mr K and his family remained in the HMO.
21. In mid-June the Council accepted it had a main housing duty towards Mr K and his family. The letter advised Mr K about how the Council might discharge its duties to him. It did not advise him that the status of his accommodation had changed.
22. At the end of July a court granted Mr K’s landlord a possession order for him to regain possession of the accommodation. The landlord contacted the Council.
23. Shortly after the Council rehoused Mr K and his family. The Council says its manager reviewed the facts and concluded the Council’s approach had been incorrect.
24. Mr J began working on Mr K’s behalf shortly before the possession order hearing. He complained on Mr K’s behalf to the Council. Its response advised:
• it had taken account of the fact Mr K’s home was overcrowded. But it accepted it should have rehoused Mr K and his family from the time it accepted a relief duty to them; so
• it accepted a delay between mid-April to the beginning of August 2024 in making Mr K and his family an offer of accommodation;
• it would not make any remedy payment to Mr K, as he and his family had not suffered any monetary loss.
25. The Council has advised the Ombudsman that it had made several service improvements in the time since the events this complaint is about. These included:
• changed process;
• refresher training;
• more prompts on its homelessness assessment records; and
• a change to its standard template letter for advising applicants it had accepted a main housing duty.
26. The Ombudsman is also investigating another complaint against the Council that deals with similar issues.

Analysis

27. The Council has accepted delay in its provision of interim accommodation for Mr K and his family. Contrary to the Council’s view, I do find there was an injustice to Mr K and his family due to living in temporary accommodation longer than they needed to. And, in line with our guidance on remedies, that injustice demands a remedy.
28. I also find fault that the Council’s June letter accepting it owed Mr K the main housing duty did not inform them that the status of the accommodation they were in had changed. And the letter did not advise them of their right of appeal against the suitability of the accommodation.

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Agreed action

29. I recommended that within one month of my final decision the Council take the following action towards Mr K and his family.
• Apologise. Our guidance on remedies 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.
• Provide a symbolic payment of £1050 for the delay in moving the family out of unsuitable accommodation and the uncertainty about whether they might have moved sooner if the Council had correctly advised them of their appeal rights.
30. The Council has agreed to my recommendations. It should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.
31. We are currently investigating another complaint against this Council about similar events. That complaint is considering the wider issues. So I am not making any recommendations in this decision for service improvements.

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Decision

32. 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