Summary: The Council denied Ms X her right to ask for a review of the suitability of her temporary accommodation. The Council told her she did not have this right. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X. Ms X can complain the Energy Ombudsman about an excessively large electricity bill at a previous property.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not help her recover costs from her previous landlord due to an excessively large electricity bill. She also complained that her current accommodation was not suitable when she moved in.
2. Ms X said she paid £16,000 for electricity in less than a year. She said it has affected her mental health. She said she had strangers coming into the property where she and her children live.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

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)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. We cannot investigate complaints about actions which are not the administrative function of a council. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(1) as amended).
7. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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What I have and have not investigated

Electricity costs

8. Ms X complained the Council did not help her recover costs from her previous landlord due to an excessively large electricity bill. She said she paid £16,000 for electricity.
9. This is not the Council’s responsibility and is not an administrative function of the Council. For this reason, we are not able to investigate this. Ms X can complain to the Energy Ombudsman. We consider they are better placed to deal with this part of Ms X’s complaint.

Suitability of accommodation

10. I have investigated the part of Ms X’s complaint that her accommodation was not suitable.

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How I considered this complaint

11. I considered the information and documents provided by Ms X and the Council. I spoke to Ms X about her complaint. Ms X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on an earlier draft of this statement. I considered all comments received before I reached a final decision.
12. I considered the relevant legislation and statutory guidance, set out below. I also considered the Ombudsman’s published guidance on remedies.

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What I found

What should have happened

13. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
14. 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)
15. If 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)
16. 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)
17. 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.

What happened

18. Ms X and her children had been in temporary accommodation. The Council moved Ms X and her children to different temporary accommodation. They moved in in March 2025.
19. Ms X told the Council the property was shared with other residents so they had no privacy. She also said there were not enough beds so her children had to share.
20. The Council asked the landlord about it the same day. The landlord told the Council they had got Ms X a new bed.
21. Ms X complained.
22. The Council said it asked the landlord for photos. It said the photos did not show evidence that anyone else had access to the property. It said Ms X had sole use of the front door, and there was no evidence it was not self-contained.
23. The Council said the landlord told the Council there was a problem with the back door the day before Ms X moved in, and it was fixed by the time she moved in. The Council said the landlord confirmed Ms X had sole use of the property and no one else was allowed in.

Analysis

24. Ms X complained that her accommodation was not suitable. I have addressed each issue separately below.

Mould

25. Ms X complained the property was not clean when she moved in. She said she complained on the day that there was mould. She said she would not move in that day. She told me she cleaned the property that day and moved in the next day.
26. I am not satisfied there is evidence of fault here. Ms X dealt with the issue and moved in.

No living area

27. Ms X complained there was no living room or common area. I am not persuaded this is evidence of fault.

Children’s beds

28. Ms X complained that for one of her children, there was a piece of foam on a bed base with no mattress cover. She also said there were not enough beds for her children so they had to share.
29. Ms X told me the landlord had been “quite good” because they took action when she complained. Ms X said the landlord replaced the foam mattress and provided an extra bed.
30. I am satisfied the Council contacted the landlord without delay. The landlord responded to the issues without delay, and resolved the issues within a short time of Ms X moving in. I am not persuaded there is fault here.

Not self-contained

31. Ms X complained the property was not self-contained. She said there was a family who lived next door. Ms X said that between a couple of days to a week, that family accessed their property by going through hers.
32. The Council contacted the landlord who provided evidence showing works were done to the property which resolved this issue. The landlord told the Council the works had been done before Ms X moved in. Ms X disputes this.
33. On balance, I am satisfied the Council did what it should have done: as soon as Ms X raised these concerns, it contacted the landlord and satisfied itself that Ms X’s concerns had been addressed. For this reason, I do not find the Council at fault.

Statutory review right

34. In one letter, the Council told Ms X the accommodation was temporary accommodation. In another letter, it told her it was interim accommodation.
35. As I have set out above, temporary accommodation and interim accommodation are different. People in temporary accommodation have the right to a statutory review of the suitability of their accommodation. People in interim accommodation do not.
36. The Council wrongly told Ms X she was in interim accommodation and that she did not have the right to a suitability review. This is fault. This caused injustice because it denied Ms X her right to ask for a suitability review.
37. The Council has accepted it made a mistake telling Ms X it was interim accommodation. It said it has spoken to the relevant officer and the wider team about this. I am satisfied the Council has taken appropriate action to avoid this happening in future. For this reason, I have not proposed the Council makes any improvements to its service.
38. I cannot say what the outcome would have been if the Council had told Ms X she had the right to a review, or if it had completed a suitability review. However, I find the Council followed up on Ms X’s concerns without delay and satisfied itself the landlord had addressed those concerns.

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Action

39. Within four weeks of this decision, the Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X in writing for denying her right to ask for a statutory review of the suitability of her accommodation.
40. 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 when making this apology.
41. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above action.

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Decision

42. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take action to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman