Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about temporary accommodation provision. It is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything more.

The complaint

1. Ms X complains the Council placed her family in multiple, unsuitable temporary accommodations. She says this led to multiple unnecessary moves and caused distress and instability for her family. She wants the Council to ensure temporary accommodation is suitable before offering it to families and provide her with permanent, suitable accommodation.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start or continue an investigation if we decide:

• we could not add to any previous investigation by the organisation, or
• further investigation would not lead to a different outcome.

(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))

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How I considered this complaint

3. I considered information provided by the complainant.
4. I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. In its complaint responses, the Council accepted it had provided Ms X with unsuitable temporary accommodation and that her family had experienced multiple unnecessary moves. It accepted its service was below the expected standard. It apologised to her for the distress, hardship and disruption and offered her £150 as a symbolic payment in recognition of the injustice caused.
6. It said it was acting to learn lessons from her case and improve its accommodation service. This included improving its level of pre-move checks, and exploring a new system to ensure its accommodation team was more aware of works completed before it made offers of properties. It was also working to improve its processes for escalating essential service failures, its communications and signposting support.
7. We will not investigate this complaint. Although I accept this matter caused Ms X substantial distress and hardship, the Council has accepted fault and upheld her complaint. It has accepted its service was below the expected standard, offered a suitable remedy for the injustice caused and set out actions it is taking to improve its service going forward.
8. Councils must allocate social housing in line with their published allocations policy, so we could not require it to make her an offer of permanent accommodation as a remedy for the injustice caused. It is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything more.

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Final decision

9. We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint because it is unlikely we could add to the Council’s investigation or achieve anything more.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman