Summary: We have found the Council at fault for delaying Mr X’s housing register application and not notifying Mr X of its decision of his appeal rights. This delayed the application process causing Mr X avoidable distress and denied him of his review rights. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a symbolic payment and correctly process Mr X’s application.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about how the Council handled his housing register and homelessness applications. He said this has left him and his family living in unsuitable temporary accommodation away from his daughter’s school, medical care and the family’s support system.

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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 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)
3. 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)
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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How I considered this complaint

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

Law and guidance - Homelessness

The relief duty

7. 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

8. 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)

Differences between interim and temporary accommodation

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 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)
12. 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.

Suitability of accommodation

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 accommodation and accommodation provided under the main housing duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)
14. Homelessness temporary accommodation must be legally suitable. (Housing Act 1996, section 206) Anyone who believes their temporary accommodation is unsuitable can ask the Council to review the accommodation’s suitability. (Housing Act 1996, section 202) If the Council’s review decides the accommodation is unsuitable, the Council must provide suitable accommodation. If the review decides the accommodation is suitable, the applicant has the right to appeal to the county court on a point of law. (Housing Act 1996, section 204)
15. Councils must consider the location of accommodation when they consider if it is suitable for the applicant and members of their household. If a council places an applicant outside its district, it must consider, among other matters:
• the distance of the accommodation from the “home” district;
• the significance of any disruption to the education of members of the applicant’s household; and
• the proximity and accessibility to local services, amenities and transport. (Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) Order 2012)

Review rights

16. 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.

Law and guidance – Housing allocations

The published scheme

17. Every local housing authority must publish an allocations scheme that sets out how it prioritises applicants, and its procedures for allocating housing. All allocations must be made in strict accordance with the published scheme. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(1) & (14))

Reasonable preference

18. An allocations scheme must give reasonable preference to applicants in the following categories:
• homeless people;
• people in insanitary, overcrowded or unsatisfactory housing;
• people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds;
• people who need to move to avoid hardship to themselves or others;

(Housing Act 1996, section 166A(3))

Decisions and review rights

19. Councils must notify applicants in writing of the following decisions and give reasons:
• that the applicant is not eligible for an allocation;
• that the applicant is not a qualifying person;
• a decision not to award the applicant reasonable preference because of their unacceptable behaviour.
20. The Council must also notify the applicant of the right to request a review of these decisions. (Housing Act 1996, section 166A(9))
21. Housing applicants can ask the council to review a wide range of decisions about their applications, including decisions about their housing priority.

Review procedures

22. Statutory guidance on the allocation of accommodation says:
• review procedures should be clear and fair with timescales for each stage of the process
• there should be a timescale for requesting a review - 21 days is suggested as reasonable;
• the review should be carried out by an officer senior to the original decision maker, or by a panel not including the original decision maker;
• reviews should normally be completed within a set deadline - 8 weeks is suggested as reasonable.

Temporary accommodation assessment

23. In accordance with the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities 2018 (‘the Code’), councils have a duty to ensure that temporary accommodation remains suitable for applicants’ needs. The Housing Act sets out matters a housing authority must have regard to when determining suitability.
24. Space and arrangement will be key factors in determining the suitability of accommodation. However, consideration of whether accommodation is suitable will require an assessment of all aspects of the accommodation in the light of the relevant needs, requirements and circumstances of the homeless person and their household. The location of the accommodation will always be a relevant factor.
25. Housing authorities will need to consider carefully the suitability of accommodation for households with particular medical and/or physical needs. Physical access to and around the home, space, bathroom and kitchen facilities, access to a garden and modifications to assist people with sensory loss as well as mobility needs are all factors which might need to be taken into account.
26. Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability, until such time as the accommodation duty is brought to an end.

What happened

Background

27. In May 2024, Mr X submitted a homelessness application. The Council placed Mr X and his family in interim accommodation outside of the borough pending enquiries and a decision on his application.

Homelessness application

28. In August 2024, the Council accepted the main housing duty. This was restricted as Mr X’s wife and daughter were ineligible for housing assistance due to their immigration status. The family remained in the same property which became temporary accommodation with review rights.
29. In October 2024, Mr X requested a suitability review of the accommodation. He said that it was affecting his health and it was too far from his child’s school. The Council wrote to Mr X and explained his request was out of time. The Council agreed to complete a suitability assessment under its on-going duty to ensure the accommodation provided was suitable.
30. The Council considered the condition of the property, the household’s medical and educational needs, and Mr X’s employment status. The Council also considered that Mr X’s wife and child had no recourse to public funds. The Council concluded that the accommodation was suitable.

Housing register application

31. In August 2024, Mr X said he applied to join the housing register. He said that when he applied, the Council scanned his documents and provided him with a reference number.
32. In February 2025, Mr X complained about the Council’s lack of progress on his housing register application. He said that the temporary accommodation was unsuitable as it was far from his child’s school. When the Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in May 2025, it said it had not received his housing register application until April 2025. It agreed for Mr X to have a medical assessment.
33. Mr X escalated his complaint to stage 2 stating that the comments about his housing register application were factually incorrect. He added that the Council had not addressed his complaint about the unsuitability of his temporary accommodation.
34. In June, when the Council responded, it explained that as his family’s immigration status had not changed, and the medical assessment did not result in a higher priority, the temporary accommodation was deemed to be suitable. It signposted Mr X to changing his child’s school.
35. In July, after Mr X contacted his MP, the Council issued a further response. It said that Mr X’s housing register application was rejected due to a lack of local connection. It said he was living out of borough at the time of his application with no evidence of employment or medical treatment connecting him to the borough.
36. In August 2025, Mr X brought his complaint to the Ombudsman.

My findings

Homelessness application

37. The Council handled Mr X’s homelessness application correctly. It notified Mr X of his right to request a review in August 2024 when it accepted the main housing duty. Mr X was out of time when he requested a review in October, so the Council was not at fault for rejecting his request.
38. The Council acted in line with the Code when it carried out a suitability assessment of the temporary accommodation. The Council considered all the relevant factors including Mr X’s medical needs and the accommodation’s distance from Mr X’s child’s school.
39. The Ombudsman is not an appeal body. This means we do not take a second look at a decision to decide if it was wrong. Instead, we look at the processes an organisation followed to make its decision. If we consider it followed those processes correctly, we cannot question whether the decision was right or wrong, regardless of whether you disagree with the decision the organisation made.
40. I have considered the steps the organisation took to consider the issue, and the information it took account of when deciding the temporary accommodation was suitable. There is no fault in how it took the decision and I therefore cannot question whether that decision was right or wrong.

Housing register application

41. Mr X said he applied to join the register in August 2024 and I have seen evidence that he did. The Council said it was not aware of the application until April 2025. On balance, I believe the Council misplaced Mr X’s application. This was fault which delayed Mr X’s application process.
42. Once Mr X complained in early 2025, the Council assessed Mr X's medical needs. This appeared to be in relation to Mr X’s homelessness application rather than his housing register application. There is no evidence that the Council considered Mr X's housing register application again until it responded to Mr X's MP in July 2025. At this point, it told Mr X’s MP that the Council had rejected Mr X’s application on local connection grounds.
43. The Council did not inform Mr X of its decision on his housing register application. This was fault that denied Mr X of his right to request a review of the Council’s decision to reject his application.
44. The Council has agreed to reconsider Mr X’s housing register application. It will consider the evidence Mr X has submitted demonstrating his local connection. It will also be mindful of its policy that when a resident is placed in temporary accommodation, the Council excludes any time outside of the borough for the purposes of inclusion on the housing register. It will issue Mr X a written decision.
45. If the Council decides to accept Mr X’s application, it has agreed to backdate his priority date to 28 working days (time taken to process a housing register application) after his original application date in August 2024.

Summary

46. I have found no fault with how the Council handled Mr X’s homelessness application and suitability review.
47. I have found fault with the Council for misplacing Mr X’s housing register application and failing to notify him of the decision. This delay caused Mr X distress and frustration and denied him of his review rights. It also caused him time and trouble as he needed to involve his MP.

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Agreed action

48. Within 4 weeks of my decision, the Council will:
1. Apologise to Mr X for delaying his housing register application and failing to notify him of the decision.
2. Consider Mr X’s housing register application and all the supporting information and notify Mr X of the decision and his right to request a review.
3. Backdate Mr X’s priority date accordingly if his housing register application is approved.
4. Pay Mr X £500 in recognition of the avoidable distress caused to him.
5. Pay Mr X £500 for the time and trouble taken by Mr X to pursue his complaint.
49. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

50. 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