Westminster City Council (25 008 007)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 30-Mar-2026

Summary: We have found fault with the Council for making a delayed relief duty decision, and for failing to secure suitable accommodation for Mr X. This caused Mr X avoidable distress and the injustice of living in unsuitable accommodation. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mr X to remedy the injustice.

West Berkshire Council (25 008 974)

Statement Not upheld Homelessness 30-Mar-2026

Summary: We did not find the Council at fault for how it handled Ms X’s homelessness application.

London Borough of Lewisham (25 011 192)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 30-Mar-2026

Summary: The Council was at fault in how it helped Miss X when she was being evicted and for failing to tell her of her right to ask for a review of her homelessness accommodation’s suitability and her priority on the social housing register. The faults caused Miss X avoidable distress, confusion and uncertainty and meant she remained in unsuitable accommodation for too long. The Council will apologise to Miss X, make a symbolic payment, review her priority and take action to prevent similar fault in future.

Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (25 004 479)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 29-Mar-2026

Summary: Mrs X complained about the Council’s actions when she reported repeated leaks from neighbours in her temporary accommodation. We found the Council at fault for not monitoring progress about the issues. We also found fault as it did not consider relevant factors about Mrs X’s housing situation regarding suitability and priority on its housing register. This caused significant frustration and uncertainty for Mrs X. The Council has agreed to apologise, reconsider Mrs X’s housing priority, and make a symbolic payment to remedy the injustice caused. It also agreed to identify learning points from this case.

London Borough of Croydon (24 021 334)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 27-Mar-2026

Summary: The Council was at fault for delays in the way it dealt with Ms X’s homelessness and in reviewing the suitability of her accommodation. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to acknowledge the distress, frustration and delayed appeal rights this caused.

London Borough of Lewisham (25 008 753)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 27-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of her homelessness application and safeguarding around domestic violence. She said she experienced distress, uncertainty and risk of further violence as a result. We found fault by the Council for its failure to provide interim accommodation and properly consider risks to Ms X for over two weeks. It was not at fault after this as it made a housing offer with review rights. The Council agreed to apologise and make payment to acknowledge the injustice its faults caused her. It will also complete a service improvement recommendation.

London Borough of Hackney (25 022 757)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 27-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate the Council’s handling of Miss X’s concerns alleging anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance. This is because there is no worthwhile outcome by investigating.

London Borough of Lambeth (25 006 001)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-Mar-2026

Summary: Mr X complains the Council failed to comply with its duties when he applied for homelessness assistance, wrongly decided he was not in priority need, offered accommodation that was not suitable, ignored his request to join its housing register and had poor complaint handling. We find the Council at fault regarding some of its homelessness duties which caused Mr X distress due to a night of sleeping rough and uncertainty. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to remedy the injustice.

London Borough of Lambeth (25 006 512)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Homelessness 26-Mar-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a homelessness application. It was reasonable for Miss X to provide the documents the Council required and to ask for a review when the Council issued a non-priority homeless decision.

Three Rivers District Council (25 014 962)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 26-Mar-2026

Summary: Ms X complained about the Council’s handling of long-standing anti-social behaviour concerns and about the Council’s handling of her housing application. Ms X also complained the Council did not have regard for her vulnerabilities. We have found the Council at fault for failing to consider acting earlier than it did at key points, and for some delays in completing reviews. We have also found the Council at fault for some of its communication. These faults caused avoidable uncertainty and distress for Ms X. We have not found fault with the conduct of the ASB case review in 2025. We cannot therefore question the outcome. The Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X, correct inaccurate information provided to other agencies, and pay Ms X a financial remedy to recognise the uncertainty caused.