London Borough of Barking & Dagenham (25 002 702)

Report Upheld Allocations 04-Jun-2026

Summary: We found the Council failed to properly explain to Mr X its decision about his priority banding. The Council failed to inform Mr X of his right to request a review of this decision. It then took too long to re-consider its decision when challenged which was fault. The Council was at fault for not carrying out homeless inquiries when informed Mr X’s property was no longer suitable to occupy. It also delayed carrying out an Occupational Therapy (OT) assessment. This has caused Mr X distress, frustration and uncertainty.

Bristol City Council (25 003 196)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 02-Jun-2026

Summary: Mr X complained about the Council’s failure remedy his injustice following a previous investigation by the Ombudsman about his unsuitable accommodation. We found the Council to be at fault because it did not provide a remedy for the additional time he lived in unsuitable accommodation. This caused distress and frustration. To remedy this injustice, the Council agreed to apologise, make an additional payment and take action to improve its service.

London Borough of Haringey (25 010 698)

Statement Upheld Allocations 02-Jun-2026

Summary: Miss F complained about the Council’s handling of her housing register application. The Council delayed responding to her request for a reassessment which caused distress. The Council has already apologised for this which remedies the injustice caused. We found no fault in the rest of the complaint.

Northumberland County Council (25 001 611)

Statement Closed after initial enquiries Other 01-Jun-2026

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about Mr B’s complaint because we cannot add to the previous investigation completed by the Council.

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (25 006 459)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 01-Jun-2026

Summary: We found fault by the Council on Miss Y’s complaint about it failing to meet its duties under the homeless relief stage, deciding whether it owed her the main housing duty, and not contacting her for seven months. The agreed action remedies the injustice caused. There was no fault on her complaint about it failing to place her in suitable interim accommodation.

Buckinghamshire Council (25 010 193)

Statement Upheld Allocations 01-Jun-2026

Summary: We found fault by the Council on Mr Y’s complaint about it failing to place him in the correct banding under its housing allocation scheme when he joined its housing register. It failed to promptly award his correct priority date and delayed deciding it owed him the main housing duty on his homeless application. There was no outstanding injustice caused.

London Borough of Lambeth (25 011 900)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 01-Jun-2026

Summary: Mr X complained the Council delayed in dealing with his homelessness application between November 2024 and May 2025. And that the Council pressurised him into accepting accommodation which is unsuitable based on his medical needs. We found the delay and poor communication in progressing Mr X’s application is fault. This fault has caused Mr X avoidable distress and uncertainty.

London Borough of Camden (24 020 555)

Statement Upheld Allocations 31-May-2026

Summary: Ms D complains the Council failed to assess her medical and welfare needs for her housing register account. I have found fault by the Council because it failed to document what evidence had been considered during its reviews and Ms D was caused avoidable delays. The Council has apologised and offered to pay Ms D redress and to carry out a new review.

London Borough of Brent (25 006 002)

Statement Upheld Allocations 27-May-2026

Summary: The Council was at fault for how it handled Ms X’s homelessness application. The Council did not secure temporary accommodation until the day she was evicted then offered her temporary accommodation which was unsuitable for her household. This caused distress and meant Ms X and her family had to live in unsuitable accommodation. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise and make payments to Ms X for the time spent in unsuitable accommodation and for the distress caused by her eviction.

Birmingham City Council (25 006 805)

Statement Upheld Homelessness 27-May-2026

Summary: The Council was at fault for the time taken to carry out a suitability review and for providing incorrect information about how to challenge this decision. The Council was also at fault for leaving Mr X’s family in accommodation for two months after it decided the accommodation was unsuitable. To remedy the injustice caused the Council agreed to apologise, make a payment to Mr X and ensure its review letters contained the correct information.