Summary: Miss X complained the Council delayed in completing a review of its decision that she was not at risk of homelessness. The Council was at fault for the significant delay in completing the review. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused by the delay.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained the Council incorrectly ended its homelessness prevention duty and did not respond to her request for a statutory review of this decision. She said the decision left her and her child living in unsuitable housing and impacted their mental well-being.

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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 the 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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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
5. Miss X and the organisation 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 have and have not considered

6. Miss X came to us in July 2025. This means we would usually consider her complaint from July 2024 onwards, 12 months before she came to us. I have included relevant information from January 2024 as this is when Miss X first went to the Council about her accommodation and it is these events that led the Council to make its decision to end its homeless prevention duty in August 2024.

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What I found

The relevant law and guidance

7. 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.
8. Someone is threatened with homelessness if, when asking for assistance from the council:

• 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)

Assessments and Personal Housing Plans

9. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

The prevention duty

10. If a council is satisfied an applicant is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, it must take steps to help the applicant keep their home or find somewhere new to live. In deciding what steps to take, a council must have regard to its assessment of the applicant’s case. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)

Review rights

11. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of certain decisions including:
• their eligibility for assistance;
• what duty (if any) is owed to them if they are found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness;
• the steps they are to take in their personalised housing plan at the prevention duty stage;
• giving notice to bring the prevention duty to an end.

Review procedure

12. The review must be carried out by someone who was not involved in the original decision and who is more senior to the original decision maker. The reviewing officer needs to consider any information relevant to the period before the decision was made (even if only obtained afterwards) as well as any new relevant information the council has obtained since the decision. (The Homelessness (Review Procedure etc.) Regulations 2018, Homelessness Code of Guidance Chapter 19)

Review timescale and right of appeal

13. Councils have eight weeks from the date of the review request to complete a review of a decision someone is not eligible for assistance.
14. This period can be extended if the applicant agrees in writing.
15. 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).

What happened

16. Miss X lives with her young child in one room in a house of multiple occupancy. Miss X went to the Council in January 2024 as she felt unsafe in her current accommodation and said it was unsuitable.
17. Miss X had an assessment with the Council in January 2024 to discuss her circumstances and assess her needs. During the assessment Miss X:
• Provided a police reference number for when she contacted the police about an incident at her accommodation.
• Told the Council there were issues of disrepair in her accommodation.
18. In February 2024 Miss X made a complaint to the Council as she had received no update for four weeks.
19. In April 2024 the Council emailed Miss X to advise they had not been able to obtain information about the reported incident from the police and asked her to make a subject access request (SAR).
20. In May 2024 the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint under stage one of its complaints procedure. In its response the Council:
• Expressed regret the Council had not acted as promptly as it should have.
• Said it had accepted a homeless prevention duty and would work with Miss X to ensure she had a safe place to live.
21. The Council wrote to Miss X in May 2024 to say it accepted a duty to help prevent her from becoming homeless. It also sent her a Personal Housing Plan (PHP) and advised her of her right to request a review of the PHP.
22. The PHP set out Miss X’s current circumstances including:
• A requirement for a one or two bedroom property.
• A Section 21 notice served by Miss X’s landlord in 2022 expired in 2023.
• She does not feel safe in her home due to other residents with whom she shares facilities.
• She has anxiety and depression.
23. It recommended actions to prevent homelessness including:
• Considering private rented accommodation.
• Making a subject access request (SAR) to the Polce for a copy of report for the incident she reported to them.
24. In June 2024 Miss X provided the Council with a letter from a therapy service confirming she had depression and anxiety.
25. In August 2024 the Council wrote to Miss X to tell her it had decided to end its homeless prevention duty to her because more than 56 days had passed since the date it notified her it owed her the duty.
26. The decision letter also said:
• Miss X had not made a SAR to the police about the reported incident and had provided no other information about risks to her and her child.
• Broken flooring in the accommodation was now repaired.
• Miss X had not provided evidence the property was unsuitable for habitation.
• The Council had contacted Miss X about a private rented flat, but she said she could not afford it.
• Miss X had not completed a benefit calculation.
• An independent assessment found no evidence Miss X’s accommodation was unsuitable due to her mental health needs.
• Since issuing the Section 21 notice Miss X’s landlord had taken no further action towards eviction and she had the legal right to remain in her accommodation.
27. In September 2024 Miss X emailed her housing officer to formally request a review of the decision. Miss X said:
• The Council had disregarded information she provided to show the property does not meet House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulations.
• The property is in disrepair and there has been no Environmental Health visit to the property.
• She had requested information from the police, but they had not provided her with a report.
• She continued to feel unsafe, with an ongoing impact on her mental health.
• The Council has not considered the medical evidence she provided.
• The private rented property the Council suggested she viewed was too far away from her support network.
• The Council had overlooked information she provided about her financial situation.
• The Council had provided no response to other complaints she had made.
• She would like to see the evidence the Council used to make its decision.
28. The Council recorded Miss X’s review request in September 2024 but there is no information to show it responded to her.
29. Miss X contacted the Council in January 2025 to request a response to her request and said she had had no response to other contacts she had made.
30. In December 2025 the Council’s Reviews Officer began to gather information about Miss X’s review request.
31. In March 2026 the Council wrote to Miss X to tell her the Council’s decision was procedurally flawed and it would complete a full investigation into her application for housing assistance.

Findings

32. The Council accepted its homeless prevention duty in May 2024.
33. In August 2024 the Council wrote to Miss X to tell her it had ended its homeless prevention duty. It said this was because 56 days had passed and it notified her of her right to review.
34. Miss X submitted her review request in September 2024, detailing her reasons. The Council noted in its records that it had received the review request.
35. The Council should have completed the review within eight weeks. The Council took 18 months to complete the review. This significant delay is fault.
36. In response to our enquiries the Council explained the delay was due to the demand on its services. The Ombudsman can make findings of fault where there is a failure to provide a service, regardless of the reasons for that service failure.
37. In March 2026 the Council completed the review. It accepted the original decision was procedurally flawed and said it would reconsider her request for housing assistance. Even on balance, I cannot say what the Council’s decision will be as to whether it owes Miss X any further housing duty. Any decision taken by the Council now will be based on Miss X’s current circumstances. I cannot reach a view on what decision it might have taken had it acted without delay. However, the delay caused Miss X distress and uncertainty.

Other investigations about this Council

38. In June 2025 we issued a report on a separate complaint about this Council and the way it responded to homelessness applications. We made recommendations to address delay and poor complaint handling. The Council provided evidence of the actions taken to address the faults identified.
39. In the 12 months since Miss X came to us there has also been other complaints about this Council. Service improvement recommendations have been made in other investigations, including addressing issues of delay and communication.
40. For this reason, I have decided not to include further service improvements in this decision. We will continue to monitor the Council’s performance through our casework.

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Agreed Action

41. Within one month of the final decision the Council will apologise to Miss X and pay her £300 for the distress and uncertainty caused to her by the delay in completing her review.
42. Within two months of the final decision the Council will provide us with a copy of the outcome of the new investigation into Miss X’s request for housing assistance.
43. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Final Decision

44. I find fault causing injustice which the Council has agreed to remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman