Summary: The Council incorrectly charged Ms X rent for her temporary accommodation, delayed ending its recovery action and demonstrated poor administrative practice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused to Ms X.

The complaint

1. Ms X complained the Council wrongly charged her for rent arrears for temporary property she had left in 2023 and wrongly began enforcement action against her.
2. She wants the rent arrears removed and enforcement action to end. She says the matter has caused her significant distress and uncertainty.

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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 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)
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(1), as amended)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. Ms X did not become aware of the matters in her complaint until January 2025. I have therefore considered her complaint from August 2023 when Ms X left the temporary accommodation as this is the substantive matter to the complaint.

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How I considered this complaint

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

Relevant law and guidance

The main housing duty and temporary accommodation

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)

Enforcement agents – calling back debts from

10. Councils should be prepared to work directly with someone who owes money at any point and can stop enforcement action at any time. They should consider doing this whenever appropriate

The Council’s policy

11. The Council’s policy says rent liability for a property continues until:
• The resident notifies the provider;
• Keys are returned; and
• The tenancy is formally terminated by the Council or provider.

Principles of good administrative practice

12. We publish guidance about good administrative practice for local government, Principles of Good Administrative Practice. We use it as a benchmark for the standards we expect when we investigate complaints about councils.
13. This guidance says councils should keep proper and appropriate records and state reasons for decisions.

What happened

14. In 2023 Ms X was homeless and owed the main housing duty by the Council. She was living in temporary accommodation (TA) provided by the Council.
15. In mid- August 2023 Ms X received an offer of an assured short-term tenancy (AST) arranged through the Council’s accommodation finding team. An officer from the Council told Ms X both the viewing and moving day would be the next day.
16. The same day that Ms X viewed and moved into the AST, the Council discharged its main housing duty to Ms X and provided her with her right of review.
17. At the end of August 2023, the Council contacted the temporary accommodation provider and asked it if Ms X had left as she had secured suitable accommodation through its accommodation finding team.
18. At the end of September 2023, the temporary accommodation provider replied and told the Council Ms X had not informed it she was leaving the property. Its inspection officer had been on leave at the time, so checks had not been carried out. Inspections were attempted in early and mid-September with no response, so it had closed the TA booking.
19. In mid-April 2024, the Council phoned Ms X and asked her to clarify the date she had left the temporary accommodation. Ms X advised this was the same date the Council had provided her with the offer of the assured short-term tenancy.
20. At the end of January 2025, the Council sent Ms X an invoice for rent arrears accrued between mid-August 2023 and mid-September 2023. It also sent two reminder letters at the beginning of February.
21. In March 2025 the Council told Ms X the arrears existed because she had failed to tell it she had left the TA. It asked her to provide evidence that she had made it aware she had left the property.
22. Ms X explained she had told the temporary accommodation provider when she had left the TA verbally but could not evidence this due a change in phone showing the call logs. She provided evidence to show the date she moved to the AST including, energy bills, applications for living support and her tenancy agreement, showing a mid-August move in date.
23. The Council referred Ms X’s debt to an enforcement agency.
24. Ms X contacted the accommodation finding officer who had moved her on the date in mid-August. They sent an internal email confirming they had moved Ms X on the date advised and requested that she be supported after receiving a debt collection letter.
25. At the beginning of September 2025 Ms X complained to the Council she said:
• The Council had wrongly instructed bailiffs;
• She had provided evidence she had left the TA on the date advised in August 2023, with housing benefit awarded up to the date she left, and universal credit awarded since at the AST;
• The TA management had recently changed and all contact numbers in the building were not working, nor was there any staff on site and she had not been provided with any updated contact details or told to tell the Council directly. She had left the keys in her room and a note under the door.
• She said she had tried to resolve the matter with the Council but had been told to deal directly with the bailiffs.
26. In its response the Council said it acknowledged the difficulties she had informing the TA provider on leaving the property however her occupancy agreement had required her to give the Council seven days’ notice and return the keys. There was no record of the temporary accommodation team being informed and therefore Ms X had remained liable until the move was confirmed.
27. Ms X escalated her complaint, she said the Council had failed to consider all parts of the stage one and the matter was causing her significant distress.
28. The Council’s response said it was unable to amend the tenancy end date as the TA provider had confirmed in September 2023 that Ms X had not told them of her departure. It said it was unable to recall the debt from the bailiffs or suspend enforcement.
29. Ms X remained dissatisfied with the Council’s actions and responses and asked us to investigate. She also said that she had not heard anything from the bailiffs and had made enquiries with them as to her case.
30. Ms X’s enforcement case was closed at the end of April 2026 with Ms X notified a few days later.

The Councils response to us

31. The Council said the evidence provided by Ms X in March 2025 was reviewed but not deemed sufficient as it did not demonstrate she had notified the TA provider or given formal termination of her tenancy.
32. Reference had been made to internal communication indicating the accommodation finding team facilitated Ms X’s move, but this had not been located and was not relied upon for decision making
33. It had little evidence of recovery action prior to 2025.

Analysis

34. The Council accommodation finding team arranged Ms X’s AST and were aware of the start date in August 2023, further it discharged its duty towards her on that same date. Ms X received an offer and moved into the AST within two days, as a result she would not have been able to give the Council seven days’ notice. It was therefore reasonable for Ms X to assume the Council had terminated her tenancy in the temporary accommodation, as per its policy, and she was no longer liable for rent charges.
35. An internal email in August 2025 further confirms she was moved by the Council’s accommodation finding team on the specified date in August 2023. I therefore find the Council’s decision to charge rent arrears to be fault.
36. The Council has not provided evidence that it made any attempt to recover rent arrears from Ms X until early 2025. While Ms X could not provide evidence, she contacted the TA provider as per the Council policy, she provided evidence to show when she left the temporary accommodation. She also told the Council she had tried to contact it and the TA provider by phone when she left the TA accommodation. Had it not been for the delay in the Council’s debt recovery action Ms X would likely have been able to provide evidence showing this and enforcement would not have started.
37. The delay in carrying out debt recovery action is poor administrative practice and fault causing Ms X unnecessary distress, frustration and uncertainty.
38. Enforcement action remained in place until April 2026. In its complaint response the Council incorrectly said it was unable to recall debt or stop enforcement action. This was fault causing Ms X further unnecessary distress and uncertainty.

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Action

39. To remedy the injustice caused, within one month of the final decision the Council has agreed to take the following action:
1. apologise to Ms X for the injustice caused by the failings identified during this investigation. We publish guidance on remedies which sets out our expectations for how councils should apologise effectively to remedy injustice. The Council should consider this guidance in making the apology I have recommended.
2. Pay Ms X a symbolic payment of £150 to recognise the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused by the faults in its decision making and its poor administrative practice.
3. Provide evidence showing that any rent arrears associated with Ms X’s temporary accommodation (between the advised date in August 2023 and September 2023) have been removed from Council records and enforcement action relating to these has stopped.
40. Within three months of the final decision the Council has agreed to take the following action:

c) Through training or briefing remind relevant staff that enforcement should be appropriate, timely and kept under review. Moreover, the Council has the ability to, at any point, stop enforcement action.

41. The Council will provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

42. I found fault causing injustice.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman