Summary: The Council was not at fault for the way it initially handled Ms X’s homelessness application and offer of accommodation and its recent offers of accommodation to Ms X. The Council was at fault for not responding to Ms X’s reports of disrepair in her temporary accommodation and failed to keep the suitability of the accommodation under review. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council failed to act against the provider of her temporary accommodation before she was evicted without notice. She says the provider discriminated against her and the accommodation was uninhabitable. She also complained the Council then made her move into unsuitable temporary accommodation in an unsuitable area. She says this caused her distress and impacted her mental health. She wants the Council to apologise and compensate her for the distress caused.

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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

Homelessness legislation

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. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
8. 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 (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). But councils will not owe the main housing duty to applicants who have turned down a suitable final accommodation offer or a Housing Act Part 6 offer made during the relief stage, or if a council has given them notice under section 193B(2) due to their deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate. (Housing Act 1996, section 193 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 15.39)
9. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
10. 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).
11. Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability, until such time as the accommodation duty is brought to an end (section 17.8 of the Code).

What happened

12. In early 2024 Ms X contacted the Council to say she was at risk of homelessness. She said she was due to be evicted on 9 May 2024. The Council wrote to Ms X on 3 May 2024 accepting its relief duty to Ms X.
13. Ms X was evicted on 9 May 2024 and the Council offered her temporary accommodation on the same day. Ms X refused the offer as she said it was in an unsuitable location. The Council made Ms X another offer of temporary accommodation which she accepted.
14. In July 2024 the Council noted that Ms X’s current temporary accommodation “concluded” and it considered alternative temporary accommodation. However, it appears Ms X remained in the property after this date and the Council withdrew the alternative offer due to it being unsuitable.
15. The Council accepted a main housing duty to Ms X on 2 October 2024.
16. In late November 2024 Ms X emailed the Council to complain of a lack of hot water and heating in her temporary accommodation. She said the provider of the temporary accommodation had not responded to her requests to fix the issue. Ms X says the Council never responded to this email and the heating was never repaired.
17. The next recorded action is a Council visit on 25 March 2025 where the Council visited Ms X’s property. It noted Ms X refused access to the property. It said repairs were required at the property but the landlord was aware of them.
18. In early April 2025 Ms X emailed the Council to say there had been no power in the property for 24 hours. There is no record of the Council responding to this email. Ms X complained to the Ombudsman and was directed back to the Council to complete its complaint process. Ms X complained to the Council. She said the Council had discriminated against her and failed to consider her needs when offering temporary accommodation. She said the provider of her accommodation was rude and it was in need of repair.
19. On 31 July 2025 the Council offered Ms X alternative temporary accommodation. Ms X refused the property as she said she could not move to that area due to previous experiences.
20. The Council responded to Ms X’s complaint at stage one of its complaint process on 8 August 2025. It said it had found no evidence of discrimination, and it had considered Ms X’s needs when arranging temporary accommodation. It said it would investigate her allegations of rudeness from its provider. It said it was concerned over reports of disrepair at the accommodation, but Ms X had refused access when it tried to visit and not raised any specific concerns. It said it had since made Ms X a suitable offer of temporary accommodation.
21. On 11 August 2025 the Council told Ms X it would enforce its latest offer of temporary accommodation. Ms X asked for a review of the suitability of the accommodation on 21 August 2025. The Council withdrew the offer and the review request. It noted the accommodation was too far from Ms X’s children’s school. It’s case notes show it continued to discuss accommodation options with Ms X at this time.
22. Ms X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two of its complaint process on 1 September 2025. The Council met with Ms in mid-September 2025 made Ms X another offer of temporary accommodation which Ms X again refused as the property would not accept pets.
23. The Council responded to Ms X’s stage two complaint on 26 September 2025. It reiterated there was no evidence it had discriminated against Ms X. It responded to several issues Ms X had raised and agreed to relocate Ms X to alternative accommodation. The Council offered Ms X a new property on 30 September 2025 which she accepted. Ms X says this property is also unsuitable and she has made a new complaint to the Council about this.

My findings

24. Ms X initially complained about the provider of her temporary accommodation. It is not clear which provider Ms X refers to but there is no evidence to suggest Ms X has been discriminated against or forcibly evicted by the Council or one of its accommodation providers.
25. The Council accepted a homelessness relief duty to Ms X after she approached it for assistance in early 2024. It offered Ms X temporary accommodation which she initially refused before accepting a second offer. There is no evidence to suggest the property was not initially suitable and Ms X did not request a review of the accommodation. The Council fulfilled its homelessness duties and offered Ms X suitable accommodation. The Council was not at fault.
26. The law says the Council must keep the suitability of temporary accommodation under review. Ms X reported concerns over damp and heating in the property in November 2024 and says the issue was never resolved. The Council has not provided any evidence it responded to Ms X’s reports of disrepair until March 2025, when it accepted repairs where necessary but failed to ensure the landlord acted.
27. Ms X’s reports of disrepair should have prompted the Council to reconsider the suitability of the accommodation. The Council failed to consider whether the property remained suitable in response to Ms X’s reports of disrepair. This was fault. This caused Ms X a period of uncertainty over whether the property was suitable.
28. Following Ms X’s complaint, the Council looked to offer Ms X alternative accommodation which she refused and exercised her right of review over the suitability of the property. The Council considered this and withdrew the offer. The Council was entitled to explore alternative accommodation and withdrew its offer after it considered new information from Ms X. The Council was not at fault. Ms X has since moved into alternative accommodation which she says remains unsuitable. It is open to Ms X to make a new complaint to the Ombudsman over this.

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Action

29. Within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to:
1. Apologise to Ms X for the uncertainty caused by its failure to review the suitability of her accommodation. 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 I have recommended.
2. Pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £250 to recognise the uncertainty caused by its failure to review the suitability of her accommodation.
30. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

31. I find fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman