Summary: Miss D complains the Council has not moved her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. I have found the Council at fault; Miss D has remained in unsuitable temporary accommodation for 11 months. The Council has also delayed dealing with a repair to the front door of her property and has not processed a claim for expenses. It has agreed to pay Miss D redress, carry out the repairs and to process her claim.

The complaint

1. The complainant (whom I refer to as Miss D) says the Council failed to move her from unsuitable temporary accommodation. In addition she refers to the Council failing to repair a damaged front door after a burglary and not processing a payment claim for expenses related to a power cut at the property. Miss D wants the Council to offer her permanent housing.

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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 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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What I have and have not investigated

4. I have considered what happened for the 12 month period prior to Miss D approaching the Ombudsman (so from July 2024 through to July 2025).

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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Miss D and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. I shared my draft decision with both parties.

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What I found

What happened

Background

7. In February 2024 Miss D moved to her second temporary accommodation property, a ground floor property with internal steps. She had previously been placed in an unsuitable property.

Events I have investigated

8. In October Miss D’s home was broken into and her front door damaged. She reported this to the Council and requested repairs to the door. On 29 October the Council noted contractors had been booked to attend but were unable to do so, a new appointment was scheduled for November. It appears contractors visited the flat on 21 November but could not gain access and a further visit was needed. On 4 December Miss D called the Council asking about the outstanding repairs, she was told contractors would attend on 10 December. On 10 December the Council noted a new front door and frame were needed.
9. On 17 January 2025 Miss D chased up the Council about the repairs. She called again on 12 February. It is unclear what the Council told her or whether any action was taken to progress the repairs. The Council says the work order for the front door was closed, it does not say when this happened. On 18 March 2025 the Council completed a housing medical needs assessment for what type of permanent housing Miss D required. The Council says it decided Miss D required a ground floor, level access property. Her current accommodation was not suitable as it had internal stairs.
10. On 10 May (a Saturday) there was a fire at the block of flats which left Miss D without any power. The Council says it offered residents a temporary decant whilst it fixed the power outage from 12 May. I have no evidence to show what contact was made with Miss D. She told me the Council advised she could stay in a hotel and claim back the cost. Miss D moved her family to a hotel for four nights at her own expense. On the fifth day the Council provided the family with a decant stay which it funded. Miss D says she was told to send her receipts for the hotel costs along with a claim for expenses and any food spoiled because of the power cut to the Council to be receive reimbursement. Miss D emailed the Council her receipts on 15 May, and the Council acknowledged it had received the claim.
11. Also in May Miss D submitted a formal complaint to the Council. Her current accommodation was impacting on the health of her family, and they felt unsafe after three burglaries. She also referred to the power cut. She asked the Council to place her in permanent social housing. On 20 May Miss D emailed the Housing Officer for an update on her expenses claim. They replied that a senior officer would need to feedback on how the compensation would work. The next day the Housing Officer told Miss D they were waiting for an update on the refund.
12. The Council replied to the complaint on 3 June. It said its Neighbourhood Housing Team had been liaising with the Police to manage the safety of residents. It encouraged Miss D to keep bidding for advertised social housing. On the same day Miss D asked the Council to escalate her complaint. On 1 July Miss D called the Council asking again about the outstanding repairs to her front door. It is unclear what the Council told her. On 3 July the Council asked the Temporary Accommodation Team to add Miss D onto the transfer list. It emailed her that it had reviewed the current property and information provided by Miss D. Her accommodation was not suitable in the long term, and it would source an alternative property.
13. On 8 July the Council issued its final stage complaint response. It said the medical assessment in March meant that Miss D’s current property was not suitable and she needed to be moved. She had been placed on a transfer list for a priority move to alternative temporary accommodation. It said that ground floor properties were scarce so it could not say how long it would take to relocate her, but the Transfer Team were “actively working to source a suitable property”.

Events outside my investigation timeframe

14. In February 2026 the Council offered Miss D alternative temporary accommodation.

What should have happened

Suitability of temporary accommodation

15. 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)
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. 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) The duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate, non-deferrable, and unqualified. (Elkundi, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council [2022] EWCA Civ 601)

Repairs in temporary accommodation

18. Where the Council owns the temporary accommodation, the applicant should report disrepair to the Council’s repairs team. A work order is raised for contractors to attend. The Council should ensure work orders are completed with the set timeframes.

Temporary accommodation transfers procedure

19. Where the Council recognises an applicant is in unsuitable accommodation they will seek to find alternative, suitable, temporary accommodation. The applicant is placed onto the temporary accommodation transfer list. The Council generally prioritises applicants for a move based on the date the Council decided the current accommodation was unsuitable. When the Council identifies a suitable property, it will notify the applicant with a formal offer letter.

Was there fault by the Council

20. The Council carried out a housing medical needs assessment in March 2025 which showed Miss D’s current temporary accommodation was unsuitable. It is unclear from the Council’s evidence why it took until 3 July to add Miss D onto the transfer list for suitable accommodation, I would have expected this to be done soon after the March assessment. I asked the Council about when a suitable temporary accommodation property became available to offer Miss D. The Council advised that it has a shortage of accommodation and it was only recently that a property was available which the Council offered to Miss D. Whilst I appreciate the Council has a housing stock shortage it still has an immediate duty to provide suitable temporary accommodation to applications. As a result I find the Council at fault.
21. The Council has failed to repair Miss D’s damaged front door since she reported it in October 2024. The Council has not explained why the work order for the repair was closed. Clearly the repair has not been carried out which means Miss D has been left with a damaged front door for over 15 months. The Council should have ensured the repairs were completed in a timely manner and kept Miss D updated. It also failed to check on the outstanding repair when Miss D raised it again on 1 July 2025.
22. The block where Miss D lives had a power cut in May 2025. Miss D acted in line with advice from the Council and moved her family to a hotel until the Council was able to provide her with a decant stay. She then submitted receipts for her expenses and the Council said it would consider her claim and respond. Over nine months later Miss D has still not received a reply from the Council or any payment. The Council is at fault for not processing the claim.

Did the fault cause an injustice

23. Miss D has been in unsuitable temporary accommodation since March 2025. She asked whether the Council can now provide her with permanent housing and I explained that she would still need to bid for advertised social housing. The fault and injustice in this matter requires the Council to consider the actions set out below. The delay dealing with Miss D’s front door repair and the failure to process her claim for expenses related to the decant have caused Miss D avoidable time and trouble.

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Action

24. To remedy the injustice caused to Miss D the Council has agreed to:

• Pay Miss D £250 for avoidable time and trouble
• Pay Miss D £150 per month for time spent in unsuitable temporary accommodation. That would total £1650 for the period up to the end of February.
• Process Miss D’s claim for costs related to the decant
• Repair the front door to the property as a priority

25. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions within four weeks of this case closing.

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Decision

26. I find fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman