London Borough of Waltham Forest (25 016 008)
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate Mr X’s complaint about being evicted from his temporary accommodation without notice. The Council accepted fault and offered an appropriate symbolic payment to remedy the injustice caused. Further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
The complaint
- Mx X complained the Council cancelled their temporary accommodation without notice. Mx X was without accommodation for nine days (eight nights) without justification. Mx X says this significantly affected their mental health and compromised their sobriety.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered information provided by Mx X.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
What happened
- The Council cancelled Mx X’s temporary accommodation (TA) on the basis of information from various sources that they were not using it as their main residence. The Council informed Mx X on the same day it changed the locks. Mx X says they were allowed back into the TA nine days later, after eight nights street homeless.
- In its complaint response, the Council set out the information it considered when making its decision to cancel the TA. It accepted it did not give them notice, nor provide support in the interim. It apologised and offered to pay Mx X £300 for the distress caused. It also offered £25 for delays in its complaints process.
- Mx X complained to us because they consider the payment offered was insufficient.
My assessment
- The Council accepted it did not give Mx X notice of its decision to cancel the TA. It also appears Mx X was not given the chance to provide evidence to show they were using the TA as their main residence until after the decision was made. The Council also accepted it had failed to provide support in the 9 day period Mx X did not have access to the TA.
- Our guidance on remedies sets out how we remedy complaints like this. It says where the complainant had no option but to sleep rough due to Council fault, we are likely to recommend a symbolic payment of £300 to £1,000 per month. It also sets out relevant aggravating factors.
- Taking into account the information Mx X provided (and information they provided to us as part of a previous complaint), I consider the payment offered by the Council is in line with our guidance. I am therefore satisfied with the actions the Council took to remedy the injustice caused and that further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.
- For this reason, we will not investigate further.
Final decision
- We will not investigate Mx X’s complaint because we are satisfied with the action the Council has already taken to remedy the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman