Summary: Mr B complained that the Council failed to provide him with appropriate assistance when he was homeless. We find the Council was at fault for failing to provide interim accommodation to Mr B when it had reason to believe he may have been homeless, eligible and in priority need. As a result, he was sofa surfing with his child for over six months and suffered avoidable distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr B and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. Mr B complains that the Council failed to take appropriate action when he was homeless. He says the Council refused to accept evidence he provided regarding his immigration status and failed to provide interim accommodation for several months.
2. Mr B says the Council’s failings have prevented him from securing stable accommodation and have affected his mental health.

Back to top

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 provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
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)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. I have investigated the way the Council dealt with Mr B’s homelessness applications between December 2024 and July 2025. I have not investigated matters Mr B has become aware of since he complained to us in July 2025, which includes the outcome of the Council’s review regarding the suitability of the accommodation it provided between June and July 2025.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Mr B and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Mr B and the Council have had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Homelessness

9. 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.

Duty to accommodate

10. 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. (Housing Act 1996, section 188 and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 8.3)

The relief duty

11. This duty applies when the council is satisfied that an applicant is homeless (rather than just threatened with homelessness) and eligible for assistance. The council has a duty to take reasonable steps to help the applicant secure accommodation that will be available for at least six months. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B and Homelessness Code of Guidance, paragraph 13.2)

The main housing duty

12. If homelessness is not successfully relieved, a council will owe the main housing duty to applicants who are eligible, have a priority need for accommodation and are not homeless intentionally. Under the main housing duty, councils must ensure that suitable accommodation is available for the applicant and their household until the duty is brought to an end, usually through the offer of a settled home. (Housing Act 1996, section 193(2))

Share code

13. A share code is a unique, nine-digit alphanumeric code used in the UK to prove an individual's right to work, rent, or access public services. It's a secure, digital way for people who are not British or Irish citizens to prove their immigration status to employers, landlords, and other organisations without needing to present physical documents.

Housing Allocations

14. The Council’s Housing Allocations Scheme sets out the rules for qualifying to join the housing register, how applicants are prioritised and how the Council manages the allocation of available properties.
15. The scheme places applicants in a priority band from Band A (highest priority) to Band D (lowest priority). Band A includes applicants who are owed the relief duty and the duty to accommodate, or the main housing duty.

Key events

16. Mr B approached the Council in December 2024 for housing assistance. The Council carried out a housing needs assessment, during which Mr B explained that he was staying at his partner’s property but could not stay there for much longer. He said that his partner was in prison, the tenancy was in her sole name, and the landlord was seeking possession of the property.
17. Mr B also stated that he was looking after their newborn baby full time and was waiting for a decision on his application for Child Benefit. The Council advised Mr B that, until he was able to provide evidence that he was receiving child benefit, he would be treated as a single person. It said that it could refer him to an HMO (house in multiple occupation) but it would not allow children. Mr B said that he would return once he had received an eviction notice and confirmation of Child Benefit.
18. The next day, on 12 December 2024, Mr B provided evidence that he was in receipt of Universal Credit, including support for one child. He also provided a letter from his solicitors which stated that he had refugee status with leave to remain in the UK while he was appealing a Home Office decision.
19. Mr B approached the Council again in March 2025, stating that he was homeless and sofa surfing. A few days later, he told the Council that he was staying at his mother’s address, but that she had asked him to leave. Mr B said that he had been granted leave to remain in the UK but had not yet received his ID card. He provided a copy of a Home Office letter which stated, “You have been granted leave to remain in the United Kingdom.” However, it also stated, “This letter is not evidence of your leave to remain in the United Kingdom, or right to work, or of entitlement to benefits.”
20. The Council advised Mr B to continue living with his mother while waiting for his ID card. It also offered to make a referral to children’s social care services, which Mr B declined.
21. In April 2025, Mr B approached the Council again. He said he had a share code which would confirm his immigration status. The Council was unable to verify the code provided. It told Mr B that he had provided the wrong type of share code, and it provided instructions for obtaining the correct code.
22. Mr B sought advice from a housing and homelessness charity. It sent a pre-action protocol letter to the Council, indicating its intention to apply for judicial review. The Council then accepted the relief duty and placed Mr B in interim accommodation, a self-contained annex.
23. The following month, the Council placed Mr B and his child into alternative accommodation, a one-bedroom flat.
24. Mr B joined the Council’s housing register in July 2025. He was awarded Band A priority because the Council had accepted a homelessness duty to him.
25. On 2 September, the Council accepted the main housing duty to Mr B.

Analysis

26. 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. The “reason to believe” threshold is low and officers should not delay the provision of interim accommodation while waiting for evidence of their homelessness, eligibility or priority need.
27. The evidence Mr B provided on 12 December 2024 was sufficient to give the Council reason to believe that he may have been homeless, eligible for assistance, and in priority need. The Council therefore had a duty to secure interim accommodation for Mr B and his child. It failed to do so; this was fault.
28. The Council has accepted that it should have offered interim accommodation to Mr B in December 2024 and has apologised for this error.
29. The Council again failed to offer interim accommodation when Mr B approached it in March and April 2025. The information he provided was sufficient to give the Council reason to believe that he was eligible, and it therefore had a duty to secure interim accommodation. The Council should not have delayed providing accommodation while seeking evidence of his eligibility for assistance.
30. As a result of the Council’s failings, Mr B was not provided with interim accommodation and he sofa surfed with his child for over six months. If there had been no fault, I consider it likely that Mr B would have joined the housing register when his application was assessed on 21 January 2025. However, I do not consider it likely that Mr B missed out on an offer of permanent housing. I reached this view after considering information on the Council’s website about average waiting times.

Back to top

Action

31. The Council has agreed to take the following actions within four weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Mr B for the failings identified in this case. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how councils should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance when making the apology.
• Make a symbolic payment of £1300 to Mr B to recognise that, as a result of its failings, he was not provided with interim accommodation and sofa surfed for over six months with his child.
• Backdate Mr B’s Band A award to 21 January 2025.
32. The Council has also agreed to remind staff that there is an immediate duty to provide interim accommodation if the Council has reason to believe that the applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance, and in priority need. The “reason to believe” threshold is low and officers should not delay the provision of interim accommodation while waiting for evidence of eligibility or priority need. The Council will ensure its procedures and training materials make this duty clear. It will take this action within eight weeks of my final decision.
33. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

34. I have completed my investigation and uphold Mr B’s complaint. There was fault which caused injustice. The action the Council has agreed to take is sufficient to remedy that injustice.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman