A seriously ill South London child had to live in damp and mouldy accommodation miles away from their hospital because Lewisham council left it too late to find their homeless family accommodation in the borough, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The vulnerable young child, who was immuno-compromised and facing two years of hospital treatment, needed to live in accommodation without any mould or damp issues, with no shared facilities and within the borough to be near to their hospital for treatment.

Despite the council’s own assessment alerting it to their needs, the council left the family in their private accommodation until a week before bailiffs evicted them, leaving it with little time to find the family suitable accommodation.

The family had been told by London Borough of Lewisham to stay in their accommodation, facing unaffordable court bills of more than £46 a day, because the council’s policy stated it would not act until a week before bailiffs turned up. The council said it would deem them ‘intentionally homeless’ if they moved before this time, and they would have no right to help.

When the council did act, the only accommodation it could find was in another borough, with damp and mould issues. This meant the child’s nurses could no longer make their weekly visits and instead the child had to travel to hospital, putting them at further risk of harm.

A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation found the council took 13 months too long to provide the family with interim accommodation. It also criticised the council's handling of the family’s complaint.

Ms Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“This kind of brinksmanship has placed a severely ill child at grave risk and compounded an already distressing situation by forcing the family to live with the threat of being physically removed from their home hanging over them.

“The council has failed to grasp the seriousness of this case from start to finish and the family's situation was only made worse by the council's failure to provide suitable temporary accommodation or to properly respond to their complaints  

“This awful situation could have been avoided, and more suitable accommodation found sooner, had Lewisham not left it so late to act.

“The council has agreed to end its flawed policy of leaving people facing homelessness in their property until the court grants a bailiff warrant. It will now assess and rectify the situation for others at risk of homelessness in the borough who are awaiting assistance. I hope this will now improve the outlook for people facing homelessness in Lewisham.”

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman remedies injustice and shares learning from investigations to help improve public, and adult social care, services. In this case the council has agreed to apologise and pay the family £9,440.24 to include the avoidable rent arrears the family paid, along with court costs, and avoidable distress and risk of harm.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council has agreed to identify all open cases where an applicant who may be in priority need has remained beyond expiry of a section 21 eviction notice and assess and act on their cases appropriately.

It will also provide guidance and training to relevant staff and end its blanket policy of waiting until a week before bailiffs evict an applicant and provide interim accommodation instead. It will now identify and implement a process to enable officers to plan for and manage likely future accommodation supply and demand, especially where applicants are assessed as needing to remain in the borough.

Article date: 28 August 2025