Summary: Mrs X complained the Council missed an opportunity at an early stage to resolve issues about rent arrears. She said the Council advised the tenants to stay at her property until suitable accommodation was found. Mrs X said this has caused long delays in the process and said she has incurred additional costs. The Council has taken action and reminded officers of the importance of exploring all available housing options at the earliest possible stage.

The complaint

1. The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council missed an opportunity at an early stage to resolve issues about rent arrears. She said the Council advised the tenants to stay at her property until suitable accommodation was found.
2. Mrs X said this has caused long delays in the process and said she has incurred additional costs.

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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(i), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

5. I spoke with Mrs X about her complaint. I considered all the information provided by Mrs X and the Council.
6. Mrs X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered their comments before making a final decision.

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What I found

7. Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities set out councils’ powers and duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness.

Assessments and personal housing plans

8. Councils must complete an assessment if they are satisfied an applicant is homeless or threatened with homelessness. The Code of Guidance says, rather than advise the applicant to return when homelessness is more imminent, the housing authority may wish to accept a prevention duty and begin to take reasonable steps to prevent homelessness. Councils must notify the applicant of the assessment. Councils should work with applicants to identify practical and reasonable steps for the council and the applicant to take to help the applicant keep or secure suitable accommodation. These steps should be tailored to the household, and follow from the findings of the assessment, and must be provided to the applicant in writing as their personalised housing plan. (Housing Act 1996, section 189A and Homelessness Code of Guidance paragraphs 11.6 and 11.18)

The relief duty

9. Councils must take reasonable steps to help to secure suitable accommodation for any eligible homeless person. When a council decides this duty has come to an end, it must notify the applicant in writing (Housing Act 1996, section 189B)

Summary of key events

10. Mrs X served notice on the tenants in January 2023. The notice to leave was 3 April 2023.
11. The Council accepted the prevention duty for the tenants in March 2023. It completed a personal housing plan. It was noted that the Council would contact Mrs X to discuss preventing the tenant’s homelessness.
12. In June 2023 Mrs X told the Council she would be selling the property. She said the tenants were in rent arrears and often pay the rent late. The Council accepted the relief duty.
13. Mrs X said there was a claim possession order for 20 July 2023. The Council asked if it could prevent the eviction from happening. But Mrs X said no as she wanted to sell the property.
14. Mrs X told the Council in August 2023 the tenant last paid rent in May 2023.
15. In September 2023 the Council told Mrs X it would cover the cost of the court fees and costs of the bailiff’s warrant. The tenants left the property the same month.

Complaint to the Council

16. Mrs X complained in July 2023. She said:
• she served notice in January. As the tenants did not leave, she applied for possession which was granted;
• she received a call from the Council asking if she was willing to delay eviction until another property had been found;
• she agreed to delay eviction if the arrears were brought up to date; and
• was there any way to resolve this before arranging for bailiffs to attend.
17. In response the Council said:
• its service could not support in clearing the arrears. But said officers can negotiate between landlords and tenants to provide short term relief;
• it found no record of an attempted negotiation to delay the eviction and accepted it should have acted earlier in this regard. But noted this might not have altered the outcome;
• it had a legal duty to assist in the prevention and relief of homelessness for individuals;
• it cannot act as a guarantor for missed rent payments and there was no evidence to suggest the arrears were a result of errors made by the Council;
• as a landlord there are insurances that can be taken out to mitigate these unfortunate circumstances;
• as the tenant had remained in the property whilst Mrs X was seeking possession, the Council could offer financial support to cover this cost; and
• an officer would be in touch with the tenant to discuss the current arrears and advise them of the consequences of not paying their rent.
18. The Council said as part of its ongoing training and monitoring, officers will be reminded of the importance of exploring all available housing options at the earliest possible stage. This included better negotiation with landlords in those cases where there may be an opportunity to communicate and negotiate a more favourable outcome for both parties.

Analysis- was there fault by the Council causing injustice?

19. The Council considered whether it was reasonable for the tenant to remain at the property following the expiry of the S21 notice on 3 April 2023. It deemed that it was as the property was a suitable size and affordable. This is a decision the Council is entitled to take. At that stage the Council did not have confirmation that Mrs X intended to seek possession.
20. The Council accepted the prevention duty for the tenants in March 2023 and completed a personal housing plan. It stated the Council would contact Mrs X to discuss preventing the tenant’s homelessness. The Council said it tried to contact Mrs X. But Mrs X said the Council first contacted her in June. She said the number the Council had tried to call was incorrect.
21. The Council owes the tenant the duty under the Housing Act and not the landlord. There are instances where councils will negotiate with landlords. But there is no requirement for the Council to do so. Therefore, we could not criticise the Council for this. We also could not say what the outcome would have been if the Council had spoken with Mrs X sooner.
22. Mrs X said she agreed to delay the eviction if the arrears were brought up to date. But I have seen no evidence to suggest the Council made any agreements regarding the arrears. The Council said it would have expected the officer to explore all available options in relation to the tenants staying at the property. It said this would include offering financial incentives to Mrs X to support her in helping the Council keep the tenants in their tenancy.
23. As Mrs X had told the Council in July 2023, she had applied for a bailiff’s warrant, the Council said it could no longer offer incentives to prevent or delay eviction. If the Council had made attempts to negotiate, I cannot say what the outcome would have been. The Council has apologised and reminded officers of the importance of exploring all available housing options at the earliest possible stage. I consider this to be an appropriate remedy.
24. Up until August 2023, the Council said it had no indication the tenant had stopped paying their rent. This is because before this Mrs X said the tenants would often pay the rent late. The Council spoke with the tenant who said they had set up a repayment plan with Mrs X. It said the tenant gave no indication they were no longer paying their rent. The Council also said it did not receive a rent statement from Mrs X.
25. I have seen no evidence to suggest the arrears were a result of fault by the Council. Therefore, we could not ask the Council to reimburse this cost. But the Council did agree to cover the cost of the court fees and bailiff’s warrant.
26. Mrs X said the Council called her in August 2023 asking if she would consider keeping the tenants at the property. She said this made her feel uncomfortable as she had already discussed this in June 2023. The Council apologised. This is the appropriate remedy.

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Final decision

27. I will now complete my investigation as there is no evidence of fault that has not already been remedied.

Investigator’s final decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman