Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homeless application. We find no fault in the Council’s domestic abuse support, but do find fault in the Council’s delay in accepting the main housing duty, its poor communication, its failure to process her January 2025 complaint under the formal procedure, and its lack of recorded evidence that it checked the suitability of Property A at placement. This caused Miss X uncertainty, distress, and time and trouble. The Council has apologised, offered a suitable payment to Miss X, and made service improvements, which is a satisfactory remedy for the injustice caused.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homeless application. She said the Council failed to provide safe and suitable temporary accommodation and did not offer appropriate domestic abuse support. She also said the Council incorrectly stated that she had refused an offer of accommodation in June 2025.
2. In addition, Miss X complained about poor communication, the Council’s failure to respond to her complaint made in January 2025, and its refusal to escalate her complaint to stage three.
3. Miss X said the Council’s actions and lack of action caused her significant distress and had a negative impact on her health and wellbeing.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

4. 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)
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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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. Miss 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

Legislation and statutory guidance

Homeless

8. 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)
9. It is not reasonable for a person to continue to live in accommodation if it is probable this will lead to violence or domestic abuse against them. (Housing Act 1996, Section 177)

Use of refuges

10. Refuges provide short-term, intensive support for people fleeing abuse. The Code makes clear that due to the intensity of the support while in refuge, they are not simply a substitute for other forms of temporary accommodation. Councils should work with the refuge provider to consider how long the person needs to stay before other accommodation is provided. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 21)

Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)

11. A MARAC is a meeting where agencies share information on high risk domestic abuse cases. The meetings can include representatives from the police, health, child protection, housing, probation and other relevant specialists. The MARAC provides a plan to safeguard the adult victim.

The relief duty

12. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)

The 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)

Differences between interim and temporary accommodation

14. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
15. If a council has reason to believe an applicant may be homeless as a result of domestic abuse, it should make interim accommodation available to the applicant immediately whilst it undertakes its investigations. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 21.25)
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. Interim and temporary accommodation can be the same physical property. What changes is the legal duty under which a council provides it. This is important because there is a statutory right to review the suitability of temporary accommodation. This then carries a right of appeal to county court on a point of law. There is no statutory right to review the suitability of interim accommodation.

Suitability of accommodation

18. 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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
19. 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)

What happened

20. In 2023, Miss X fled domestic abuse and moved into a women’s refuge.
21. In April 2024, Miss X approached the Council for housing assistance as she had been given notice to leave the refuge by August 2024.
22. In June, the Council accepted the relief duty, completed a personalised housing plan with Miss X and provided signposting to domestic abuse support services.
23. In July, the Council completed its homelessness assessment. During this process, Miss X said she had been referred to a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) and was working with an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA).
24. In August, the Council placed Miss X in interim accommodation (Property A).
25. Miss X says she tried to contact the Council several times by telephone between August and January but has no records of these calls. The evidence shows she did make some contact with the Council during this period, including emails in August and September 2024. In these, she thanked the Council for checking in and sought information about the bidding process.
26. In January 2025, Miss X made a complaint to the Council. She said that since moving into Property A the landlord had not addressed disrepair issues, including mould, a broken front door and a pest infestation. She also said she needed to be urgently relocated due to safety concerns and that she had not been added to the housing bidding register.
27. Two days later, Miss X attended the Council’s offices seeking support. She repeated her concerns about the condition of the property and her safety. At that time, she was not staying at Property A but was receiving mental health support. The Council advised her to focus on her mental health and to re-contact it when discharged, at which point it would arrange alternative accommodation. Around this time, the Council accepted the main housing duty.
28. In February, following Miss X’s discharge from mental health services, the Council moved her to alternative temporary accommodation (Property B) the same day.
29. Miss X contacted the Council several times in February, March and April but did not receive a response.
30. In May, Miss X made a further complaint. She said that she had been told she would only be staying in Property B for a short time and that she would receive regular updates, but she had not heard anything since moving. She requested an apology, a new housing officer, confirmation she was on the bidding register, and information about when she would be moved.
31. In June, a new housing support officer contacted Miss X, apologised for the delay, confirmed the main housing duty had been accepted, and said the Council would make her a direct offer of suitable permanent accommodation when one became available.
32. The Council responded to Miss X’s May complaint. It acknowledged that her January complaint had not been forwarded to the complaints team but dealt with directly by the housing team. It apologised for poor communication received since moving into Property B, clarified who her allocated officer was, and explained that staff shortages had resulted in several officers being involved in her case. It apologised if she had been misinformed about the expected duration of her temporary accommodation but could not say when she would be moved. It confirmed she would receive a direct offer of permanent accommodation and asked her to complete suitability and medical assessment forms. The Council offered £275 to recognise the distress, time and trouble caused by the communication failures.
33. Shortly afterwards, the Council identified a potential property and contacted Miss X. She requested further information and asked the Council to pause the offer while she considered it.
34. Miss X escalated her complaint. She said the recent property offer appeared to be in response to her complaint, communication had been poor since February, she had received conflicting information about officers managing her case, and the Council had not taken her mental health concerns seriously.
35. In July, the Council issued its stage two complaint response. It said Miss X had received regular contact since June. It explained that it does not pause offers of accommodation and considered the property offered to be suitable and in a safe area. It said it would make a further offer but was not obliged to make multiple offers.
36. Miss X requested further escalation. She raised concerns about lack of communication between August 2024 and January 2025, and again between February and May 2025. She requested a full review of her housing case, a formal apology and increased compensation.
37. The Council explained it operates a two-stage complaints process and advised Miss X to approach the Ombudsman if she remained dissatisfied.
38. After bringing her complaint to the Ombudsman, Miss X accepted an offer of permanent accommodation.
39. In response to my enquiries, the Council apologised for delays in issuing its main housing duty decision and said these were due to staff shortages. It said it had since recruited additional staff to resolve delays.
40. The Council said there was no record demonstrating it had carried out a documented suitability assessment before placing Miss X at Property A. It said it expects managing agents to provide accommodation at a lettable standard and confirmed the property was outside her identified risk areas.
41. The Council said it had no record of Miss X reporting disrepair or pest issues before January 2025.

My findings

Relief duty and delay in decision-making

42. The Council accepted the relief duty in June 2024 but did not accept the main housing duty until January 2025, around five months later than it should have. This was fault. Although Miss X remained in temporary accommodation and was not left without housing, the delay caused uncertainty and avoidable distress.
43. The Council has acknowledged the delay and attributed it to staff shortages within the housing needs service.
44. The Council has since recruited additional staff to increase capacity. I am satisfied this reduces the risk of recurrence. The injustice to Miss X arising from the delay is appropriately recognised alongside the communication failures addressed below.

Suitability of Property A

45. Although the Council considered Miss X’s personal circumstances before placing her, it has not provided evidence that it satisfied itself that Property A was suitable for habitation. This is fault.
46. However, there is no evidence Miss X raised concerns about the condition of the property or pest infestation with the Council until January 2025, several months after she moved in. I have seen no evidence that shows the property was unsuitable at the point of placement.
47. When Miss X raised concerns about the property and her safety, the Council moved her to alternative temporary accommodation on the same day she was discharged from mental health services. I am satisfied the move was arranged promptly once the Council was aware of Miss X’s safety concerns.

Suitability of property B

48. When placing Miss X in Property B, the Council considered the areas she had identified as unsafe and sought to ensure the location did not present a known risk to her.
49. As Property B was temporary accommodation, Miss X had a statutory right to request a review of its suitability. She did not exercise that right. It would have been reasonable for her to do so if she considered the property unsuitable. I have therefore not investigated this matter further.

Domestic abuse support

50. In June 2024, the Council provided signposting to domestic abuse services. In July 2024, Miss X informed the Council she had been referred to MARAC and was working with an IDVA.
51. Miss X was therefore receiving specialist domestic abuse support from appropriate agencies. I have seen no evidence the Council failed to provide support it was required to provide. I find no fault in this regard.

June 2025 property offer

52. In June 2025, the Council contacted Miss X about a potential property. She requested further information and asked the Council to pause the offer while she considered it.
53. The Council was not obliged to hold the property open indefinitely. There was no fault in it declining to pause the offer.
54. In its complaint response, the Council described this as a formal offer, this was inaccurate. The evidence suggests it was an initial enquiry to assess suitability and safety. However, the Council’s inaccuracy did not cause significant injustice, as Miss X later received and accepted a further offer of permanent accommodation.

Communication and complaint handling

55. There was no communication from the Council between August 2024 and January 2025. During this period, the Council should have decided whether it owed Miss X the main housing duty and contacted her about that accordingly. The lack of communication was fault and caused uncertainty.
56. The Council acknowledged that Miss X’s January 2025 complaint was not handled under its formal complaints procedure. This was fault. Miss X did however receive a response to this complaint directly from the team and was subsequently moved to Property B.
57. There was also a period between February and May 2025 when Miss X’s attempts to contact the Council went unanswered. This lack of communication was fault. These failures caused Miss X avoidable distress, frustration, and time and trouble in pursuing responses.
58. The Council apologised and offered Miss X £275 to recognise the impact of the communication failures and complaint handling errors. I am satisfied that this payment is proportionate to the injustice caused. I therefore make no further recommendations.
59. The Council was entitled to operate a two-stage complaints procedure and to decline further escalation. It appropriately signposted Miss X to the Ombudsman. I find no fault in this aspect of its complaint handling.

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Decision

60. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has already provided a suitable remedy.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman