Summary: The Council was at fault for not accepting a homelessness application sooner from Mr X. As a result Mr X spent around a month longer than he should have in accommodation which was not suitable for his child. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to reflect the extra time spent in unsuitable accommodation.

The complaint

1. Mr X complains about the way the Council handled his approaches for homelessness assistance. Mr X said it took too long for the Council to help him and as a result he and his family spent longer than they should have in accommodation which was not suitable.

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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 recommend 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. 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)

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What I have and have not investigated

6. I have not investigated matters after the complaints procedure ended in September 2025. If Mr X has any new concerns about these events he would need to make a complaint to the Council in the first instance.
7. I have not investigated the Council’s decision to end its homelessness prevention duty in December 2024. This is because Mr X had review rights to challenge the Council’s decision to end the prevention duty which he could have exercised.
8. I have not investigated Mr X’s concerns before October 2024. This is because they happened more than 12 months before Mr X complained to us. I can see no reasons why Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.
9. I have included some of these events in the ‘what happened’ section below for context only.

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How I considered this complaint

10. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
11. Mr 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 and guidance

12. 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.
13. Someone is homeless if they have no accommodation or if they have accommodation, but it is not reasonable for them and anyone who lives with them to continue to live there. (Housing Act 1996, Section 175)
14. If a council is satisfied an applicant is threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, it must take steps to help the applicant keep their home or find somewhere new to live. This is called the prevention duty. In deciding what steps to take, a council must have regard to its assessment of the applicant’s case. (Housing Act 1996, section 195)
15. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the relief duty. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
16. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)
17. There are two types of accommodation councils provide to certain homeless applicants: interim accommodation and temporary accommodation.
18. 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)
19. If, having made inquiries, the council is not satisfied an applicant is homeless, eligible, and in priority need, it will have no further accommodation duty.
20. 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)
21. If a council ends its interim accommodation duty, but then goes on to accept the main housing duty, it still has a duty to provide temporary accommodation.
22. Homeless applicants may request a review within 21 days of being notified of the following decisions:
• what duty (if any) is owed to them if they are found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness;
• giving notice to bring the prevention duty to an end;
• giving notice to bring the relief duty to an end;
• 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.

What happened

23. Mr X lived in a shared house and rented a room. He shared kitchen and bathroom facilities with other residents. Mr X rented this accommodation from a private landlord.
24. In August 2024 Mr X approached the Council as his landlord had given him a section 21 and section 8 notice to leave the property. Mr X also told the Council his property was in bad condition. The Council referred Mr X to its private sector team to look into his concerns about the condition of the property and booked him in for a homeless assessment in August 2024. After carrying out a homeless assessment the Council decided to owe Mr X the prevention duty.
25. The Council contacted Mr X’s landlord in August 2024 who told it he believed Mr X had brought his 10 year old child into the property in breach of the tenancy, however this was not the case. The Council asked Mr X’s landlord if he could remain in the property while it helped him source accommodation.
26. The Council did not receive a response and there was no further action until December 2024. At this point Mr X gave the Council evidence his wife was pregnant. The Council decided to end the prevention duty on the basis the section 21 notice had expired and it believed there were no prospects of success if the landlord pursued the section 8 notice. The Council said it considered the accommodation was available for Mr X for at least another six months. The Council issued Mr X a decision which he had the option to challenge by asking for a review.
27. In April 2025, Mr X’s wife gave birth to a child. Mr X sent the Council evidence the child was born and asked for housing assistance. Mr X told the Council the property was not suitable for his family due to the condition and living arrangements. The Council made enquiries with its private sector housing team who said the property was not uninhabitable and there was a pest issue which it passed to pest control.
28. In May 2025, a support worker and advocate both wrote to the Council to ask for assistance for Mr X and his family. After receiving this the Council booked Mr X in for an emergency homelessness assessment on 14 May 2025. The Council decided it owed Mr X the relief duty and moved him into interim accommodation.
29. On 3 June Mr X asked for a review of this interim accommodation as it was a room in a hotel. The Council moved Mr X to new accommodation on 17 June 2025 which was a one bedroom flat. On 18 June 2025, the Council decided it owed Mr X the main housing duty.
30. In August 2025, Mr X raised concerns about his temporary accommodation. The Council wrote to Mr X in September 2024 and told him it would treat his correspondence as a review request. On 27 October 2025, the Council provided Mr X with its review decision. The Council said it considered his temporary accommodation was suitable.
31. In January 2026, the Council made Mr X an offer of permanent social housing through its housing register.

Mr X’s complaint

32. Mr X complained to the Council on 13 May 2025. Mr X complained he had been treated badly by Council staff when he approached for homelessness assistance a day earlier. Mr X also complained the Council refused his request for temporary accommodation.
33. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint on 8 July 2025. The Council said it had no record of Mr X interacting with staff on the day he claimed and his homelessness assessment had now been carried out. The Council said it had since moved Mr X into temporary accommodation.
34. Mr X asked the Council to consider his complaint further in late August 2025. The Council provided Mr X with its final response in late September 2025. The Council said Mr X concerns about the way he was treated by a staff member had been fed back to the team and addressed with the staff member’s manager. The Council said it had received his concerns about his temporary accommodation and would carry out a review of the suitability of this accommodation.
35. Mr X remained dissatisfied and complained to the Ombudsman. Mr X said the Council persistently refused to carry out a homelessness assessment of his family and this denied him being able to move into temporary accommodation sooner.

Analysis

36. I have explained above that I have not investigated the Council’s decision to end its prevention duty in December 2024. This is because Mr X had review rights he could have used to challenge this decision.
37. After December 2024, the case notes showed Mr X contacted the Council again in April 2025. This was after his child had been born. Mr X asked the Council for housing assistance and told the Council he could not continue to live in his current property as it was not suitable for his family. At this stage the Council did not agree to carry out a homelessness assessment. It was only a month later in mid-May 2025 after getting information from Mr X’s support worker and advocate that the Council agreed to carry out a homelessness assessment. I consider the Council at fault here.
38. The Council should have carried out a homelessness assessment in April 2025 when Mr X approached it. I cannot see what further information the Council received which was overly different from what it had in April 2025 which made it change its mind and carry out an assessment in May 2025. As a result Mr X and his family spent a month longer than they should have in their shared accommodation.

The Council was at fault for how it handled Mr X’s complaint. At stage one the Council’s complaints policy says it has 10 working days to respond. In Mr X’s case it took two months. As a result Mr X had to wait longer than he should have to receive a response. An apology is appropriate to remedy any injustice caused.

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Agreed Action

39. Within one month of my final decision the Council agreed to carry out the following:
• Apologise to Mr X for the injustice caused by the above faults. 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 Mr X £300 to recognise the distress and anxiety he experienced as a result of having to spend an extra month in his accommodation from April to May 2025.
40. The Council should provide us with evidence it has complied with the above actions.

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Decision

41. I find fault causing. The Council agreed to the above actions to remedy the injustice caused.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman