Summary: The Council acted appropriately regarding Mrs X’s disrepair concerns at her temporary accommodation, and it was not at fault. The Council delayed responding in writing to Mrs X’s stage one disrepair complaint which was fault but did not cause Mrs X a significant injustice.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained the Council told her she was in temporary accommodation but then changed it to permanent accommodation without informing her in 2022. She also complained the Council failed to support her with disrepair in her temporary accommodation and delayed responding to her complaints. Mrs X said this has caused her and the whole family distress, impacted on the family’s health and caused avoidable time and trouble chasing the Council.

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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. 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).
3. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• any fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B)).

4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended).
5. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint unless we are satisfied the organisation knows about the complaint and has had an opportunity to investigate and reply. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to notify the organisation of the complaint and give it an opportunity to investigate and reply. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(5), section 34(B)6).
6. 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

7. As explained in paragraph four above we cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Mrs X complained to the Ombudsman in mid-June 2025 about events starting in 2016. The period between 2016 and June 2024 is late and there are no good reasons to exercise discretion to investigate the entire late period because Mrs X could reasonably have complained to us earlier. I have investigated between June 2024 and July 2025 when the Council responded to Mrs X about her disrepair complaint. If Mrs X has any new disrepair concerns, that occurred after July 2025, she should make a new complaint to the Council.

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How I considered this complaint

8. I read Mrs X’s complaint and supporting documents. I considered the Council’s comments about the complaint and the supporting documents. I considered the Council’s policies, and relevant law and guidance as set out below.
9. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision

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What I found

Relevant law and guidance

Homelessness

10. 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.

Disrepair in temporary accommodation

11. In the first instance, occupiers are expected to report any accommodation defects or disrepair to the landlord or managing agent. Councils should have an agreement with the landlord or agent which sets out the minimum property standards and timescales to deal with responsive repairs.
12. If the landlord or agent fails to respond, does not inspect the property and/or arrange for works to be done in a reasonable time, the applicant may then contact the Council. The team responsible for managing temporary accommodation should then liaise with the landlord or managing agent to get necessary repairs done and check works have been satisfactorily completed.
13. If there is persistent or recurring disrepair which has not been remedied by the landlord or agent, we would expect the Council to be pro-active and investigate. A Council officer may inspect the property with the landlord’s agent to establish the underlying cause of the disrepair and the remedial works required.

Council enforcement policy

14. The Council has an enforcement policy called ‘Housing Regulation Enforcement Policy’ (November 2022). It says when responding to complaints about landlords’ and landlords’ failure to carry out repairs the Council will request evidence that the tenant has notified the landlord, in writing, about the disrepair in the property. Where a physical inspection was deemed necessary one would be arranged in line with the Housing Act (2004). It said officers would undertake an assessment using the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) and take appropriate action in relation to Category 1 and 2 hazards. It said all enforcement action would be proportional to the risk and options included no action, informal action or formal action including statutory notices and orders which would be in accordance with relevant legislation and statutory guidance.

Complaints handling

15. The Council has a two stage complaints process for Housing Service complaints, as follows:
16. Stage 1: stage one complaints would be dealt with by the service team and it would aim to reply within 10 working days from the date the complaint had been acknowledged.
17. Stage 2: stage two complaints would be passed to a senior staff member who would respond in 20 working days.

What happened

18. Mrs X lived with her family in temporary accommodation which was a rented property owned by a private landlord.

Background

19. Mrs X raised a number of disrepair issues with her landlord and the Council relating to her temporary accommodation over a number of years. The Council inspected the property in late 2023 and said the repairs had been completed by Mrs X’s landlord and no formal action was needed.

Summer 2024 onwards

20. In late August 2024 Mrs X found a significant leak in her temporary accommodation which she reported to her landlord’s agent the following morning. The agent told her to report the leak through its website which caused further delay over the weekend. Mrs X said this caused risk of electrocution and distress for her disabled son. Mrs X said the agent did not promptly fix the leak and part of a ceiling collapsed in early September 2024. Mrs X said her daughter had to leave her work commitments to contact the agents’ plumber and her phone was blocked causing more frustration and distress.
21. In early September 2024 Mrs X complained to the Council’s Temporary Accommodation Team about the burst pipe and ceiling collapse in her hallway. The Temporary Accommodation Team forwarded the email to the Council’s Housing Regulations Team. The Council said a duty officer telephoned the tenant the same day which established the leak had been reported to the agent and the agent responded and repairs had been carried out to stop the leak and repair the ceiling. Mrs X said she did not receive a response from the Council about her complaint.
22. In late October 2024 Mrs X went to a Council Community Hub and complained again about the housing disrepair in her temporary accommodation. Mrs X also showed the Council officer the written statement sent to her landlord requesting repairs. Mrs X requested help from the Council. She wanted to be rehoused in different accommodation due to her concerns about weak building infrastructure at her temporary accommodation.
23. In late October 2024 a Council Housing Regulation’s officer, Officer 1, rang Mrs X’s daughter to discuss the families housing concerns.
24. In early November 2024 Officer 1 carried out an inspection at Mrs X’s temporary accommodation. Officer 1 said the initial leak had been repaired, there were no longer any leaks identified during Officer 1’s inspection. In early December 2024 Mrs X complained about a new leak. Officer 1 said the agents contractor actioned the repair promptly.
25. In late February 2025 Mrs X’s legal representative contacted the Council about the housing disrepair at her temporary accommodation and the failure by her landlord to undertake essential repairs at the property relating to significant water damage and concerns about the property’s structure. The legal representative asked for the Council to investigate the property’s condition, take appropriate enforcement action against Mrs X’s landlord and assess Mrs X’s eligibility for emergency accommodation as she remained on the Council’s property allocation waiting list. The Council responded to Mrs X’s legal representative in early March 2025 asking for Mrs X’s consent for the legal representative to act on her behalf. This was given to the Council the same day.
26. Mrs X did not receive a response from the Council and complained to the Ombudsman in June 2025.
27. In late July 2025 Officer 1 responded to Mrs X’s legal representative. Officer 1 confirmed Mrs X’s temporary accommodation was inspected in early November 2024 and there were no leaks at the time of the inspection. Officer 1 considered the schedule of works from the 2023 inspection and concluded all the repairs had been completed and no formal Council action was required. A further leak was reported in early December 2024. Officer 1 confirmed the landlord sent a contractor to carry out the repairs the same day and no further intervention was necessary. Officer 1 confirmed no new issues had been reported and they gave a link Mrs X could use to report any new matters of disrepair.
28. Mrs X’s legal representative responded to Officer 1 the same day and thanked the officer for the update. They said Mrs X still had concerns about the general standard of the property, frequent need for repairs and the impact they had on the family’s comfort and safety. The legal representative said not every disrepair issue meant the property was uninhabitable, but the cumulative effect led to concerns about the suitability and long-term maintenance of the accommodation. The legal representative said they would advise Mrs X about the online link for any new disrepair issues. They thanked Officer 1 for their continued cooperation.

My findings

Temporary accommodation disrepair

29. The Council was not at fault in its response to Mrs X’s disrepair concerns. As soon as Mrs X reported her disrepair concerns in an email in September 2024, at the Council Community Hub and after a new leak in December 2024 the Council immediately contacted Mrs X or a family member and established the agent had responded and repairs had been carried out. Officer 1 also carried out a visit at Mrs X’s temporary accommodation in November 2024 which also established the repairs had been carried out and there were no active leaks and no formal Council action was required. The Council ensured the repairs were carried out after the December 2024 leak. Mrs X’s representative complained to the Council in late February 2025 about the leaks but there were no further disrepair issues raised by Mrs X. The Council acted appropriately and was not at fault.

Council complaints handling

30. Mrs X complained to the Council in September 2024 about her temporary housing disrepair concerns she also contacted the Council Community Hub about her concerns in late October 2024. The same concerns were raised with the Council again by Mrs X’s legal representative in February 2025. The Council did not respond to Mrs X’s stage one complaint in writing until late July 2025. This was a delay of approximately 10 months and was fault. However, the Council spoke to Mrs X and her daughter, carried out a visit and took action to ensure the repairs to Mrs X’s temporary accommodation were carried out and so the delayed written response did not cause enough injustice to investigate further.

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Decision

31. I have completed my investigation finding no fault with the Council’s housing disrepair action. I found fault but not enough injustice to warrant further investigation in relation to the Council’s delayed complaint handling.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman