Summary: The Council was at fault for delay telling Ms X about her statutory right to review her temporary accommodation, delay responding to Ms X’s correspondence and complaint about the temporary accommodation. This has caused Ms X distress as she felt the Council did not listen to her and consider if the property met her family’s needs. The Council should apologise and pay Ms X a financial remedy. I have also made recommendations for service improvements.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the temporary accommodation the Council provided. She said it was too small for her and her two children. Ms X said the property was damp and needed repair work. She tried to contact the Council, but it did not respond. She wants the Council to move her family to a property suitable for their needs.

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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 Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Ms 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 legislation

6. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
7. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
8. 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)

What happened

9. I have summarised below the key events; this is not intended to be a detailed account.
10. Bailiffs evicted Ms X and her two children from their home in May 2024.The Council provided interim accommodation for the family at Property A.
11. In June 2024, the Council provided alternative temporary accommodation at Property B. It had two bedrooms.
12. The Council drafted a Personal Housing Plan (Plan) for Ms X which says it was updated in July 2024. The Plan said Ms X needed three bedrooms.
13. The Council wrote to Ms X in a letter dated July 2024. The letter was addressed to Property A and said the Council had provided interim accommodation at the same address and explained Ms X’s right to review the decision.
14. Ms X emailed the Council in August 2024 and said Property B was too small. She could not fit all her belongings in, and she was paying for storage. She did not receive a response.
15. In October 2024, Ms X contacted the Council through social media and asked for help. She said she was still in emergency accommodation and waiting for a new property. An Officer telephoned Ms X and followed this with an email. The email summarised Ms X’s complaint about the size of the property and said they had passed the enquiry to a colleague to allocate a larger property when available. The same Officer noted the records showed Ms X lived at Property A when Ms X said she lived at Property B.
16. Ms X did not receive any further correspondence and chased this up in December 2024 and January 2025.
17. The Council responded to Ms X in mid-January 2025 explaining issues with temporary accommodation were for a different team.
18. Ms X emailed the Council’s housing complaints department in February 2025. She said Property B was overcrowded and many of her belongings were in storage. Ms X asked the Council for a larger property. She also said the property had condensation and mould which was a risk to her family’s health, in particular her daughter who had a medical condition. She also complained about the communication with the Council and said she had not received responses to several emails. The Council acknowledged receipt and said it aimed to respond within ten days.
19. Ms X telephoned the Council in April 2025 and reiterated that Property B was overcrowded, too small and the damp was impacting the family’s health. She asked for an urgent move.
20. In late April 2025, Ms X emailed the Chief Executive of the Council regarding her complaint and said she had not received a response.
21. Ms X complained to us in May 2025. She said Property B was overcrowded and in poor condition, causing distress and a risk to her family’s physical health. She said she had contacted the Council several times but not received a response.
22. At the end of July 2025, the Council issued a stage one response. It apologised for the delay in responding to Ms X’s complaint. It said it had reviewed the correspondence and said ‘it is the intention of the temporary accommodation department to move you to a more suitable accommodation…’
23. In August 2025, a Housing Officer emailed Ms X. She confirmed Ms X was in temporary accommodation and wanted to review her homelessness application. The Officer asked several questions, Ms X replied the same day. The Council updated Ms X’s Plan around this time, although it is unsigned. The Plan said Ms X needed three bedrooms.
24. In late August 2025, the Council wrote to Ms X at Property B and said it had secured accommodation for her at Property B. It explained Ms X had a right to review the decision within 21 days under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996.
25. The Council provided new accommodation at Property C for Ms X and her children in September 2025. Ms X told me she is satisfied with this property.
26. In conversation with me, Ms X said Property B was too small for her family, there was disrepair including cracked flooring, stairs and bath panel. The property was damp and the fire alarms did not work. This caused her family distress and impacted on her daughter's health. She said she felt nobody at the Council listened to her when she tried to tell them how bad the property was. She would like an apology for how the Council treated her said she and wants to “feel heard”.
27. I asked the Council to provide how it considered the properties were suitable for Ms X and her family. It told me it had checked its system and there was no record of a suitability assessment.
28. I asked the Council to provide records to show it addressed Ms X’s concerns about her property and how it addressed these. It said it did not receive any. It also said Ms X did not ask for a suitability review.

Analysis

Providing advice about the statutory right to review

29. The Council wrote to Ms X at Property A, just after she moved into Property B, saying it had provided accommodation at Property A, and advised her she had a right to review. The Council sent Ms X a letter with the wrong information, addressed to the wrong property. This is fault.
30. The Council wrote to Ms X in August 2025 at Property B saying it had secured accommodation for her at Property B, which she moved in to in June 2024. The letter said Ms X could ask for a review. The Council sent this letter more than a year after she moved into the property. This is significant delay, this is fault. This meant Ms X did not know she could ask for a statutory review of her property.
31. The Council’s records show it had not updated Ms X’s new address when she moved to Property B. The Council’s record keeping was poor. This is fault.

Suitability and review of the accommodation

32. The Council drafted a Personal Housing Plan for Ms X and her family which said they needed a three-bedroom property. The Council placed Ms X and her family in a two-bedroom property. This was not suitable for their needs. This is fault.
33. While Ms X did not ask the Council for a statutory review, as explained in paragraph 30 the Council did not explain this right of review to her and there is no reason to expect that Ms X would know about this. However, Ms X did complain about Property B several times, with the first time being in August 2024. I would expect the Council to have responded to her communication complaining about the size and condition of her property and consider whether this was suitable for her and her family. There is no record the Council considered if the accommodation was suitable or inspected the faults Ms X had raised. Its failure to acknowledge and consider this is fault.
34. Ms X and her family lived in a property which had one bedroom less than her Personal Housing Plan, which she said was in poor condition. The Council’s complaint response said it intended to move Ms X ‘…to a more suitable accommodation’ which, along with the Personal Housing Plan, shows it considered Property B was not suitable. The family lived in Property B for a year before the Council considered its suitability. This caused the family distress; this is their injustice.
35. Following the Council’s complaint response in late July, it moved Ms X into a new property which Ms X is satisfied with. This limits any further injustice.

Responding to communication

36. Ms X complained to the Council in August 2024. She said Property B was too small for her family. The Council did not respond. This is fault.
37. Ms X complained to the Council about the size and condition of Property B through social media in October 2024. The Council responded and said it had passed the request on to a different department. Ms X did not receive a response following the referral and followed this up in December 2024 and January 2025. The Council still did not provide a substantive response. This is fault.
38. After not receiving a substantive response from any of her communications, Ms X complained to the Housing Complaints Team in February 2025. It acknowledged her complaint and said it would respond within ten days, which it failed to do. This is fault.
39. Ms X telephoned the Council in April 2025 and wrote to the Chief Executive in May 2025. She did not receive a substantive response. This is fault.
40. The Council issued a complaint response in late July 2025, after Ms X had complained to us. This is a delay of around five months. This is significant delay. this is fault.
41. Ms X told me she felt ‘unheard’ as nobody from the Council responded to her communication and this went on for months. This caused additional distress. It also caused her time and trouble having to chase the Council, it was only after she came to us that she got a response and action. This is her injustice.

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Action

42. Within four weeks of the final decision, the Council agreed to:
• Apologise to Ms X and pay her £2,300 for the distress caused by the delay responding to her complaints about her property and failing to consider its suitability.
• Pay Ms X £200 for the distress caused by the five-month delay responding to her complaint.
• Produce an action plan to ensure staff fully understand and carry out their statutory duties for reviews of temporary accommodation. This includes ensuring staff are issuing information about a person’s right of review within suitable timescales and understanding all situations in which they should be completing reviews of temporary accommodation following contact from a resident.
• Complete a review of its record keeping procedures for people in accommodation arranged by the Council to ensure it updates a person’s address when it arranges new accommodation.
• Complete a review of its complaint handling procedures and responding to correspondence to ensure it sends responses in a reasonable timeframe.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

44. 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