Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s failings when making her direct offers of accommodation in 2024. We found fault in the Council’s delay in telling Miss X it would not pursue a Notice to Quit, in its failure to communicate effectively with Miss X and internally and the Council’s record keeping. We also found fault with the Council’s complaint handling. The Council’s fault caused injustice to Miss X. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise Miss X’s distress. The Council has also agreed to review its record keeping and complaint handling.

The complaint

1. Miss X complains about the way the Council carried out its housing process when making direct offers to her in 2024. She says the Council failed by:
• offering her unsuitable properties;
• providing insufficient information about direct offers;
• withholding from her a recording of her interview with a housing officer;
• issuing her with a notice to quit in November 2024;
• sharing Miss X’s confidential information.
2. Miss X says the Council’s failings caused her significant distress, confusion and affected her well-being.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

3. 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)
4. 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)
5. We cannot investigate a complaint if it is about a personnel issue. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5a, paragraph 4, as amended)
6. The courts have said that where someone has sought a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law, we cannot investigate. This is the case even if the appeal did not or could not provide a complete remedy for all the injustice claimed. (R v The Commissioner for Local Administration ex parte PH (1999) EHCA Civ 916)
7. When considering complaints we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
8. 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

9. I have not investigated whether the property offered by the Council to Miss X in October 2024 was suitable. This is because after receiving the Council’s review decision Miss X appealed to the County Court. As explained in paragraph six of this decision we cannot look at matters which have been considered by courts.
10. I have not investigated whether Miss X’s manager got access to her confidential housing information and used it. We cannot look at any personnel issues.

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How I considered this complaint

11. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
12. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Legal and administrative framework

Main housing duty

13. 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)
14. Homeless applicants have 21 days to request a review of the suitability of accommodation offered to them 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.
15. Councils must complete suitability reviews within eight weeks of the date of the review request.
16. The council must advise applicants of their right to appeal to the county court on a point of law, and of the period in which to appeal. Applicants can also appeal if the council takes more than the prescribed time to complete the review. (Housing Act 1996, sections 202, 203 and 204)

The Council’s Housing Allocation policy

17. If the applicant is an accepted homeless case the direct offer letter will set out that they can:
• accept the property;
• accept the property and seek a review;
• refuse the property and seek a review;
• refuse the property and find their own accommodation.
18. If the applicant refuses the offer of permanent accommodation, the Housing Options officers will fully consider the reasons for refusal. If the offer was suitable for the applicant and their household needs, no further offer will be made. The applicant will be informed verbally and in writing that the Council has discharged housing duty under the Housing Act 1996. If the applicant is occupying temporary accommodation this will be terminated giving reasonable notice. The applicant will then be expected to find their own accommodation.
19. The applicant will be advised of their right to a review of this decision and, if a review is requested, the Council will carry out the review and notify the applicant of the timescale and subsequently of the outcome of the review in writing.

The Council’s corporate complaint procedure

20. At stage one the complaint will be investigate by the relevant Service Manager. The Council will provide a written response within 15 working days.
21. If the complainant remains dissatisfied, they can request that the complaint progresses to stage two. At stage two a Senior Manager will complete a review of the complaint and the steps taken at stage one to investigate and resolve it. The Council will aim to provide a written response within 15 working days. In cases where the Council cannot progress the complaint to stage two, it will advise the complainant to contact the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.

What happened

Background

22. In 2018 the Council accepted its main housing duty for Miss X and offered her temporary accommodation.
23. In April 2020 Miss X told the Council about some changes in her circumstances. She now had three children and was expecting the fourth one.
24. At the end of April 2022 Miss X told the Council about an extra household member. This was her son’s partner.
25. At the end of November 2023 a housing officer told Miss X to check the bidding list every week as there was a shortage of three-bedroom parlour type and four-bedroom properties. Miss X asked whether she was still on the list for direct offers. The Council confirmed that according to the Council’s Allocation policy any applicant for whom the Council had accepted its main housing duty could receive a direct offer.
26. In 2024 Miss X worked for the Council.

From June 2024

27. Miss X said that in mid-June 2024 during a telephone call the Council offered her a four-bedroom property in a different council’s area (Property 1). Miss X said she had declined this offer, providing her reasons. In its response to my enquiries the Council denied making any housing offers to Miss X in June 2024.
28. In July 2024 the housing team asked Miss X for an update on her household. A few days later Miss X replied and sent the documents. She told the Council that her son’s girlfriend, who had stayed with them previously, had now left to study abroad.
29. At the beginning of September the Council carried out an investigation interview with Miss X. The investigating officer told Miss X she had failed to tell the Council about extra members of her household.
30. In the second week of September the Council sent a Notice to Quit to Miss X, giving her two weeks to make her representations. The Council considered Miss X was in breach of her tenancy agreement as individuals not included in her housing application had stayed in her temporary accommodation without the prior written consent from the Council. When sending Miss X the notice, the Council also sent her correct terms and conditions of her tenancy agreement as it realised that when signing a tenancy agreement she had received terms and conditions for tenancies of the Council’s properties rather than private landlords.
31. Miss X said that on the same day her line manager told her he had listened to the recording of her interview and warned her of the possible suspension.
32. A few days later Miss X appointed an organisation providing expert housing advice and legal representation (the Agency) to help her with her housing issues. The Agency asked for the recording of the interview with Miss X and extending the timescale to respond to the Notice to Quit by another two weeks. The Council responded it could take some time to prepare a transcript from the interview and asked for an interim response.
33. At the beginning of October the Agency asked the Council’s legal services to withdraw the Notice to Quit and provide a copy of the interview recording. The Council failed to respond. At first the Council told us it could not locate correspondence with a request made on behalf of Miss X. After my further enquiries the Council sent the letter it received from the Agency in the second week of October.
34. Although the Council decided to withdraw the Notice to Quit and issue a warning in its place, it failed to communicate it to Miss X.
35. At the end of October 2024, another housing team unaware of the developments in Miss X’s housing case, made an offer of permanent accommodation to Miss X (Property 2). It explained by making a direct offer of suitable accommodation the Council was discharging its main housing duty for Miss X. It also advised on Miss X’s options and consequences of each of them. A few days later Miss X refused this offer.
36. The Council told Miss X it would send her another Notice to Quit and a letter telling her the Council’s main housing duty had now ended. The first Notice to Quit letter was a separate issue and by this time it had become academic. The Council was not pursuing its first Notice to Quit issued to Miss X in the second week of September. The Council confirmed it could provide a transcript of the recorded interview from the beginning of September, if requested.
37. The next day Miss X updated her Housing Register application. She told the Council her grown up son had moved out. The Council moved her application from band two to band four and amended maximum bedroom size needed from four-bedroom to three-bedroom.
38. Miss X filed her Property 2 review request in the second week of November 2024. She said the Council should treat it either as a review or an appeal.
39. Ten days later she received a Notice to Quit.
40. A week later Miss X complained. She said she did not know the consequences of direct offers and that, if she declined them, the Council would discharge its housing duty for her. The Council discussed a direct offer option with her during a brief telephone conversation with no clear explanation and no details of the consequences of the refusal.
41. The Council provided its stage one response to Miss X’s complaint at the beginning of December 2024. The complaint was not upheld as, the Council explained, Miss X asked for a review of the Council’s decision to discharge its main housing duty for her. If the review confirmed suitability of Property 2 for Miss X and her family, the Council would start possession proceedings to remove her and other household members from their emergency accommodation.
42. In the third week of December the Council told Miss X it would treat her correspondence challenging the Council’s decision on its main housing duty as a Property 2 suitability review request. The suitability review would be undertaken and the decision issued within 56 days. The Council asked Miss X to send any extra information that may have an impact on the outcome of the review. On the same day Miss X sent some photographs and a summary of why she did not consider Property 2 as suitable for her and her family.
43. A few days later the Council told Miss X she would not be evicted from her current property while the review was taking place. After considering Miss X’s suitability review request the Council was satisfied that Property 2 was suitable for her. Consequently the Council upheld its decision that its main housing duty ended and told Miss X she could appeal this decision to the County Court.
44. At the beginning of February 2025 the Council offered Miss X another property (Property 3). Miss X accepted the offer and signed the tenancy which started from mid-February 2025.
45. Miss X came to us in mid-June 2025. At the beginning of July the Council told us that its stage two response was due at the end of December 2024 but it had failed to issue it. The Council closed the case at the end of May 2025.
46. During court proceedings the Council’s withdrew its decision from the end of December 2024 and agreed to carry out a new suitability review. Consequently the County Court issued a consent order at the end of March 2025.

Analysis

47. When reviewing actions undertaken by the Council about Miss X’s housing between September and November 2024 I found the Council:
1. delayed sending a recording or transcript of the investigation interview from the beginning of September 2024 to the Agency;
2. failed to tell Miss X about the Council’s decision to withdraw Notice to Quit issued in September 2024;
3. failed to communicate effectively between housing teams; the resettlement team, which offered permanent accommodation to Miss X in October 2024, was unaware of Miss X’s Notice to Quit from September 2024;
4. failed in the way it kept its records; in response to our enquiry the Council at first claimed it did not receive a request for the interview recording from the Agency. Only after further enquiries the Council found a letter of the second week of October with this request. The Agency was also asking for a recording of the interview when they asked for an extension of the timescale to provide response to the Council’s first Notice to Quit.
48. The Council’s failings listed above are fault. This fault caused injustice to Miss X:
• the Council’s failings described in paragraph 47 (a) and (d) made challenging the Council’s position more difficult. The lack of the Council’s accountability caused Miss X distress;
• the Council’s failings described in paragraph 47 (b) and (c) increased Miss X’s confusion about the process. She received an offer of Property 2 after the Council issued her with a Notice to Quit. The Council failed to tell Miss X it would not be pursuing the Notice which meant that she was anxious about it for longer than necessary. The extra distress lasted a few weeks, as in early November 2024 the Council told Miss X Notice to Quit had become academic.
49. The Council also failed to respond to Miss X’s request to consider her complaint at stage two. The Council accepted the stage two response was due at the end of December 2024. The Council’s failing to comply with its corporate complaint policy is fault. It caused injustice to Miss X as it delayed resolution of the issues she was raising. Miss X was frustrated by the Council’s lack of response to her escalated complaint.
50. I did not find fault with the Council’s process of making a direct offer of permanent accommodation to Miss X. The Council can choose to end its main housing duty this way so Miss X’s consent was not necessary. The Council’s Housing Allocation Policy 2021 explains the consequences of making such offers. In the letter with the offer the Council clearly explained all the options available to Miss X and their consequences.
51. I did not find the Council failed by issuing a Notice to Quit to Miss X in November 2024. This was the consequence of Miss X’s refusal to accept the permanent accommodation offer, as explained in the Council’s letter with the offer and in the further correspondence. Miss X had the right to ask for the review of the Council’s decision and then to challenge the Council’s position by appealing to the County Court. She exercised these rights.
52. I cannot decide, even on the balance of probabilities, whether during a telephone call in June 2024 the Council made a direct offer of a property out of the Council’s area to Miss X. This is because, apart from Miss X’s statement, there is no evidence that this happened. Miss X stated she had received such offer but the Councils holds no records of this.

Personal remedies

53. The Council allowed Miss X and her family to stay in her property throughout the suitability review of Property 2 and up to when Miss X accepted the Council’s offer of Property 3. This reduced some negative impact of the Council’s failings on Miss X.

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Action

54. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, we recommend the Council within four weeks of the final decision complete the following:
• apologise to Miss X for the injustice caused to her by the faults identified. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended;
• pay Miss X £200 to recognise her distress caused by the Council’s failings.

The Council will provide the evidence that it has completed these actions.

55. We also recommend the Council within three months of the final decision complete the following:
1. review the way it keeps its housing records. The Council should ensure that all key correspondence is properly filed and available. The Council should provide us with evidence of the actions taken to complete this recommendation;
2. consider our guidance Complaint Handling Code and tell us what action(s) it will take to improve the way it deals with complaints.

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Decision

56. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has accepted my recommendations, so this investigation is at an end.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman