Summary: Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with clear information about the charges for his interim accommodation. He also complained the Council wrongly decided he had refused an offer of accommodation. We find the Council was at fault for failing to provide Mr X with clear information about the charges. It also delayed telling him about the rent arrears and it wrongly decided he had refused its offer of accommodation. This fault caused Mr X confusion, a missed opportunity to resolve the rent arrear sooner and he was deprived of accommodation for one night. The Council has taken suitable action to remedy this injustice. We do not recommend anything further.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council failed to provide him with clear information about the charges for his interim accommodation. He also says the Council delayed telling him about his rent arrears. Finally, he complained the Council wrongly decided he had refused an offer of accommodation.
2. Mr X says the matter has caused distress and upset. He also says he was forced to sleep rough.

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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. 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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How I considered this complaint

5. I considered evidence provided by Mr X and the Council as well as relevant law, policy and guidance.
6. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Homelessness

7. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. This is called the relief duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)
8. A council must secure interim 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. Interim accommodation is provided under the relief duty. (Housing Act 1996, section 188)

What happened

9. Mr X approached the Council for housing assistance in February 2025.
10. The Council decided Mr X was homeless and awarded him the relief duty in March. It offered him interim accommodation and provided information about the charges. This letter detailed a rental charge of £370 and a services charge of £16.37. The letter went on to say that Mr X had to pay “£16.37 per week for services which can include heating, electricity, hot water, bedding and cooking facilities”. The Council recommended that Mr X apply for Housing Benefit to try and get help towards the rent.
11. Mr X expressed concerns about the condition of the accommodation, but he said he would accept it. The Council interpreted Mr X’s email as a refusal and said it would offer him alternative accommodation the following day. Mr X replied and said he was humbly accepting its offer. He turned up to the hotel that day, but he was refused entry.
12. The Council emailed Mr X the following day and confirmed it had made a new booking for the accommodation.
13. Mr X called the Council in late May and asked why he could not bid for properties on the housing register. The Council told him this was because of rent arrears. It told him to make a claim for Housing Benefit.
14. The Council sent Mr X a letter in late July which detailed the rent arrears from March to May.
15. The Council spoke to Mr X in August about the rent arrears. It told him to make an additional payment of £50 per month to address the arrears.
16. Mr X complained to the Council in mid-August. He said it had failed to explain he had to pay the rent weekly rather than monthly. Therefore, it was unfair that he had rent arrears on his account. He also said the Council had delayed telling him about the rent arrears. As soon as he found out about the arrears, he claimed for Housing Benefit. He said he was unwilling to pay the rent arrears for March, April and May but he would pay from June onwards. Finally, he said the Council failed to provide him with accommodation on the day it made its offer even though he had accepted it. This meant he had to sleep on the streets.
17. The Council responded to Mr X’s complaint in early September. It said it did not receive confirmation Mr X wanted to accept the accommodation on the day it made the offer. It accepted it should have made it clearer he had to pay the rent weekly and not monthly. It also said it should have sent him a letter within four weeks of the arrears accumulating. There was an 18-week delay in it doing so. It said it had told Mr X to make a claim for Housing Benefit when it sent him the information about the charges in March, but he did not so. It also said Mr X had failed to pay the weekly service charge even though it explained this in its letter. Therefore, it could not waive the rent arrears. However, it apologised for the delay in issuing the rent arrears letter and that its information about the charges was not clear. It offered Mr X £310.
18. Mr X referred his complaint to stage two of the Council’s complaints procedure. He said he accepted the accommodation on the day the Council offered it to him. He said its offer did not reflect his injustice.
19. The Council issued its final response to Mr X’s complaint in November. It said due to a misunderstanding, there was a delay in booking the accommodation. Therefore, it upheld this part of his complaint. It said as a gesture of goodwill it would remove 50% (£1,060) of Mr X’s arrears because of the unclear charging information and the delay in telling him about the rent arrears. It also said it would update its accommodation charges letter template to ensure it clearly tells applicants how often they should be paying rent. However, it could not waive the full amount as applicants are liable to pay rent in interim accommodation. It said it would help Mr X set up a payment plan to manage the remaining balance. Once the payment plan was in place and maintained, it would lift the suspension on the housing register. Finally, it offered Mr X a further £130 for his distress and inconvenience.

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Analysis

20. While Mr X expressed concerns about the Council’s offer of accommodation, he did say he had accepted it. The Council wrongly interpreted this as a refusal of the accommodation. This is fault and it meant Mr X was deprived of accommodation. He spent a night rough sleeping.
21. The Council’s charging letter about the accommodation stated the rent was £360. However, it did not specify whether this was weekly or monthly. This is fault, which caused Mr X confusion. Mr X paid monthly rather than weekly rent because of this fault. This led to rent arrears.
22. The Council says it should have told Mr X about the rent arrears within four weeks of them accumulating. However, there was an 18-week delay in it sending the letter to Mr X. Mr X found out about the arrears in late May when he realised the Council had suspended his account on the housing register. The Council’s delay meant Mr X missed an opportunity to resolve the arrears sooner.
23. The Council accepted the faults outlined above when it responded to Mr X’s complaint. It apologised, confirmed it would update its accommodation charges letter, said it would remove 50% of the arrears, offered £130 for Mr X’s distress and inconvenience and offered a payment plan to reduce the arrears. I welcome the steps the Council has taken which is in line with our guidance on remedies. I do not recommend anything further.

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Decision

24. There was fault by the Council, which caused Mr X an injustice. The Council has taken suitable action to remedy this injustice. I do not recommend anything further.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman