Summary: Miss X complained on behalf of Ms Y, about the Council’s actions since 2023. We find no fault in the action the Council took following concerns raised by the police about domestic abuse. However, we find fault in the Council’s failure to properly consider the affordability of the accommodation it offered, its failure to provide adequate support to help Ms Y secure housing benefit, its poor communication about rent arrears, and its handling of the complaint. These faults caused Ms Y significant uncertainty, distress, and financial difficulty. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Ms Y, review the suitability of her accommodation taking account of its affordability, and take action to improve its services.

The complaint

1. Miss X, a charity support worker, complained on behalf of Ms Y about the Council’s actions since 2023. She says the Council:
1. Failed to take effective action to protect the family from domestic abuse;
2. Required Ms Y to sign a tenancy agreement for an unaffordable property while she was recovering in hospital;
3. Failed to provide appropriate support after the tenancy was signed, resulting in significant rent arrears by the time Ms Y was discharged from hospital; and
4. Later stated these arrears would be cleared, but this did not happen.
2. Miss X says this left Ms Y at risk of harm and caused distress, uncertainty, and financial strain.

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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 the future we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. 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

5. 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 has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
6. The complaint relates to events between October 2023 and July 2024 and was therefore made outside the usual 12-month time limit. However, I have exercised discretion to investigate these matters. I am satisfied there are good reasons why Ms Y could not reasonably have complained sooner. These include her hospitalisation following a serious assault, her recovery from significant injuries, the practical demands of moving into new accommodation with her children, and the ongoing trauma experienced by her and her family.
7. I have not investigated matters where Ms Y had a right of appeal to a tribunal. This includes decisions about the calculation and award of housing benefit, any overpayments, and decisions relating to Discretionary Housing Payments. Where such rights exist, the law expects these matters to be challenged through the appeal process rather than through this complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

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

Relevant law and legislation

Domestic abuse

Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC)

10. 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.

DASH assessment

11. A Domestic Abuse, Stalking & Honour-based Violence (DASH) assessment may be carried out to assess the risks to a victim and the action needed to protect them. This is a standardised assessment, which produces a score out of 24. A score above 14 should result in a MARAC referral, although the person carrying out the assessment may make a referral where the score is lower if they have serious concerns about the victim’s safety.

Interim accommodation - domestic abuse

12. 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)

Consent to speak to other agencies

13. With consent of the victim, the Council may wish to speak to other agencies who are informed about the domestic abuse, for instance, the police, children’s services, or health professionals. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 21)

Safety planning and risk assessment

14. The Code says applicants at risk of domestic abuse should not be expected to return home on the strength of an injunction - such as an occupation or non-molestation order – as these are not always effective. (Homelessness Code of Guidance, Chapter 21)

Housing

The relief duty

15. 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

16. 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)

Review rights

17. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the following decisions the suitability of accommodation offered to the applicant after a homelessness duty has been accepted (and the suitability of accommodation offered under section 200(3) and section 193). Applicants can request a review of the suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted the offer.
18. 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.

Benefits

Universal Credit

19. Universal credit is a payment to help with living costs (including rent). It replaced housing benefit. The Department for Work and Pensions, which is not part of the Council manages universal credit. This means I cannot consider complaints about it. The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman may decide to investigate complaint about DWP.

Housing Benefit

20. The Council manages and pays housing benefit which helps eligible people on low incomes pay their rent. Regulations set out the rules councils must follow for calculating and paying housing benefit. Usually the Council pays the tenant housing benefit. The tenant is then responsible for paying the rent to their landlord.

Housing benefit – overpayments

21. If a council pays too much housing benefit to someone, it will usually ask them to repay it. The law says the council can get this money back unless it was caused by the council’s mistakes and it was not reasonable to expect the person to realise they were receiving too much benefit.
22. If someone disagrees with a decision about an overpayment they can appeal to the tribunal. The law says people should appeal within one month of the date of the decision they think is wrong. The tribunal can accept a late appeal up to 13 months from the date of the decision. Because the person can appeal, we would normally decide not to investigate complaints about these decisions.

Housing benefit - appeals

23. If someone disagrees with a housing benefit decision they can ask the council for a review. If they have a review, and are not happy with the decision, they can then appeal to the tribunal. The law says people should appeal within one month of the date of the decision they think is wrong. Because the person can appeal, we would normally decide not to investigate complaints about these decisions.

Discretionary Housing Payments

24. A council can award discretionary housing payments (DHP) when someone needs help with housing costs and is claiming housing benefit or universal credit which includes housing costs towards rent. (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, section 2.3)
25. Government guidance allows councils to choose (discretion) when to offer a DHP; there is no statutory right to payment. However guidance says DHP decisions must follow the ordinary principles of good decision making. This means councils must act fairly, reasonably, and consistently, and must decide each case by considering individual circumstances. Councils can decide:

• what questions to ask applicants;
• what award to make (if any); and
• how long to make payments for.
  (Discretionary Housing Payments guidance manual May 2022, sections 4.24 and 2.14)

What happened

26. Below is a summary of key events based on my review of all the evidence provided.
27. Ms Y lives with her four children and, at the relevant time, had pre-settled status.
28. In late 2023, the police notified the Council of a domestic abuse incident involving Ms Y and her partner and shared a risk assessment. The Council contacted both parties the same day, identified safeguarding concerns, and decided further assessment was required. Ms Y consented to welfare checks with her children’s school and a referral for domestic abuse support.
29. Shortly afterwards, the Council visited the family at home. It explained its assessment process, agreed an interim safety plan with Ms Y and her partner, completed a DASH risk assessment, and made referrals to a domestic abuse service and to MARAC.
30. The Council followed up the next day to confirm Ms Y understood the safety plan, which she said she did. About a week later, Ms Y reported her partner was complying with the plan and she had no concerns.
31. Four days later, Ms Y was seriously assaulted by her partner. She was admitted to hospital and required surgery. Her children were placed in emergency foster care.
32. As Ms Y could not return home, she became homeless. While she was in hospital, a homelessness application was submitted on her behalf. She received support from health, and social care professionals, and a domestic abuse support worker was allocated. Attempts were also made to assist her with benefit claims, which were complicated by her immigration status but resolved in early December.
33. In December, the hospital informed the Council Ms Y was medically fit for discharge. The Council offered her interim accommodation so she could leave hospital. Ms Y accepted the offer.
34. The Council carried out an affordability assessment, taking into account her income and potential benefit entitlement. It discussed the rent with Ms Y and provided information about claiming housing benefit.
35. The Council accepted the relief duty and issued a personalised housing plan. Ms Y collected the keys to the property a few days later.
36. Shortly after the tenancy began, the Council sent a rent arrears reminder, which included information about claiming housing benefit.
37. A support worker was assigned to help Ms Y with benefits. A universal credit claim was made but refused due to her income. The Council subsequently advised her to apply for housing benefit and provided instructions on how to do so.
38. In March, the Council accepted the main housing duty and informed Ms Y of her right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation.
39. In June, Ms Y asked the Council for help with making a housing benefit claim. The Council provided information on how to apply. Later that month, a supporting charity contacted the Council to report difficulties submitting the claim due to Ms Y being placed outside the borough.
40. The Council responded by sharing relevant information, signposting to support services, and attempting to contact the charity. Further contact took place in July, but the Council advised no housing benefit claim had yet been received.
41. In August, Ms Y’s housing benefit claim was initially refused because she was living outside the borough, but this was later resolved and housing benefit was awarded. However, the award did not cover the full rent.
42. In September, the Council advised Ms Y to apply for a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) and provided assistance via the charity. A DHP was subsequently awarded, but the combined income from housing benefit and DHP did not cover the full rent.
43. In October, the Council reviewed the rent account and, as a gesture of goodwill, agreed to remove rent charges for the period before housing benefit was awarded. It indicated the remaining balance would be cleared once DHP payments were applied.
44. However, in February 2025, the Council advised Ms Y she remained liable for some rent due to shortfalls between rent, housing benefit, and DHP, as well as a housing benefit overpayment. It advised her to begin making payments.
45. In March and April, the Council pursued rent arrears recovery action, including suspending Ms Y’s housing application when payments were not made, and advising rent arrears may result in eviction. The charity queried why arrears remained despite earlier assurances the balance would be cleared.
46. The Council explained that earlier arrears had been removed, but new arrears had accrued due to ongoing shortfalls not covered by benefits or DHP.
47. In May, Ms Y agreed to a repayment plan. The Council approved further DHP and backdated some payments, but confirmed some arrears remained payable.
48. The charity complained to the Council about its handling of the domestic abuse, the suitability and affordability of the accommodation, the lack of support, and the rent arrears.
49. The Council responded to the housing complaint in June, explaining the rent position and why arrears remained. The charity escalated the complaint, and the Council maintained its position in July.
50. In August, the Council responded separately to the social care aspects of the complaint. It did not uphold the complaint.

My findings

Failure to protect the family from domestic abuse

51. I have considered whether the Council failed to take appropriate action following the police referral in late 2023. The evidence shows the Council acted promptly. It contacted Ms Y and her partner on the same day, carried out a home visit, completed a DASH risk assessment, made a referral to MARAC, and agreed a safety plan with the family. It also made referrals for specialist domestic abuse support.
52. The Council followed up with Ms Y, who confirmed shortly before the incident that her partner was complying with the safety plan and that she had no concerns. While the subsequent assault was extremely serious, I have seen no evidence the Council failed to follow relevant guidance or ignored known risks.
53. I therefore find no fault in the Council’s actions in how it responded to the domestic abuse concerns based on the information available to it at the time.

Requirement to accept accommodation while in hospital

54. The Council offered Ms Y interim accommodation when she was medically fit for discharge from hospital and could not return home. It completed a basic affordability assessment and discussed rent and potential benefit entitlement with her.
55. However, at the time Ms Y was recovering from a serious assault, had recently undergone surgery, and was in a vulnerable position. The Council was aware her financial circumstances were uncertain, including unresolved issues around benefit entitlement. In these circumstances, I do not consider the Council assured itself or Ms Y that the accommodation was affordable.
56. This was fault. While it was appropriate for the Council to secure accommodation so Ms Y could leave hospital, it should have taken greater care to ensure the accommodation was affordable or that adequate financial support was in place. As a result, Ms Y entered accommodation she could not afford and accrued significant rent arrears.

Support after the tenancy began

57. The Council arranged a support worker to assist Ms Y with benefit claims. However, the support provided was limited to an application for universal credit, for which she was later found to be ineligible. Despite clear advice from the housing team that Ms Y should apply for housing benefit, there is no evidence the Council provided practical support to help her do so.
58. Given Ms Y’s known vulnerability, including her recovery from serious injuries and the trauma she had experienced, the Council should have taken a more proactive and coordinated approach to ensuring she accessed the financial support available to her. Instead, it largely relied on signposting and later on the intervention of a charity.
59. This was fault and led to delays in Ms Y receiving housing benefit, contributed to the build-up of rent arrears, and caused avoidable financial uncertainty and distress.

Rent arrears and communication

60. The Council later agreed to remove rent charges for an earlier period as a gesture of goodwill and indicated the remaining arrears would be cleared once DHP was applied. However, it subsequently informed Ms Y that she remained liable for some arrears due to ongoing shortfalls between rent, housing benefit, and DHP, as well as benefit overpayment.
61. While the Council did take steps to reduce the arrears, its communication was unclear and created a reasonable expectation that the full balance would be cleared. Its later explanation did not sufficiently clarify the position, which led to confusion.
62. This was fault. The lack of clear and consistent communication caused Ms Y distress and uncertainty about her financial position.
63. In addition, the Council was aware that even after housing benefit and DHP were awarded, there remained a shortfall between Ms Y’s income and her rent. There is no evidence it adequately reviewed the ongoing affordability of the accommodation in light of this.
64. This was further fault. Although the Council took steps to address earlier arrears, it did not take sufficient action to address the continuing affordability issues, which contributed to the accumulation of further arrears.

Complaint handling

65. The Council’s complaints procedure sets target timescales of 10 working days at stage one and 20 working days at stage two and states that where a complaint covers multiple service areas, a single coordinated response will be provided within the relevant timescales. In this case, that did not take place.
66. While the housing response was provided on time, the children’s social care response was delayed by 52 working days. The delay and failure to provide a single coordinated response was fault. It resulted in the need for the charity to pursue the complaint further and caused avoidable time and trouble.

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Action

67. To remedy the injustice caused by the above faults, we recommend, within four weeks of the date of my final decision, the Council should:
• apologise to Ms Y in line with our guidance on making an effective apology;
• pay Ms Y £500 to recognise the uncertainty and distress caused by poor communication, and failure to provide practical benefits support.
• pay Ms Y £100 to recognise the time and trouble caused by its poor complaint handling; and
• review the suitability of Ms Y’s accommodation, taking into account its affordability.
68. Within three months of the date of my final decision, the Council has agreed to, using this case as an example, issue updated guidance to relevant staff. This guidance should clearly set out the need to:
• ensure applicants receive coordinated support across housing, benefits, and social care services where applicable;
• consider and keep under review the affordability of temporary accommodation, particularly where rent arrears are accruing; and
• provide a single, coordinated response to complaints that involve multiple service areas.
69. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

70. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed actions to remedy injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman