23 014 602	Liverpool City Council	Unsuitable private rented accommodation, disabilities, final accommodation offer, £600 compensation	Miss X complained the Council failed to review the suitability of her privately rented accommodation despite multiple requests to do so. Miss X says this has meant her and her disabled son remained in unsuitable accommodation between March 2023 and September 2024. The Council was at fault for failing to carry out a suitability review in line with the law and the homelessness code. This has caused Miss X distress, frustration and uncertainty.
23 016 416	Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea	Unsuitable temporary accommodation, ASB in temporary accommodation, £3000 compensation	Miss B says the Council failed to move her from unsuitable temporary accommodation despite agreeing to do so and failed to act on antisocial behaviour from another resident. The Council left Miss B in what it accepted was unsuitable temporary accommodation for 18 months longer than it should have and failed to follow its antisocial behaviour policy. An apology, payment to Miss B, reminder to officers and training is satisfactory remedy.
23 005 573	London Borough of Hackney	Suspended bidding, consideration of medical evidence	Mrs X complained the Council did not allocate her a property she was in first place for, which she said caused her family to miss the opportunity of a suitable property. We find the Council at fault which caused Mrs X injustice. The Council has agreed to make a fresh decision considering all relevant information
24 000 718	London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham	Breach of s.188 license, ending s.188 interim accommodation, decision making process, £250 compensation	Mr X says the Council ended his interim accommodation agreement unfairly. He also says it closed his homelessness application by referring it to another Borough who cannot help him. Mr X says his belongings were also stolen from his interim accommodation. Mr X says this has caused him distress. We have found fault in the Council’s actions for failing to discuss the issues Mr X raised with his interim accommodation with him before ending his agreement. The Council has agreed to issue an apology, pay a financial payment to Mr X and make service improvements.
23 020 022	Wiltshire Council	Complaints from family members, gatekeeping, consideration of medical evidence, presence of diagnosis, s.188 threshold, scope of vulnerability inquiries, PHP delay, £3834 compensation	Mr X complained on behalf of his son, Mr Y, that the Council failed to provide him with interim accommodation when he presented as homeless. We found the Council was at fault in failing to offer Mr Y interim accommodation pending the outcome of its inquiries to ascertain whether he was vulnerable. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mr Y and Mr X.
23 010 412	London Borough of Southwark	Disrepair in temporary accommodation, no heating / hot water, water leaks, £600	Miss X complained the Council failed to properly respond to reports of disrepair at her temporary accommodation. Miss X says she lived in unacceptable conditions with water leaks and no heating or hot water for longer than necessary. We have found fault by the Council but consider the agreed action of an apology, symbolic payment, property inspection and review of the oversight of repairs in temporary accommodation provides a suitable remedy.
23 017 702	Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames	Gatekeeping of domestic abuse, representative applying on applicant’s behalf, support from IDVA, scope of inquiries regarding domestic abuse, £400 compensation	Ms X complains that the Council wrongly considered she did not qualify for the housing register and did not consider her homelessness application. The Council is at fault as it did not properly consider Ms X’s housing register application and failed to consider a homelessness application made by her representative. As a result, the Council’s decision that Ms X did not qualify for the housing register was wrong. The Council has agreed to remedy the injustice to Ms X by apologising to her and making a payment of £400. It will also now place Ms X on the housing register.
23 019 835	Basildon Borough Council	Disrepair in temporary accommodation, council external contractors, £1000 compensation	Miss X complained the Council failed to resolve repeated repair issues with her temporary accommodation, making the property unsuitable to live in. The Council failed to assess the suitability of Miss X’s accommodation and failed to act on repeated reports of disrepair. This caused Miss X and her family frustration and distress. The Council will apologise, make a payment to Miss X and review its processes for responding to reports of disrepair with its temporary accommodation.
23 016 753	Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council	Interaction between Care Act 2014 and housing, unsuitable accommodation, care and support needs, £1200 compensation	Mx D complains the Council failed to meet their housing and social care needs when they were homeless. They said, as a result they experienced distress and had a loss of care support. We found the Council’s Housing and Adult Social Care teams caused delays and faults in its processes. The Council will apologise and make payment to acknowledge the injustice Mx D experienced.
23 007 999	Westminster City Council	Failure to respond to applicant, delays, poor communication, £100 compensation	Miss X complains the Council failed to respond to her contacts and delayed assessing her homelessness application. We found there was fault and the apology and payment the Council offered to Miss X was a reasonable remedy to her complaint.
24 014 944	London Borough of Lewisham	Gatekeeping, sofa surfing, pregnancy, interim accommodation, review rights, £1750 compensation	The Council was at fault for failing to provide Ms X with interim accommodation when she was homeless and heavily pregnant. As a result, Ms X gave birth without anywhere to live and continues to sofa surf with her newborn. The Council was also at fault for poor communication and delay accepting the main housing duty. The Council has agreed to apologise, provide Ms X with temporary accommodation, make payments to her, and act to improve its services.
24 019 609	Birmingham City Council	Refusal of suitable accommodation, ending the homelessness duty, review rights	We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to discharge its homelessness following Mr X’s refusal of an offer of accommodation which it considered to be suitable. It was reasonable for him to use the appeal procedure offered under the Housing Act 1996 following the Council’s rejection of his s.202 review.
23 020 479	North Northamptonshire Council	Abuse from neighbour, risk of harm, threshold of homelessness, scope of inquiries, overcrowding, due process, poor communication, £500 compensation	Mr and Mrs X complain the Council failed to meet its duties to them when they asked to be moved because of risk of harm and it assigned them the wrong housing band. We found there was fault in how the Council handled Mr and Mrs X’s homelessness application which caused them frustration and uncertainty. The Council should apologise to Mr and Mrs X and issue reminders to its staff.
23 013 264	City of Doncaster Council	Local connection, prevention duty	Mr X complained about the Council’s handling of his homelessness application. We found fault because the Council considered his local connection too early in the process. Because of this, the Council failed to act to possibly prevent his homelessness. To remedy his injustice, the Council has agreed to apologise and make a symbolic payment to Mr X. It will also undertake staff training.
23 015 172	London Borough of Havering	Part 6 vs Part 7, victim to crime, gatekeeping, relief duty, prevention duty, banding, location of temporary accommodation, assessment of location, children’s disabilities, employment, support network, £4275 compensation	Miss X complained about the Council’s decision not to award her the highest banding on its housing register and not moving her after she was a victim of crime. We found the Council at fault for failing to provide interim and temporary accommodation in line with its homelessness duties to Miss X. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice caused.
24 000 336	Leeds City Council	Reasonable adjustments, brain injury, autism, equality act, personalised housing plan, prevention duty, expiry of section 21, ‘unwilling to engage’, £400 compensation	Miss B complained the Council failed to meet its duties to her when she became threatened with homelessness and then homeless. She says the Council wrongly advised her to stay in her rented property even after the landlord asked her to leave. We found fault in how the Council handled Miss B’s homeless application which caused her distress at a difficult time and meant she was subject to legal action which could have been avoided. The Council agreed to apologise to Miss B, review its procedures, and issue reminders to its staff.
23 013 929	Nottingham City Council	Location of accommodation, assessment of risk, £500 compensation	Miss Y complained about the way the Council dealt with the information she provided about risk areas for her homelessness application. We have found fault by the Council, causing injustice, in failing to: update the information Miss Y provided about her risk areas, record this in one place and properly check its case notes; properly handle its contact with her about a potential accommodation offer; and its poor complaint handling. To remedy this injustice the Council has agreed to: apologise; make a payment to reflect the distress caused; and service improvements.
23 014 571	High Peak Borough Council	Improvement notice, enforcement, disrepair, £400 compensation	Mr X complains the Council has delayed serving an improvement notice about his home and not dealt with enforcement properly regarding his landlord. The Council is at fault because it delayed dealing with problems Mr X reported about the condition of his home. Mr X had to live in substandard accommodation for too long and has been evicted earlier than he should have been. The Council should apologise and pay Mr X £400 for distress and uncertainty.
23 017 447	London Borough of Lambeth	Overcrowding, property inspection, £700 compensation	Mrs X complained that she was living in severely overcrowded conditions, which was causing distress to herself and her family. She wanted the Council to inspect her flat and increase her priority on the housing register. We found fault because there was a delay of a year in the Council completing the inspection. We have recommended the Council should apologise to Mrs X, make her a symbolic payment in recognition of her avoidable time and trouble in pursuing her complaint, and backdate the date of her entry to the highest priority band on the housing register.
23 005 475	London Borough of Islington	Unsuitable TA, 6 week limit, impact on mental health, autism, child’s disability, assessment of need, £13800 compensation	there was fault in the way the Council met Miss X’s housing needs as a homeless person with a disabled child. As a result, she has lived in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation for a prolonged period. The Council’s handling of her complaint was also extremely poor. The Council has agreed to apologise, provide a suitable financial remedy for Miss X and make service improvements.
23 000 51	London Borough of Merton	Unlawful eviction, HMO licensing, remit of the LGSCO	Mr X complained the Council failed to respond to his complaint. He complained about the Council’s actions relating to an operator of a property he said was a house in multiple occupation. Mr X would like the Council to respond to his complaint, ensure there are no unlicensed properties in the area and secure suitable housing for homeless people. We have discontinued our investigation. Mr X has been awarded a financial payment from the courts and he has no remaining significant personal injustice.
23 003 139	London Borough of Newham	Unsuitable TA, 6 week limit, protection of property, child’s disabilities, £5814.50 compensation	Miss X complained about the Council’s failure to house her and her children, one of whom is disabled, in suitable accommodation when she became homeless. There was fault by the Council which meant Miss X and her children lived in unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation for over six months after they became homeless. Miss X also experienced a financial loss because she had to pay for separate storage for her belongings while waiting for suitable accommodation. The faults also caused avoidable distress, time, and trouble for Miss X. The Council agreed to pay a financial remedy, review relevant processes, and issue reminders and a copy of our decision to its staff.
23 006 730	London Borough of Barnet	Rodent infestation, allowing contractor’s access, £1500 compensation	the Council delayed resolving a mice infestation in Miss B’s temporary accommodation. An apology, payment to Miss B, visit to establish any further works required and procedural changes are satisfactory remedy.
22 012 825	London Borough of Croydon	Gatekeeping, delays, unsuitable TA, £5750 compensation	Mr X complained about the way the Council managed his homeless application. We found the Council at fault for excessive delay in making decisions on his case and failing to provide interim accommodation. The Council has agreed to our recommendations to remedy the injustice.
23 001 082	North Northamptonshire Council	Gatekeeping, domestic abuse, refusal of offer, £700 compensation	Ms X complained about the way the Council handled her homelessness application when she fled domestic abuse. The Council was at fault for a delay in arranging interim accommodation, inappropriate advice about the consequences of refusing an offer, a failure to confirm in writing why the property offered was suitable and the consequences of refusing, and failings in the complaints handling process. The Council will apologise, pay Ms X £700 for the distress caused and give guidance to relevant staff.
23 003 033	Westminster City Council	Paying rent in TA, £200 compensation + reimbursement of 9 weeks’ rent	Ms B complained the Council delayed telling her she would need to pay rent for interim accomodation. She says because of this, she accrued rent arrears and was delayed from bidding on the housing register. We found fault with the Council for delays telling Ms B she was liable to pay rent for interim accomodation and accepting the main housing duty. To remedy the injustice caused to Ms B by these faults, the Council will make a financial remedy. It will also make service improvements.
22 013 000	London Borough of Harrow	Exclusion of family member from application, damp and mould, unsuitable TA, delays, £3500 compensation	We find the Council failed to send Mr X a homelessness decision letter explaining its reasons to exclude his brother-in-law (Mr Y) from the application. We also find poor communication and unreasonable delay in completing a suitability review of Mr X’s temporary accommodation and treating reported mould growth. The Council should apologise to Mr X and make payments to him for uncertainty and distress caused and for impact on his family while they remained in unsuitable accommodation. It should also provide staff reminders of its statutory duties to provide clear decision letters and meet review deadlines to prevent recurrence.
23 003 999	London Borough of Barnet	Domestic abuse, gatekeeping, supporting survivor to stay irrationally, unsuitable TA, £2500 compensation	Ms X complains about how the Council dealt with her homelessness application. The Council is at fault as it failed to properly consider the risk of domestic abuse to Miss X when she made a homelessness application, failed to provide interim accommodation, delayed in dealing with her homelessness application and wrongly focussed on sustaining Miss X’s tenancy which was unsustainable. As a result, Miss X and her children lived in unsuitable accommodation for longer than necessary which caused significant distress to them. Miss X may also have missed an opportunity for settled housing. The Council has agreed to remedy this injustice by apologising to Miss X and making a symbolic payment of £2500 to her.
22 001 690	Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council	Category 1 hazard, enforcement action, retaliatory eviction, £2000 compensation	Miss X complains about the Council’s handling of her concerns about disrepair in her privately rented property from December 2021 to May 2023, when she moved out. The Council was at fault for not taking formal enforcement action against the landlord when it identified category 1 hazards in the property, which caused injustice. The Council’s determination the landlord’s eviction attempt was not retaliatory was unclear but did not cause Miss X significant injustice. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X. It will also share this decision statement with relevant staff to reinforce the recent training it has already completed.
23 010 339	Westminster City Council	Delay to relief duty, data breach, contents of personalised housing plan	The Council was at fault for delaying in providing Mr X with a homelessness relief duty and for wrongly telling him to attend a homelessness assessment. As a result, the Council delayed in providing Mr X with help to relieve his homelessness. The Council agreed to apologise to Mr X and make a payment to recognise the distress and uncertainty caused.
23 004 436	London Borough of Bexley	Household makeup, parental responsibility, contemporaneous evidence	Mr X complained that the Council refused to include his son in his homeless application. We found the Council was at fault because it provided no contemporaneous documentary evidence of its decision-making and failed to provide Mr X with reasons for its decision. In recognition of the injustice caused the Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and make a payment to him
23 007 792	Nottingham City Council	Disrepair, managing agents, service level agreements, damp and mould, £500 compensation	Ms X complained that the Council failed to make sure the managing agent of her temporary accommodation provided a satisfactory repairs service. She said there was an unreasonable delay in replacing external doors which were not waterproof resulting in damp and mould and a delay in resolving issues concerning access to the property. We found the agency failed to complete the repairs in accordance with its service level agreement. In recognition of the injustice caused, the Council has agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to her.
23 012 367	Rossendale Borough Council	Improvement notice, disrepair, £950 compensation	Ms D says the Council delayed serving an Improvement Notice relating to hazards at her private rental home. We found evidence of fault by the Council and have upheld the complaint and completed the investigation because the Council agrees to pay redress.
23 011 918	London Borough of Lewisham	Rent arrears, skipping bids, £400 compensation	The Council was at fault for the way it handled Ms X’s housing application as it included historical rent arrears on her account and later removed these. This caused injustice as Ms X does not know whether she could have obtained accommodation if these arrears were not on her account. The Council agreed to apologise to Ms X and make a payment to recognise the uncertainty caused.
24 009 792	London Borough of Hillingdon	Advised to wait for bailiff, prevention duty, £800 compensation	Miss X complained about how the Council handled her homelessness after she received an eviction notice in 2024. The Council was at fault. It failed to take steps to alleviate her risk of homelessness and delayed moving her to interim accommodation. This meant Miss X remained in a property at risk of eviction and homelessness for longer than necessary. The Council agreed to apologise and make a payment to Miss X to recognise the distress and uncertainty this caused.
24 010 394	Rugby Borough Council	Affordability, Part 6, £200 compensation	Miss D says the Council has not been fair in the way it calculated her family’s income in its housing allocations assessment. Miss D’s partner is self-employed with a variable income. But in its calculation of their income, the Council made no allowances for holidays, sickness of other seasonal variations. We uphold the complaint. The Council has agreed to our recommendations of a remedy for the uncertainty this led to.
24 014 415	London Borough of Harrow	Gatekeeping, s.188 threshold, domestic abuse, ending s.188, vulnerability, £1250 compensation	The Council was at fault for failing to provide Mr X with interim accommodation when he was homeless. Mr X slept rough, which is an injustice. The Council also made inadequate inquiries and took too long to issue formal homelessness decisions. This delayed Mr X’s access to his review and appeal rights. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a new decision, and make a payment to Mr X. It will also act to improve its services.
20 008 807	Warwick District Council	PHP, suitability of temporary accommodation, refuge, application to different department	Mrs X complains the Council failed to treat her daughter, Miss Y, as homeless due to fleeing domestic abuse when she approached the Council in September 2019. Mrs X also complains that having accepted a homeless application, the Council failed to correspond with the refuge to enable Miss Y to remain there; produced a generic, unachievable personalised housing plan; and failed to provide her with suitable temporary accommodation. The Council’s failure to identify and consider whether its homelessness duties were engaged in October 2019 amounts to fault. As does its failure to provide Miss Y with suitable temporary accommodation in line with its homelessness duty. There was also fault in the complaint process. These faults have caused Miss Y and Mrs X an injustice.