Summary: Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness and housing applications following her approach to the Council as a survivor of domestic abuse. She said the Council’s actions caused significant avoidable distress to her and her children which led to a deterioration in their mental health. Miss X said the Council’s actions also meant she and her children had to sofa surf for months. We found fault by the Council. The Council has agreed to provide an apology and a financial remedy, and contact Miss X to discuss the provision of suitable temporary accommodation.

The complaint

1. Miss X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness and housing applications. She complained the Council:
• Failed to provide support following her homelessness approach as a survivor of domestic abuse
• Failed to provide her with suitable temporary accommodation
• Did not communicate effectively with her regarding her homelessness and housing applications, and
• Failed to properly consider her requests to review her priority banding decision
2. Miss X said the Council’s actions caused significant avoidable distress to her and her children leading to a deterioration in their mental health. She said the Council’s actions also meant she and her children had to sofa surf for months. Miss X would like the Council to provide a secure placement for her and her children, with assurances regarding the safety of any temporary accommodation offered. She would also like the Council to reconsider its priority banding decision regarding her housing application.

Back to top

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 recommend a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended)
4. We cannot investigate late complaints unless we decide there are good reasons. Late complaints are when someone takes more than 12 months to complain to us about something a council has done. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26B and 34D, as amended)
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(1), as amended)

Back to top

What I have and have not investigated

6. I have exercised discretion to investigate Miss X’s complaint dating back to June 2023, when Miss X made her homelessness approach to the Council. The investigation period ends in March 2026, when the Council provided its final complaint response.

Back to top

How I considered this complaint

7. I considered evidence provided by Miss X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
8. Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on a draft of this decision. I considered any comments before making a final decision.

Back to top

What I found

Legislation and statutory guidance

9. 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. 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)
10. A council must secure 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. This is called interim accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)

The relief duty

11. 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

12. 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 for their occupation (unless it refers the application to another housing authority under section 198). This is called the main housing duty.
13. Councils must decide whether they owe the main housing duty 56 days after accepting the relief duty. The accommodation a council provides until it can end this duty is called temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 193)

Suitability of accommodation

14. 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 temporary accommodation. (Housing Act 1996, section 206 and Homelessness Code of Guidance 17.2)

Domestic abuse

15. 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)
16. 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. (Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraph 21.25)

Housing Allocations

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))
18. The Council’s allocations scheme sets out how it prioritises applicants using priority bands.
• Band one is for the most urgent cases, including applicants fleeing violence or domestic abuse.
• Band two is for applicants with additional preference priority, including residents in employment or training, those registered as foster carers and adoptive parents with the Council, or homeless prevention.
• Band three is medium priority. This includes cases of overcrowding and health-related housing grounds.

Principles of good administrative practice

19. In 2018 the Ombudsman published a guidance document (updated in January 2025), setting out the standards we expect from bodies in jurisdiction “Principles of Good Administrative Practice”. This includes:
• Stating the criteria for decision making and giving reasons for decisions
• Keeping proper and appropriate records
• Explaining clearly the rationale for decisions and recording them

What happened

20. This chronology includes key events in this case and does not cover everything that happened.
21. Miss X had a tenancy with a housing association (Company Z) and lived in a property with her children. In late June 2023, Miss X approached the Council as homeless. She said she and her children had fled their home as a result of domestic abuse. Miss X also told the Council she was experiencing poor mental health at the time.
22. The following day, the Council asked Miss X to provide some additional information regarding her homelessness approach.
23. In early July 2023, the Council provided emergency interim accommodation for Miss X and her children, at Property A.
24. Miss X left Property A in August 2023 on the advice of the Council’s Homeless Emergency Accommodation Team, due to the presence of mould which Miss X said was affecting her children’s health. Miss X says she and her children went back to sofa surfing at this time.
25. The Council accepted the relief duty on 30 November 2023.
26. On 20 March 2024, Miss X attended the Council’s offices. She said the Council had not contacted her regarding a placement for her and her children.
27. The Council accepted the main housing duty on the same day.
28. In early July 2024, the Council provided Miss X and her children with temporary accommodation at Property B. Property B was managed by a third party.
29. In December 2024, Miss X queried the number of bedrooms the Council said she required. The Council said Miss X and her children needed three bedrooms, whereas Miss X said she needed four bedrooms because one of her children was unable to share a room due to their neurodiversity.
30. In early 2025, the Council contacted the third-party manager of Property B. The Council said Miss X had reported leaks in the property which affected the light fittings and caused concern about potential safety issues. The Council asked the third-party manager to contact Miss X urgently.
31. In mid-January 2025, Miss X and her children left Property B. Miss X says the third-party manager let themselves into Property B without first telling her they would do so. Miss X says this caused her and her children to feel traumatised and unsafe in the property, especially as she had fled her housing association tenancy because of domestic abuse.
32. The following day, Miss X told the Council she had left Property B and the reasons why, stating she was once again living in fear. Miss X asked the Council to help her to secure a management move. Miss X says she and her children went back to sofa surfing at this time.
33. The Council contacted Miss X later that same day to request information to determine how it could help, including what steps Company Z had taken to secure alternative accommodation.
34. On 24 January 2025, the Council called Miss X to offer alternative temporary accommodation. Miss X declined the offer. She said she had been speaking to the Council about a housing transfer or potentially sourcing permanent accommodation.
35. On 5 February 2025, Miss X called the Council to ask if her housing application could be placed in a higher priority band. Miss X’s housing application was in band three at that time.
36. The Council says it offered Miss X a four-bedroom property as temporary accommodation on 5 February 2025. The Council says Miss X declined the offer.
37. Miss X emailed the Council on 10 February 2025 and said the Council had not returned her emails and had not provided any meaningful assistance. Miss X said she was in immediate need of a permanent home and the delays and lack of communication from the Council were causing her significant distress.
38. The Council replied on 12 February 2025 and asked Miss X if she would like to make use of a housing transfer via a social housing mobility scheme. The Council also said it was liaising with Company Z to support Miss X’s rehousing.

Miss X’s complaint

39. Miss X complained to the Council on 20 March 2025. She said the Council had not provided support following her homelessness approach as someone fleeing domestic abuse. Miss X complained the Council had not followed up with her after it had accepted the relief duty and had placed her and her children in unsuitable temporary accommodation. Miss X complained about the Council’s communication with her and said it had placed her in the wrong priority band.
40. The Council called Miss X on 3 April 2025. Miss X told the Council what had happened and said the situation had worsened her poor mental health. Miss X said she was continuing to sofa surf. The Council asked Miss X about the offer of temporary accommodation; Miss X said she felt too afraid given the recent incident that took place at Property B.
41. The Council provided its stage one complaint response on 17 April 2025. The Council acknowledged and apologised for the delays in progressing Miss X’s homelessness application. Regarding Miss X’s disagreement about her priority band, the Council said Miss X had not provided her medical documents. The Council said Miss X was in the correct priority band. The Council said it had supported Miss X by providing temporary accommodation and by offering alternative accommodation in February 2025, which Miss X had declined. The Council said it was continuing to liaise with Company Z.
42. Miss X escalated her complaint on 5 May 2025. She said she felt ignored by and lied to by the Council and that she had provided her medical documents. Miss X said she did not feel safe going back into temporary accommodation as she was traumatised by what had happened at Property B. Miss X acknowledged the Council had previously provided accommodation at Property A but said she had been advised to leave due to the mould. Miss X said that after this, the Council had left her homeless for months. Miss X asked the Council to explain why her housing application was in band three when the Council’s allocations policy indicated that by fleeing her home because of domestic abuse, she should be considered as band one priority. Miss X said she was in desperate need of permanent housing.
43. Miss X called the Council on 29 May 2025 and confirmed she considered her housing application should be in the top priority band because she had fled domestic abuse.
44. Miss X called the Council again on 27 June 2025 to query her priority banding. Miss X maintained she should be in band one due to her circumstances.
45. Miss X brought her complaint to the Ombudsman in September 2025.

What happened next

46. The Council emailed Miss X on 18 December 2025. It said having considered Miss X’s working hours, she did not meet the threshold for band two priority. The Council offered to arrange an appointment with a caseworker.
47. On 11 January 2026, Miss X emailed the Council. She said she considered the Council’s focus on the band two employment criteria did not adequately reflect the risks and impact to her children. Miss X asked the Council to assess her case under band one in line with the allocations scheme relating to applicants fleeing domestic abuse.
48. Miss X contacted the Council again on 24 February 2026 to chase a response to her stage two complaint.
49. The Council provided its stage two response on 17 March 2026, apologising for the delays in its complaint handling. The Council apologised for not updating Miss X regarding any progress relating to her housing situation after its stage one response, and acknowledged it had failed to communicate effectively with Miss X. The Council said Miss X did not meet the threshold for priority band two, stating Miss X’s working hours did not meet the required criteria. It said the Council had offered Miss X alternative accommodation in February 2025, which was declined, and said it had continued to support Miss X’s rehousing request on a discretionary basis by continuing to liaise with Company Z. The Council acknowledged the delays regarding its communication with Miss X and its complaint handling and offered Miss X a financial remedy.
50. Miss X says she did not accept the financial remedy offered by the Council.

Analysis - Miss X’s complaint that the Council failed to provide support following her homelessness approach as a survivor of domestic abuse

51. Following Miss X’s approach to the Council in late June 2023, the Council provided interim accommodation at Property A from early July 2023. Miss X left Property A in August 2023. Records indicate the Council advised Miss X to leave the property because of the presence of mould at the address. Miss X and her children went back to sofa surfing at this time.
52. The Council did not place Miss X in alternative interim/temporary accommodation until 5 July 2024 when she moved to Property B. This is a period of 11 months, during which time Miss X and her children were sofa surfing.
53. During this period, the Council had reason to believe Miss X was homeless, eligible for assistance and in priority need. It was also aware that Miss X had fled her permanent address because of domestic abuse. As a result, the Council had a duty to provide alternative interim accommodation to Miss X without delay. The Council’s failure to do so is fault.
54. I acknowledge Miss X says the Council did not provide accommodation for the period after January 2025 (when she left Property B). However, the Council’s records indicate the Council offered Miss X alternative temporary accommodation during this period. I acknowledge Miss X’s reasons for not accepting this. Nevertheless, the Council is not at fault for this period because it did offer alternative temporary accommodation to Miss X after January 2025.

Miss X’s complaint the Council failed to provide suitable temporary accommodation

55. I have seen no evidence the Council carried out a suitability assessment to determine that Property A was suitable for Miss X and her children.
56. The lack of evidence to demonstrate the Council assessed the suitability of the property, Miss X’s reports of mould in the property, and the Council’s subsequent advice to leave the property because of this, indicates a failure to ensure the accommodation was suitable for the needs of Miss X and her children. This is not in accordance with the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance. This is fault.

Miss X’s complaint the Council did not communicate effectively with her

57. The Council’s records show numerous contacts from Miss X to the Council regarding her homelessness and housing applications, to request updates and information. The Council’s stage two complaint response acknowledged the Council did not always provide updates regarding the progress of Miss X’s housing situation, and acknowledged this was a failure to communicate effectively with Miss X.
58. It is positive the Council identified a lack of communication as part of its own complaint investigation. I agree with the Council’s findings and find the failure to communicate effectively with Miss X is fault.

Miss X’s complaint the Council failed to properly consider her requests to review her priority band decision

59. Miss X contacted the Council on several occasions to query whether her priority band was correct, given that she had fled her home because of domestic abuse and given the Council’s allocations policy regarding this specific circumstance. Miss X considered the allocations policy indicated that her circumstances placed her in priority band one.
60. I have seen no case notes or records to show how/if the Council considered this specific query; the Council’s responses to Miss X only address queries relating to her working hours and state her application is in the correct band.
61. The Principles of Good Administrative Practice sets out the standards we expect from bodies in jurisdiction. This includes keeping proper and appropriate records and explaining clearly the rationale for decisions.
62. The lack of records to demonstrate the Council’s decision-making process regarding its banding decision and its consideration of Miss X’s queries about her specific circumstances as a domestic abuse survivor is not in accordance with the Principles of Good Administrative Practice. This is fault.

Delays in the Council’s consideration of Miss X’s homelessness application

63. The Council accepted the relief duty on 30 November 2023. This is five months after Miss X first approached the Council as homeless.
64. Councils must decide whether they owe the main housing duty 56 days after accepting the relief duty. This means the Council should have decided if it owed the main housing duty by 25 January 2024.
65. The Council accepted the main housing duty on 20 March 2024. This is delay by the Council. The Council says these delays were due to it receiving a large number of cases which resulted in a backlog.
66. I acknowledge the Council’s comments but find the delays identified amount to fault.

Delays in complaint handling

67. Miss X escalated her complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints procedure on 5 May 2025. The Council provided its response on 17 March 2026.
68. This timescale is significantly greater than the 20 working days specified by the Council’s complaints policy. This is delay which amounts to fault.

Injustice to Miss X

69. Having identified fault, I must consider whether this caused an injustice to Miss X. Miss X said the Council’s actions caused significant avoidable distress to her and her children, leading to a deterioration in both hers and her children’s mental health. Miss X said this included suicidal ideation by her son. Miss X said the Council’s actions also meant she and her children were left without a place to live for an extended period.
70. I acknowledge Miss X’s comments. The injustice to Miss X also includes uncertainty as to how the Council considered her requests to review her priority banding, and frustration and time and trouble spent in pursuing her complaint.

Back to top

Action

71. To address the injustice identified, the Council has agreed to take the following action within one month of the final decision:
1. Provide an apology to Miss X. 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. Make a symbolic payment of £4,050 to Miss X in recognition of the lack of suitable accommodation. This equates to £350 per month for the period August 2023 to July 2024 when Miss X was sofa surfing, and £200 for the period Miss X was living in unsuitable accommodation at Property A. This amount is in accordance with our published guidance on remedies;
3. Make a further symbolic payment of £250 to Miss X in recognition of the uncertainty as to how the Council considered her concerns that her housing application should be in band one due to her specific circumstances;
4. Make a further symbolic payment of £250 to Miss X in recognition of the time and trouble incurred in pursuing her complaint as a result of the Council’s complaint handling delays;
5. Reconsider the Council’s priority band decision taking into account that Miss X became homeless due to her fleeing domestic abuse. As part of its decision, the Council should provide Miss X with an explanation of it’s decision-making rationale;
6. Share the Principles of Good Administrative Practice with relevant staff to ensure they are aware of the need to keep appropriate records and to provide a clear rationale for decisions, and
7. Contact Miss X to discuss the provision of suitable temporary accommodation and to provide an explanation as to what safety measures may be implemented to alleviate Miss X’s concerns about staying in temporary accommodation.
72. The Council has also agreed to take the additional further actions within three months of the final decision:
1. Produce an action plan to identify measures to reduce the backlog of homelessness applications and to manage the large number of homelessness applications received, and
2. The Council’s complaint handling policy is in line with our published guidance – the Complaint Handling Code. However, we have identified fault with how it dealt with this complaint because of the significant delays in responding to Miss X’s stage two complaint. To prevent similar faults from happening, the Council should review how it is applying its policy in practice, using this decision as part of that review, and tell us what action(s) it will take to improve the way it deals with complaints.
73. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

Back to top

Decision

74. I find fault causing injustice. The Council has agreed to take the above actions to remedy the injustice identified and I have therefore concluded my investigation.

Back to top

Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman