Summary: Mr X complained the Council left him in unsafe and unclean hostel accommodation. He said the Council ignored evidence and the hostel was infested with pests. Mr X said this distressed him and impacted his mental health. There was no fault in how the Council managed pests in the property. There was fault in the way the Council delayed making its main housing duty decision. This did not cause Mr X a significant personal injustice.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council left him in unsafe and unclean hostel accommodation. He said the Council ignored evidence and the hostel was infested with pests. Mr X said this distressed him and impacted his mental health.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
3. If we are satisfied with a Council’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read Mr X’s complaint and spoke to him about it on the phone.
5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr 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

Background information

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. 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)
9. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
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. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)
11. If, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
12. 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)
13. 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 and temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
14. 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.
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)
16. 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

17. This is a summary of events, outlining key facts and does not cover everything that has occurred in this case.
18. The Council owns a hostel to provide accommodation for homeless people. It regularly had pest control visit the property.
19. Mr X’s previous placement asked him to leave at the end of January 2025. He appealed against the decision. The provider upheld its decision and asked him to leave by the end of February 2025. Mr X approached the Council as homeless. The Council accommodated Mr X, placing him in the hostel. It asked Mr X for information to support his homelessness claim. Mr X signed a license confirming, among other things, he would keep the room clean.
20. Mr X provided the information at the end of March 2025. The Council accepted the relief duty after considering the information. It noted Mr X withdrew his consent to gather information. The Council asked Mr X to provide more information to further consider the application.
21. Pest control visited the property twice in March 2025, in April 2025 and twice in June 2025. Pest control treated the property for cockroaches and recommended cleaning some of the rooms.
22. Mr X complained to the Council in June 2025. He complained about the hostel accommodation and said there was a bug infestation.
23. Pest control visited the property in July 2025, treating for cockroaches and recommended cleaning rooms, including Mr X’s.
24. The Council issued its complaint response in July 2025. The response confirmed it accepted a relief duty to Mr X in March 2025. The Council accepted Mr X told the hostel about an issue with bugs in bedding and dealt with the issue the same day. The Council also accepted the presence of cockroaches but said it was not an infestation and pest control regularly visited the property to treat for bugs. The Council said it recognised the issues but had taken appropriate action.
25. Mr X asked the Council to escalate his complaint the following day. He raised several concerns about the accommodation.
26. Pest control visited the property at the end of July 2025, treating for cockroaches and recommending cleaning rooms.
27. The Council issued its stage two complaint response in August 2025. The Council acknowledged some cockroach and bug issues but said pest control regularly visited and treated the hostel. The Council noted reports recommended cleaning rooms but explained residents were responsible for keeping their rooms clean. The Council did not uphold Mr X’s complaint.
28. Mr X was not satisfied with the Council’s response and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate. Mr X would like the Council to apologise.
29. In August 2025, the Council told Mr X it did not accept a main housing duty for him. It refused to accommodate him during an appeal. Mr X moved out of the hostel. Mr X sought legal advice and appealed the Council decision. This has been considered through a legal process, so I have not considered it.
30. In response to my enquiries the Council stated the property was suitable accommodation for Mr X. It accepted there were cockroaches present in the property, but said it was not an infestation, and it constantly treated the issue. The Council did accept it delayed making decisions about the duty it owed to Mr X.

My findings

31. The Ombudsman’s role is to review how councils have made decisions. We may criticise a council if, for example, it has not followed an appropriate procedure, not considered relevant information, or failed to properly explain a decision it has made. We call this ‘fault’, and where we find it, we can consider the consequences of the fault and ask the council to address these.
32. However, we do not provide a right of appeal against council decisions, and we cannot make operational or policy decisions on councils’ behalf. If we do not find fault in how a council has made a decision, then we cannot criticise it, no matter how strongly a complainant feels it is the wrong decision. We do not uphold complaints simply because someone disagrees with what a council has done.
33. In this case, this means it is not for the Ombudsman to decide if there was a bug infestation or not. This is a decision for the Council, but I can consider the process the Council followed.
34. The Council considered Mr X’s concerns about bugs and cockroaches in the hostel. It decided it was not an infestation but there were some cockroaches. The Council decided the property was suitable for Mr X. It evidenced regular pest control inspections which recommend cleaning rooms. The pest control reports mentioned Mr X’s room twice. Both times it recommended Mr X’s room was cleaned of dust to enable treatment. Mr X placed this dust as a treatment for bugs. The Council asked Mr X to clean the room to allow treatment, but Mr X did not. The Council has followed the correct process to try to complete the recommendation in the professional report and decided the property was suitable for Mr X. The Council was not at fault.
35. The Council accepted the relief duty to Mr X at the end of March 2025. It had 56 days to decide if it owed Mr X the main housing duty. It should have issued its decision by May 2025. It issued the decision in August 2025, a three-month delay. This is fault.
36. However, Mr X has not suffered any significant personal injustice from this fault. The Council decided Mr X was not in priority need so did not owe him a homeless duty. It then declined to accommodate Mr X while he challenged this decision. The delayed Council decision meant it accommodated Mr X for three months longer than it would have done had the fault not occur. Mr X did not suffer a significant personal injustice.

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Decision

37. I have completed my investigation. I have found fault by the Council, but this did not cause a significant personal injustice to Mr X.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman