London Borough of Enfield (25 012 653)
Category : Housing > Homelessness
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 13 Feb 2026
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the temporary accommodation the Council placed Mrs X in. Mrs X had a right of appeal to the County Court and it would have been reasonable for her to use that right.
The complaint
- Mrs X complained the Council did not properly consider the impact to her children when allocating her temporary accommodation (TA). Mrs X said the property is far away from their schools and medical appointments. She also said the property has damp and mould issues.
- Mrs X said the matter impacted on her children’s education, posed a health risk to the family and caused stress.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- 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)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by the complainant.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Miss X said the Council placed her in TA which has damp and mould issues.
- Miss X also said the Council did not consider the impact to her children when it allocated the TA to her and decided it was suitable. This is because of its distance from their schools and medical appointments.
- In its complaint response, the Council explained its shortage of available accommodation. It also said it had reported Mrs X’s concerns about the property to the property management team. It later advised work was being carried out to repair the property.
- Mrs X used her statutory right to ask for a suitability review of the temporary accommodation.
- The Council carried out a suitability review and decided the accommodation was suitable in May 2025.
- Following the Council's decision, Mrs X had a further right of appeal to the County Court.
- This right is set out in law, and because we cannot overturn the Council’s decision, it is reasonable to expect Mrs X to have used it. For this reason, we will not investigate this complaint.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because it was reasonable to expect her to use her right of appeal to the County Court.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman