Summary: Ms D says the Council delayed moving her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. The Council accepts fault in this case and has agreed to pay Ms D redress and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. The complainant (whom I refer to as Ms D) says the Council delayed moving her from unsuitable temporary accommodation to a one bedroom property. She also complains the Housing Solutions Officer has failed to respond to contact.

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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 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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What I have and have not investigated

4. The Council’s final stage complaint response to Ms D in 2024 incorrectly advised her to escalate her complaint with the Housing Ombudsman. I have taken this into account and exercised discretion to look at events from November 2023 (when the Council accepted a main housing duty towards Ms D) through to April 2025 (when the complaint was passed to our Assessment Team).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Ms D and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

What happened

Background

7. Ms D became homeless in July 2023 and approached the Council for assistance. The Council carried out a suitability assessment and placed Ms D and her child into a studio flat (interim accommodation).

Events I have investigated

8. On 3 November 2023 the Council notified Ms D it had accepted a main housing duty towards her. She had been registered to bid for social housing properties using the Council’s website. It also advised that she could ask for a review of the suitability of her temporary accommodation within the next 21 days. Ms D remained in the studio flat which changed its status to temporary accommodation.
9. The Council is unable to locate records of contact by the Housing Solutions Officer allocated to the case and Ms D from November 2023 through to April 2025.
10. On 30 January 2024 Ms D complained to the Council. She had been in a studio flat since July 2023. As her child got older the accommodation was becoming more cramped, there was insufficient space for her child to move around. Ms D said she had been unable to get through to her Housing Solutions Officer who was not responding to calls or emails. She asked the Council to move her to a one bed temporary accommodation. The Council responded on 23 February. It said ‘we will accept your request for a larger temporary accommodation’. It would add Ms D on a transfer list to be rehoused to a one bed property and would contact her once a suitable property was available. It did not address the issues about the Housing Solutions Officer. The Council accepts there is a lack of documentation about reviewing the suitability of Ms D’s accommodation after she complained. It says she was placed on the transfer list, in the High Need group, because the accommodation was unsuitable.
11. On 25 March Ms D asked the Council to escalate her complaint because her situation had not changed. She needed to be moved urgently. The Council said on 29 April that it would send a substantive response by 16 May. The Council sent its response on 16 June and apologised for the delay. It stated Ms D was in accommodation suitable for one adult and one child. She was on the transfer list and when a property became available that met her needs the Council would tell her. It could not give a timeframe for when this would happen as it had a severe housing stock shortage for temporary accommodation.

Events after my investigation

12. Ms D moved to alternative temporary accommodation (a one bedroom flat) in September 2025 following issues with a neighbour which placed her at risk.

What should have happened

Interim and temporary accommodation

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

Transfers to alternative temporary accommodation

15. Where an applicant tells the Council their temporary accommodation is unsuitable, and the Council agrees, it will place the applicant onto a transfer list. Applicants are assessed as Emergency Need (highest priority) or High Need. The Housing Supply Team monitor the list on a daily basis to see what alternative accommodation is available and match it to the applicants on the waiting list. Priority is given to applicants in the Emergency Need group.
16. The Council’s temporary accommodation placement policy sets out proactive measures the Council takes for applicants on the transfer list. This includes:
• A regular review of individual cases to identify changing needs
• Introduction of a dynamic purchasing system to enable the Council to source accommodation from a wider pool of providers
• Liaising with landlords and accommodation providers to identify and secure accommodation.

Was there fault by the Council

17. The complaint responses by the Council failed to deal with Ms D’s concerns about the lack of communications from her Housing Solutions Officer. It also failed to look into the issues with her temporary accommodation in sufficient detail. The June 2024 response incorrectly stated Ms D was in suitable accommodation despite already being accepted onto the transfer list because her accommodation was no longer suitable for her needs. The Council accepts it “failed to adequately investigate these matters”. It also accepts it wrongly signposted Ms D to an incorrect ombudsman service in its final stage complaint response.
18. The Council has failed to make case notes for November 2023 onwards. There is no record of the Housing Support Officer contacting Ms D or of any activity in her case. That is not acceptable and supports Ms D’s complaint that she did not receive assistance from the Council at an already difficult time for her.
19. There is also no record to show how the Council decided to place Ms D in the High Need transfer list group or, once on the transfer list, the Council carried out regular reviews of her case. In addition I have no evidence to show whether sufficient action was taken to check her case against available accommodation. These are serious failures by the Council.

Did the fault cause an injustice

20. The faults by the Council meant that Ms D remained in unsuitable accommodation without support from when she raised the suitability issue in January 2024 through to the end of my investigation period. Ms D did not receive a reasonable level of service.

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Action

21. The Council accepts fault in this case and has offered to remedy the injustice to Ms D. It will:
• Send Ms D an apology
• Pay £1800 for the time spent in unsuitable accommodation without support
• Pay £250 for poor complaint handling
22. I consider that to be a reasonable remedy to the injustice I identified.
23. In addition, the Council will make service improvements including:
• Reminding officers to refer complainants to the correct ombudsman service.
• Review the process for the temporary accommodation transfer list.
24. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions within four weeks of the case closing.

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Decision

25. I find fault causing injustice. I have closed the investigation because the Council agrees to remedy the fault and injustice I have identified.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman