Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application and safeguarding around domestic violence. She said she experienced distress, uncertainty and risk of further violence as a result. We found fault by the Council for its failure to provide interim accommodation and properly consider risks to Ms X for over two weeks. It was not at fault after this as it made a housing offer with review rights. The Council agreed to apologise and make payment to acknowledge the injustice its faults caused her. It will also complete a service improvement recommendation.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her request for homelessness support. She said it wrongly refused to accommodate her and failed to safeguard her against domestic and honour-based violence. She also said it incorrectly told her she had refused a final accommodation offer in May 2024, and a further offer in August 2025.
2. Ms X said, as a result, she experienced distress, uncertainty, and were put at risk of further domestic violence.

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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. We investigate complaints of injustice caused by ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. I have used the word fault to refer to these. We consider whether there was fault in the way an organisation made its decision. If there was no fault in how the organisation made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)
5. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
6. The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone could take the matter to court. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to go to court. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(c), as amended)
7. 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

8. I have investigated Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s handling of request for homelessness support from April to July 2025, including how it considered safeguarding concerns due to domestic and honour-based violence.
9. I have not investigated any concerns Ms X has about the Council’s offer of accommodation in August 2025. This is because:
• the events happened after the Council provided its response to her complaint; and
• she has appeal rights against the Council’s decision to end the relief duty, and it informed her about her rights.

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How I considered this complaint

10. I considered evidence provided by Ms X and Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
11. Ms X and the Council 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 found

Relevant law and guidance

Homelessness

12. 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.
13. 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)
14. A council must secure interim accommodation for an applicant and their household if it has reason to believe the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
15. 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. This is known as the prevention duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
16. 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. This is known as the relief duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)

Domestic violence

17. 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)
18. The Homelessness Code of Guidance, chapter 21 says councils:
• should try to get an account of the applicant’s experience to assess whether the behaviour they have experienced is abusive or whether they would be at risk of domestic abuse if they continued to occupy their accommodation. The authority should support the victim to outline their experience and make an assessment based on the details of the case;
• should obtain an account of the domestic abuse and support the victim to outline their experience. However it says if the applicant’s experience has been documented already by a domestic abuse service – where possible – councils should utilise existing statements to avoid asking the victim to re-live their experience unnecessarily;
• should not have a blanket approach toward domestic abuse which requires corroborative or police evidence to be provided, as in some cases this kind of evidence is not available due to lack of adult witnesses or victims being too afraid or ashamed to report incidents to family, friends or the police;
• domestic abuse victims must not be asked to return to their property to collect documentation such as ID to progress their homelessness application, if there is a chance it could put them in danger; and
• 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.
19. 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.

Review rights

20. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the certain decisions. These includes:

• their eligibility for assistance;
• what duty (if any) is owed to them if they are found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness;
• giving notice to bring the prevention duty to an end;
• the steps they are to take in their personalised housing plan at the relief duty stage;
• giving notice to bring the relief duty to an end;
• giving notice in cases of deliberate and unreasonable refusal to co-operate; and
• 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.

21. Applicants may ask a council to provide accommodation pending the outcome of a review. Councils have a power, but not a duty, to accommodate certain applicants and members of their household. (Housing Act 1996, sections 188(3), 199A(6), 200(5))

What happened

22. Ms X lived with her partner in their home. She said she had been subject to domestic violence in the past.
23. In Spring 2025 an incident occurred in their home and she went to stay with her parents. However, they told her to return to her partner and work on the relationship.
24. She subsequently returned to her home. She also sought advice from a women’s refuge and an advocate supported her with applying for homelessness to the Council.
25. The Council opened a homelessness case and Ms X and her advocate attended a housing appointment. The Council was asked to only contact the advocate due to domestic violence concerns if her partner found out about her request for support.
26. At the appointment, Ms X said she asked for urgent housing assistance. She explained her parents were telling her to return to her husband to work on the marriage due to cultural reasons. The Council asked her to provide employment details, bank statements and proof of residency. It also asked if it could contact her parents, which she initially agreed to. No accommodation offer or support was provided.
27. Shortly afterwards, Ms X spoke with her advocate. She asked the Council not to contact her parents as they were perpetrators of honour-based violence. This was because they were insisting she should return to her partner for cultural reasons. The Council agreed not to contact her parents.
28. Ms X and her advocate asked the Council for updates on her case. An affordability assessment was sent for Ms X to complete. It explained once she completed this on its website, she would be able to see some available private rentable properties.
29. Ms X said she left her home two weeks later to escape the relationship. She slept on a friend’s sofa temporarily.
30. Shortly after, the Council said it provided Ms X with a final offer of accommodation under its relief duty. The offer was sent to her advocate and explained it may end its duty if she did not accept the offer.
31. A month later, the Council closed Ms X’s housing case as it had not had a response to its housing offer.

Ms X’s complaint

32. In Summer 2025 Ms X complained to the Council. Below are the key points of her complaint and the Council’s response:
• It had failed to provide her with appropriate housing support and safeguarding advice when she approached it for help in April 2025.

The Council did not uphold her complaint. It said it had been told about the domestic violence, but Ms X went to stay with her parents who arranged mediation between her and her partner. After this her parents told her to return to her home. The Council had also started to look into finding suitable accommodations whilst she stayed with her parents.

• It had failed to acknowledge her parents were also perpetrators as they were facilitating the abuse by asking her to return to her partner. It was therefore wrong for the Council to ask to contact her parents and ask her to return to them.

The Council found Ms X had agreed for it to contact her parents in the appointment. She subsequently told it not to, and no contact was made.

• It had not provided an offer of accommodation in May 2025 as she had not received this.

The Council confirmed it had sent its offer in May 2025. It found she had refused the offer as she had not responded. It explained it kept the case open for a month before it was closed.

33. The Council also started a new housing assessment shortly after.
34. Ms X asked the Ombudsman to consider her complaint. She remains of the view the Council should have provided her with accommodation and support, and disputes the May 2025 offer was made.
35. In Autumn 2025 the Council offered Ms X an accommodation following its new assessment. Ms X refused the offer. The Council subsequently ended its relief duty towards her and shared information about her right of appeal its decision.
36. In response to our enquiries the Council provided its records of the Spring 2025 assessment with Ms X and its email to her advocate with the May 2025 final accommodation offer.

Analysis and findings

Did the Council have a duty to provide interim accommodation?

37. I have considered whether the Council failed to provide Ms X with interim accommodation when she approached the Council in Spring 2025 for urgent housing support. I have found fault by the Council. This is because:
• it was told about domestic violence by her partner. It was therefore not reasonable for Ms X to return to her home;
• it said Ms X should return to her parent home where she had fled to. However, Ms X shared her concerns about her parents facilitating the domestic abuse due to cultural reasons. The Council was aware they were proposing mediation between them and were encouraging her to return home where the violence had taken place. There is no evidence the Council considered Ms X’s parents as perpetrators of honour-based violence;
• it asked her to provide some evidence about her identity and residency. While it was appropriate for the Council to seek some information, it had an immediate duty to find Ms X interim accommodation as it had been presented with a clear reason to believe she had been and was at risk of domestic violence, including honour-based violence from her parents. It was therefore not reasonable to return to either her home or her parents’ accommodation.
38. The evidence shows Ms X returned to her parents and subsequently to her home where she was at further risk from her partner. She stayed there for two weeks. She then moved to a friend house temporarily, and the Council provided its offer of accommodation.

Did the Council properly consider its duty to safeguard Ms X?

39. I found fault in how the Council considered its interim accommodation duty. While I acknowledge Ms X had a domestic violence advocate with her at the housing appointment, I have seen no evidence the Council completed a DASH assessment or made any referrals for domestic violence support.
40. This was therefore a missed opportunity to consider whether any more or additional support should be provided. It therefore failed to safeguard her until it could further investigate her case.
41. However, I have not found fault by the Council for asking Ms X to contact her parents as part of the housing assessment. This is because she initially agreed to this. Once she told the Council not to contact them, it agreed and no contact was made.

Did the Council make a housing offer to Ms X in May 2025?

42. Ms X is certain she did not receive the Council’s housing offer for an accommodation in May 2025. However, the evidence shows the Council did send the offer as it said it had.
43. The Council’s offer was sent to Ms X’s advocate. This was appropriate as, at the time, the Council had been told all communication should be through her advocate. The email also shows this was the correct address, and review rights were set out if she refused, or did not accept, the housing offer.
44. I have therefore not found fault by the Council for how it handled her housing situation after it provided its offer. It is regrettable Ms X was unaware of the offer, but this was not due to fault by the Council.

Injustice

45. I found fault by the Council for its failure to provide Ms X with interim accommodation for over two weeks and keep her safe from domestic and honour-based violence. I am satisfied she therefore experienced:
• an injustice due to the distress, uncertainty and risk of harm for over two weeks. This was both in her home with her partner and in her parents’ accommodation; and
• a missed opportunity to have her safeguarding concerns properly considered and any relevant additional domestic violence support offered to her.

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Action

46. To remedy the injustice the Council caused to Ms X, the Council should, within one month of the final decision:
1. apologise in writing to Ms X to acknowledge the injustice its faults caused her;

We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how organisations should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The organisation should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended in my findings.

2. pay Ms X £250 to acknowledge the unnecessary distress and uncertainty caused by its actions when she first approached it, and the delays to accept its duty and offer accommodation; and
3. pay Ms X a further £250 to recognise the two weeks she remained in a property where she was at risk of harm.
2. Within three months of the final decision the Council should also:
1.  
2.  
3.  
4. by training or other means, remind officers of the low threshold for triggering the Council’s duty to offer interim accommodation when an applicant first makes their homelessness application. It should also remind officers of:
1. the provisions of Section 21.25 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance when dealing with applicants who may be fleeing domestic abuse.
2. the requirement to complete Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Based Violence risk assessments where domestic abuse is disclosed.
3. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

49. I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault in how the Council handled Ms X’s housing and safeguarding concerns. It will apologise and make payment to Ms X to acknowledge the injustice this caused. It will also complete a service improvement recommendation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman