Summary: Mrs X complained about how the Council dealt with her housing/homelessness situation, in particular about its delays with moving her family to suitable temporary accommodation. There were some faults by the Council which caused injustice to Mrs X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Mrs X complained about how the Council mismanaged her housing/homelessness situation. In particular, Mrs X complained:
1. she had to chase the Council to move her and her children out of their previous temporary accommodation after an unforeseen incident affected the property.
2. the Council delayed and failed to move her and her children to alternative temporary accommodation which it offered to her in February 2025.
3. about the Council’s delays and ongoing failure to move her family from their current accommodation following the Council’s decision in February 2025 that the accommodation was unsuitable for her family.
2. Mrs X said the matter caused her and her children distress, instability and it affected their mental health and wellbeing. Mrs X also said they continued to live in unsuitable accommodation for a prolonged period.

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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 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. 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

6. 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/care provider has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
7. I have not exercised discretion to investigate matters before September 2024. These are late complaints, and I consider it reasonable for Mrs x to have complained about these matters earlier. There are no good reasons to investigate them now.
8. I have investigated matters from September 2024 to June 2025. This covers the period from when the Council offered Mrs X temporary accommodation after an unforeseen incident occurred which affected Mrs X’s property to when she made a complaint to the Ombudsman.

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How I considered this complaint

9. I considered evidence provided by Mrs X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
10. Mrs 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

11. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)
12. The Main Housing Duty - 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 (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). The accommodation a council provides until it can end the main housing duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193).
13. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
14. 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)
15. 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)

16. Wherever possible, Councils should avoid using bed and breakfast accommodation. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 17.33)
17. Bed and breakfast (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)
18. Priority need - examples of applicants in priority need are:

• people with dependent children;
• pregnant women;
• people who are vulnerable due to serious health problems, disability or old age;
• care leavers; and
• victims of domestic abuse.

19. Councils must put all its key decisions in writing. If it is an adverse decision, the letter must fully explain the reasons. All letters must include information about the right to ask for a review and the timescale for doing so. (Housing Act 1996, section 184, Homelessness Code of Guidance 18.30)

Housing register

20. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))
21. Education, Health and Care Plans - A child or young person with special educational needs may have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan. This document sets out the child’s needs and what arrangements should be made to meet them. The EHC Plan is set out in sections. We cannot direct changes to the sections about their needs, education, or the name of the educational placement. Only the tribunal or the council can do this.

Key events

2024

22. Mrs X has three children and one of them, Child Y, has some health conditions and special educational needs.
23. Mrs X and her three children lived in temporary accommodation (TA) which the Council had placed them in after it accepted it owed Mrs X the main housing duty.
24. In September 2024, Mrs X and her children were unable to continue to reside at the TA due to an unforeseen incident which affected their property. Mrs X said the Council did not provide her family with alternative accommodation on the day of the incident which caused distress and instability to them. Mrs X said she and her children stayed overnight at a relative’s property. The next day, the Council moved Mrs X and her children to a hotel accommodation.
25. A few days later, the Council offered Mrs X an out of borough alternative TA.
26. Mrs X moved into the out of borough TA, but she raised concerns about the distance of the property from the Council borough. In particular that it would take 1 hour 45 minutes on public transport one way to commute to her children’s schools which she said was not practical for them.
27. The Council acknowledged Mrs X’s concerns, but it explained it had no alternative TA available within its borough to offer Mrs X. The Council also said its aim was to avoid placing families in hotel accommodation. It said that the out of borough TA was deemed more suitable for Mrs X’s household because it provided the family with cooking and washing facilities.
28. Mrs X asked the Council to complete a suitability review of the out of borough TA based on location, distance to her children’s schools, medical grounds and social support network.
29. In October, the Council completed a suitability review and found the out of borough TA was suitable to meet Mrs X’s household needs. The Council acknowledged the commute time to the children’s schools was about 90 minutes one way on public transport which might not have been ideal for the family, but it said that did not make the TA unsuitable. The Council also acknowledged Child Y’s medical conditions and it asked Mrs X to provide it with all relevant medical reports. This was so the Council’s independent medical assessor could consider Mrs X’s case further.
30. Mrs X requested further suitability review and submitted additional supporting evidence based on medical grounds for Child Y.

2025

31. In February 2025, the Council completed further suitability review of Mrs X’s out of borough TA based on the additional medical supporting evidence she submitted. The Council overturned its previous decision, and it said it was satisfied that the out of borough TA it offered Mrs X was not suitable for her because of the distance from the TA to Child Y’s school. The Council found that moving Child Y to another school would disrupt the child especially as he was in the middle of being assessed for an EHC Plan.
32. The Council agreed to offer Mrs X another TA, but it told her it was unable to give a timescale due to the housing demands in its borough.
33. The same month, the Council offered Mrs X an alternative TA (Property 1) within the Council’s borough. The Council told Mrs X the property would be ready by end of February or early March due to some outstanding works which was required to be completed before she could move in.
34. Mrs X chased the Council on several occasions about updates on Property 1. The Council said it needed to wait for the works to be completed in the property before it could confirm a move-in date. The Council said it was unable to give a definitive timeline.
35. In March, Mrs X made a formal complaint to the Council about its ongoing delays and failure to move her family to suitable accommodation after the review outcome. Mrs X also complained about the Council’s poor communication with her about her housing situation. Mrs X said her family continued to live in unsuitable accommodation and that it negatively affected Child Y.
36. In its responses to Mrs X ‘s complaint, the Council:
1. accepted there were delays with progressing Mrs X’s TA offer for Property 1. The Council said it actively worked with contractors to complete the outstanding work within the property but said it was unable to confirm an exact date Property 1 would be available for Mrs X to move in.
2. said it decided to withdraw the offer of Property 1 because it was unable to secure a timeframe for Mrs X’s move to the property. The Council said this was so Mrs X could be able to bid or be considered for other properties.
3. apologised for the delays with re-housing Mrs X and its poor communication with her on the matter.
37. In June, the Council offered Mrs X alternative long-term TA which she had since moved to.

Analysis

38. I note Mrs X said the Council did not provide her family with alternative accommodation on the day the unforeseen incident happened in September 2024 which she said caused her family distress and instability. However, I find the Council acted promptly as it moved Mrs X’s family to a hotel the day after the incident happened and then a few days later, it offered Mrs X an out of borough alternative TA. These were not faults.
39. I note there was a difference in the Council’s outcomes for the suitability reviews it completed in relation to Mrs X’s out of borough TA in October 2024 and February 2025. These are decisions the Council is entitled to make. I find on both occasions, the Council properly considered Mrs X’s review requests based on the available information and evidence provided to it. When Mrs X submitted additional evidence about Child Y, the Council reconsidered the case and changed its decision in February 2025 and found that the out of borough TA was not suitable for Mrs X because of the distance to Child Y’s school. This was not fault. Where there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome.
40. Once a council accepts TA is unsuitable to meet the needs of the applicant and/or their household, it has a legal duty to provide the applicant with suitable accommodation immediately. This is an absolute, immediate and non-deferrable duty (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601).
41. In this case, although the Council offered Mrs X alternative TA within the Council’s borough (Property 1) in February 2025, Mrs X was unable to move to the property due to delays with completing outstanding work within Property 1. The Council did not rehouse Mrs X and her family to a separate TA until June 2025. This delay was over a significant period (February 2025 – June 2025) and it was fault. I find the Council failed to discharge its legal duty to provide Mrs X with suitable alternative accommodation after it accepted the out of borough was unsuitable in February 2025.
42. I note the Council said another factor that contributed to the delays in securing suitable alternative TA for Mrs X was due to shortage of accommodation within its borough. While the Ombudsman recognises that the demand for social housing far outstrips the supply of properties in many areas, it is still service failure by the Council, and it is fault.
43. The Council’s delays with providing Mrs X with suitable alternative TA caused distress, inconvenience, uncertainty to Mrs X as she and her family continued to live in unsuitable accommodation over a 5-month period.
44. I note the Council already accepted faults for its delays with rehousing Mrs X, its poor communication with her and it had apologised to Mrs X in its responses to her complaint. I find the apology is insufficient to acknowledge the injustice caused to Mrs X and this will be addressed in the ‘action’ section below in line with our guidance on remedies.

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Action

45. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the Council has agreed to complete the following actions within one month of the final decision:

• apologise in writing to Mrs X to acknowledge the injustice caused to her by the Council’s identified faults as set out above. The apology should be in accordance with our guidance, Making an effective apology
• make a payment of £250 to Mrs X for each month her family lived in unsuitable temporary accommodation from February 2025 to June 2025. This is a total of £1,250 to cover the 5-month period.

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

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Decision

47. I find some faults by the Council causing injustice to Mrs X. The Council will take action to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman