A Lincolnshire man had to sleep in his car because South Kesteven District Council did not do enough to help him, when he told it he was homeless.

The man, who has mental and physical health issues, applied to the council as homeless at the start of 2024. He told the council about his medical issues and said he was sleeping in his car.

The council issued the man with a Personal Housing Plan in mid-January, but it did not consider whether he may be particularly vulnerable when homeless and therefore be provided with accommodation while it decided his application.

In February the man sent the council information about the effect being homeless was having on him. He said he had been in hospital and had been told by doctors this was related to how he had been sleeping in the winter weather while homeless.

Despite this, the council still failed to properly consider whether it needed to provide him with accommodation, while it reviewed the medical evidence.

The man then complained to the Ombudsman who upheld his complaint.

Julie Odams, Chief Executive at the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said:

“South Kesteven District Council has left a man with health needs to sleep in his car during some of the coldest months of the year, when it should have helped him.

“The threshold for providing interim accommodation is low. The council needed to decide whether he could be vulnerable when homeless. It did not need to prove this.

“I am satisfied the man missed out on suitable accommodation for around two and a half months because of this poor decision-making by the council.

“I am disappointed the council is refusing to accept what has gone wrong in this case, and continues to maintain its interpretation of the law is the correct one.

“I would urge local councillors to take a hard look at the council’s decision-making process when discussing the report formally, and accept the remedies I have recommended to put things right.”

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 should apologise to the man and pay him a combined £1,175 for the lack of accommodation provided and the distress caused.

The Ombudsman has the power to make recommendations to improve processes for the wider public. In this case the council should remind officers of the correct test and threshold for providing accommodation whilst considering a homeless application, review its standard letters to ensure these comply with the requirements of the Housing Act 1996, and remind officers of the requirements for homelessness decisions, including when these should be made and what these decisions must contain.

Article date: 04 September 2025