Summary: Miss X complains the Council did not deal with her housing properly because she was left in unsuitable accommodation causing avoidable distress and risk of harm. The Council is at fault because Miss X was left in unsuitable and unsafe temporary accommodation. Miss X suffered avoidable distress and risk of harm. The Council should apologise to Miss X, make a symbolic payment to Miss X and make service improvements.

The complaint

1. The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X, complains the Council failed to deal with her housing properly because it failed to deal with electrical problems in her temporary accommodation.
2. Miss X says she was in unsuitable accommodation for a long time causing avoidable distress and risk of harm.

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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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. When considering complaints, we make findings based on the balance of probabilities. This means that we look at the available relevant evidence and decide what was more likely to have happened.
5. 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(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

6. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
7. 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

Law, guidance and policies

8. 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.
9. 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)
10. 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.  (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)

What happened?

11. This is a brief chronology of key events. It does not contain everything I reviewed during my investigation.
12. Miss X lived in temporary accommodation provided by the Council. The temporary accommodation was sourced by the Council through a private agent.
13. Miss X emailed the Council reporting problems with the electrics in her temporary accommodation in February 2025.
14. Miss X contacted the Council again in April 2025 continuing to report the problems had not been fixed.
15. In April 2025, Miss X complained to the Council.
16. In May 2025, the Council responded to Miss X’s complaint stating if the problems were not resolved it would arrange for an inspection of the property.
17. In June 2025, Miss X escalated her complaint within the Council’s complaints procedure as the issues had not been fixed.
18. A property inspection was completed on 4 July 2025.
19. In July, the Council responded to Miss X’s stage 2 complaint saying it had asked the managing agent for information and had arranged a property inspection. The Council upheld Miss X’s complaint.
20. The Council accepted Miss X required alternative accommodation and added her to the transfer list.
21. Miss X moved to a different property in February 2026.

Analysis

22. Following the property inspection the Council noted in an email that, “We urgently need to move this client and her 2 children from the current TA placement, as it has been stated there is a potential risk of death due to exposed wiring in the property.”
23. The Council accepted there were delays in addressing the electrical problems reported by Miss X in February 2025. There was a delay of 5 months between February 2025 and July 2025 when a property inspection was undertaken. This is fault by the Council. Miss X was in unsafe accommodation for 5 months.
24. The Council says it has, “not identified a record expressly confirming that officers considered the electrical works satisfactorily completed following the inspection. No records evidencing a formal Council sign-off of the electrical works have been identified.”
25. Therefore, on the balance of probabilities, the electrical issues in Miss X’s accommodation were not rectified before she moved to new accommodation in February 2026. This is further fault by the Council. Miss X had to continue to live in the unsafe accommodation for a further 7 months between July 2025 and February 2026.
26. Miss X had to live in the unsafe and unsuitable accommodation for a whole year between February 2025 and February 2026.

Guidance on Remedies

27. Where a complainant has been deprived of suitable accommodation during what would inevitably have been a stressful period in their life, our recommendation for symbolic financial redress is likely to be in the range of £150 to £350 a month. But we may recommend a higher monthly amount in cases where the injustice is exceptional or particularly severe. We assess each case on its merits and consider the impact the fault had on the complainant and other members of their household.

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Action

28. To remedy the outstanding injustice caused by the fault I have identified, the Council should take the following action within 4 weeks of my final decision:
• Apologise to Miss X for the fault found. 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.
• Pay Miss X £3,600, in respect of having to live in unsuitable accommodation for a year, at a rate of £300 per month.
• Provide an action plan showing how the Council will ensure that in respect of reported safety concerns:
1. There is no delay in dealing with them; and
2. Evidence of satisfactory completion of remedial works is obtained.
29. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

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

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman