Summary: Ms X complained the Council failed to provide suitable accommodation when she was homeless and delayed issuing her main housing duty decision letter. Ms X says this distressed her, had a financial impact and denied her right of review. The Council was at fault for placing Ms X in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation for 4 weeks longer than the law allows and for delaying issuing the main housing duty letter. This distressed Ms X and caused her uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a financial payment.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council did not provide suitable accommodation for her when she was homeless and it delayed issuing a main housing duty decision letter. Ms X says this caused her distress, had a financial impact and denied her the right to ask the Council to review the suitability of her accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. Service failure can happen when an organisation fails to provide a service as it should have done because of circumstances outside its control. We do not need to show any blame, intent, flawed policy or process, or bad faith by an organisation to say service failure (fault) has occurred. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1), as amended)
3. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), 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)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I read Ms X’s complaint and spoke to her about it on the phone.
6. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. 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

Background Information

8. 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.
9. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them [and anyone who lives with them/might reasonably be expected to live with them] to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)
10. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance:

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

11. The relief duty means 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)
12. The main housing duty applies 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).
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, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
16. 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)
17. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty, but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation.
18. 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 temporary accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2) 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
19. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when they consider if it is suitable for the applicant and members of their household. If a council places an applicant outside its district, it must consider, among other matters:

• the distance of the accommodation from the “home” district;
• the significance of any disruption to the education of members of the applicant’s household; and
• the proximity and accessibility to local services, amenities and transport. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012)

20. Wherever possible, Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.33)
21. Bed and breakfast (B&B) accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than 6 weeks. B&B is accommodation which is not self-contained, not owned by the council or a registered provider of social housing and where the toilet, washing, or cooking facilities are shared with other households. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.35)
22. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the Council’s decision on the suitability of accommodation offered to the applicant after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer. The Council must complete the review within 56 days of the date of the review request.

What happened

23. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
24. Ms X made a homelessness application to the Council in December 2024.
25. The Council provided interim B&B hotel accommodation for Ms X and her children in December 2024. Ms X stayed for one night and then moved out saying the accommodation was unsuitable. She returned to her previous accommodation.
26. Ms X told the Council the interim accommodation was unsuitable because it was unhygienic, had bed bugs and was too far from her children’s schools. She also said her children had a skin condition and she could not fit all her furniture in the accommodation.
27. The Council told Ms X in January 2025 it had considered her reasons for refusing the interim accommodation and was satisfied it was suitable for her. The Council said a previous pest control inspection had found no evidence of bed bugs at the hotel. The Council discharged its interim accommodation duty to Ms X.
28. In January 2025, the Council accepted the relief duty for Ms X. The Council said it had already secured interim accommodation for Ms X, but she declined the accommodation.
29. After the Council told Ms X of its decision, Ms X’s representative told the Council one of Ms X’s children was receiving extra support from staff in school. The Council agreed to make a further offer of interim accommodation to Ms X. The Council provided interim accommodation for Ms X from the end of January 2025. This was B&B accommodation. Ms X and her children had a room where they each had a bed. The room had its own bathroom and toilet. Ms X had access to a shared kitchen with a cooker, fridge freezer and sink. The Council evidenced this was the closest available accommodation to the school. The Council said it would continue to seek self-contained accommodation for Ms X.
30. The Council ended its relief duty in February 2025 and accepted the main housing duty to Ms X. The Council did not tell Ms X or send her a decision letter.
31. The Council sent the main housing duty decision letter to Ms X and her representative in April 2025. Ms X’s representative asked for a suitability review. Ms X continued to live in the B&B.
32. Ms X’s representative complained to the Council at the end of April 2025. The representative said the Council at first failed to provide suitable interim accommodation for Ms X and she had then been in unsuitable B&B accommodation for over 6 weeks. Ms X wanted an apology and compensation for the time spent in B&B accommodation.
33. In April 2025 the Council moved Ms X to alternative self-contained temporary accommodation. Ms X’s representative withdrew the suitability review request .
34. The Council partly upheld the complaint and apologised for the distress caused to Ms X from the time spent in B&B. The Council accepted it failed to send the main housing duty decision letter to Ms X. The Council said there was a high demand for accommodation for homeless households and would not pay compensation to Ms X for time spent in B&B accommodation.
35. Ms X’s representative asked the Council to escalate the complaint to stage 2 in April 2025.
36. The Council’s stage 2 response in May 2025 said it would not pay compensation to Ms X for time spent in B&B accommodation.
37. Ms X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. She would like the Council to apologise and pay compensation.
38. In response to my enquiries the Council disputed Ms X had suffered distress, financial impact and been prevented for requesting a suitability review of her accommodation.

My findings

Length of stay in B&B accommodation

39. The law, referenced in paragraph 20, says B&B accommodation can only be used for households which include a pregnant woman or dependent child when no other accommodation is available and then for no more than six weeks. Ms X was in B&B accommodation for 10 weeks. This is four weeks longer than the maximum permitted stay. The Council has provided evidence it did not have any other more suitable accommodation available when it offered Ms X the B&B accommodation. The Council said there is a high demand for accommodation from homeless households. However, the statutory duty remains. This is service failure. Ms X and her family had to stay in unsuitable accommodation for four weeks.
40. Our guidance on remedies recommends a weekly payment of between £100 to £200 for each week staying in B&B accommodation beyond six weeks. I recognise Ms X should not have stayed in the B&B for longer than 6 weeks. However, Ms X did have a room with enough beds for her family, its own bathroom and toilet and access to shared kitchen facilities. £100 per week is a suitable remedy for the time Ms X spent in the B&B beyond six weeks.
41. Ms X had access to a shared kitchen where she could store food and prepare meals. I have seen no reason Ms X would have incurred any quantifiable extra food costs while staying in the B&B.

Provision of interim accommodation

42. The Council had a duty to provide interim accommodation for Ms X when she had to leave her previous accommodation. It provided interim accommodation for Ms X. She stayed for one night before moving out. After Ms X moved out the Council assessed whether the accommodation had been suitable for her. The Council considered all Ms X’s reasons for moving out. It reviewed a recent pest control inspection that found no issues at the accommodation. The Council properly assessed the accommodation’s suitability for Ms X, so we cannot question the Council’s decision. The Council was entitled to decide the accommodation had been suitable for Ms X, and to then discharge its interim accommodation duty after Ms X moved out. The Council was not at fault.
43. The Council then received further information about the school support needs of one of Ms X’s children. Based on this information, the Council agreed to make a further offer of interim accommodation to Ms X. This does not mean the Council’s previous decision to end the interim accommodation duty was wrong. It was reasonable for the Council to make a further offer if it had new information which meant the previous offer could no longer be deemed suitable. I cannot question the merits of the Council’s decision. The Council was not at fault.

Delay in issuing main housing duty decision letter

44. The Council has admitted it was late issuing the main housing duty decision letter to Ms X. The decision letter was issued 45 days after the Council’s decision. This delay is fault.
45. This fault caused uncertainty for Ms X and denied her statutory right of review of the suitability of her temporary accommodation. The Council had 56 days to complete a suitability review. The Council moved Ms X within 56 days of the date when it should have issued the main duty housing decision letter. Therefore, Mrs X suffered limited injustice due to the delay issuing the decision. However, I recognise Ms X still faced uncertainty due to the delay.

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Action

46. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Ms X by the fault I have identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:

• Apologise to Ms X for the distress caused by housing her family in unsuitable B&B accommodation and delaying issuing the main housing duty letter. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organization should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.
• Pay Ms X £400 to recognise the impact on Ms X and her children spending four weeks in unsuitable B&B accommodation beyond the legal timeframe
• Pay Ms X £150 to recognise the uncertainty caused by the Council’s delay in issuing the main housing duty letter

47. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

48. I have found fault by the Council which caused an injustice to Ms X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman