Summary: The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint about the complainant’s temporary housing. It is unlikely he would find fault by the Council had caused the complainant injustice that warrants his involvement.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to here as Miss C, is living with her family in temporary accommodation provided by the Council. She says the Council has delayed moving them to suitable accommodation.

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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’.
3. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start an investigation if, for example, we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault;
• the fault has not caused injustice to the person who complained; or
• any injustice is not significant enough to justify our involvement.(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I have considered what Miss C said in her complaint and background information provided by the Council.

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What I found

5. Miss C and her family are housed in temporary accommodation provided by the Council. They moved into their current home in February 2017.
6. Miss C says the accommodation is unsuitable and so the Council should move them to permanent accommodation.
7. The Council says it has dealt with her housing situation in line with its policy. It says there is a shortage of housing and has advised her she could:
• request a review of the suitability of her current accommodation;
• arrange an assessment of her father’s health needs;
• bid for properties on the Council’s Home Connections website, which she had not done since April 2017; and
• contact the Council’s Private Rented Access Scheme team for help with finding a home in the private rented sector.
8. I am not aware Miss C has followed any of the Council’s advice.
9. The Council has accepted it delayed providing a response to Miss C’s complaint and offered to pay her £50. I do not consider this delay affected her housing position.

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Final decision

10. I have decided we will not investigate this complaint because we are unlikely to find fault in how the Council has dealt with Miss C’s housing situation. The Council has provided a suitable remedy for the delay in dealing with her complaint.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman