The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Miss X complained the Council has failed to assist or support her in finding suitable accommodation. She also complains there were delays and errors in the way the Council dealt with her application to join the housing register. The delays and failings in the way the Council has dealt with Miss X’s application to join the housing register and her requests for assistance amount to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.
The complaint
The complainant, whom I shall refer to as Miss X complained the Council has failed to assist or support her in finding suitable accommodation. She complains about delays and errors in the Council’s assessment of her application to join the housing register and a failure to respond to her correspondence or complaints.
Miss X states her current accommodation is affecting her health and wellbeing and complains the Council has failed to provide advice or support regarding the affordability/ suitability of this accommodation.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
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 an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 26(1) and 26A(1), as amended).
If we are satisfied with a council’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)
How I considered this complaint
As part of the investigation, I have: considered the complaint and the documents provided by Miss X; made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; discussed the issues with Miss X; Miss X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.
What I found
Miss X presented to the Council as homeless in June 2019. The Council accepted a homelessness application and provided Miss X and her baby with temporary accommodation. Miss X was unhappy with the accommodation which she states was up five flights of stairs, filthy and full of bugs. She states a council officer told her the only way to move to alternative accommodation was to find a private rented property. The officer confirmed Miss X would then be able to join the housing register with a high level of priority to bid on properties.
In August 2019 Miss X moved to private rented accommodation. She states this property is unaffordable and is causing financial hardship. Having moved into the property, Miss X complains she did not receive a bidding number to allow her to bid on properties for over a year. When she received this information, Miss X noticed the Council had not included her son on the account.
In September 2020 Miss X completed a change of circumstances form to add her son to the housing application. She states it took the Council three months to amend her account so there was a further delay before she was able to bid on properties.
Miss X was unhappy with the lack of advice and assistance she had received from the Council and in April 2021 made a formal complaint. She complained about delays in joining the housing register and being able to bid. Miss X also complained that the only properties available to bid on are in high rise estates or without parking. Miss X asked for help in finding affordable accommodation so that she could get back to work. She stated she had spoken to several council officers who had been unable to help and felt she had now exhausted all options.
In its response the Council suggested Miss X contact either the allocations team for advice on her social housing options, or Mr Y, a procurement officer. Miss X states she had already contacted the allocations team who were unable to help. so she attempted to contact Mr Y. She left messages and sent emails requesting a call back but did not receive a response. Miss X asked the Council to escalate her complaint to stage two of the complaint process.
Miss X also completed a further change of circumstances form and provided evidence from her GP of her medical conditions. Miss X stated she needed to move as the constant noise around her triggered her anxiety and there was no secure outdoor space for her son to play or get fresh air. Due to her agoraphobia Miss X stated she found it difficult to take her son out. In addition Miss X stated the cost of the property, and her financial difficulties triggered her depression and anxiety.
The Council’s stage two response identified Miss X’s complaints as: Being placed in temporary accommodation on the 5th floor despite having a six month old baby; Her son not being attached to her housing application; Her current accommodation is affecting her wellbeing, resulting in Miss X receiving therapy; and The procurement officer failed to respond to her emails or voicemails.
The Council noted it had received Miss X’s housing application on 12 June 2019 and that it had now awarded Band 2. It also noted Miss X’s son had now been added to the application. The Council acknowledged the procurement officer had not responded to Miss X’s email and apologised for any inconvenience this had caused.
In addition the Council confirmed it had forwarded Miss X’s details to its medical advisor to assess whether she needed to be rehoused due to her medical circumstances.
The Council acknowledged Miss X’s frustration with her current living conditions and advised that due to limited housing stock, applicants were waiting longer to be rehoused, regardless of their banding. It encouraged Miss X to continue to bid for properties.
As Miss X was not satisfied by the Council’s response and had not had a response about her medical assessment, she contacted the Council again in early August 2021. She reiterated she could not afford to live in her current accommodation and needed help to find affordable housing. Miss X asked for a housing officer or a case worker to assist her.
The Council wrote to Miss X the same day and advised its medical advisor had determined she did not have a medical requirement for a move. The medical advisor acknowledged Miss X’s current accommodation may not be ideal but did not consider the evidence supported a change of accommodation on medical grounds. They noted Miss X’s condition did not necessarily preclude the use of some stairs so there was no ground floor requirement.
Miss X remains unhappy and has asked the Ombudsman to investigate her complaint. In response to my enquiries the Council states Miss X’s start date on the housing register is 12 June 2019, but it is unable to confirm when Miss X was able to start bidding on properties. It does however note that it advised Miss X on how to bid on properties in December 2020.
It states Miss X should have been awarded band 2 priority in September 2019 when she secured private rented accommodation. However a failing in communication between Council services meant she did not receive this priority until September 2020.
The Council states it closed the bidding between March and September 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Miss X did not miss out on any properties during this period as no one was able to bid for properties.
The Council’s records show Miss X has bid on 15 properties. Miss X successfully bid on a property in early January 2021, but subsequently chose not to accept the accommodation. She states she rejected the property as there was no parking. Miss X states this was not clear from the advert for the property, and that due to her agoraphobia she is only able to go out in her car so requires parking.
As an explanation for the delays in responding to Miss X’s correspondence and in dealing with her applications, the Council states a service manager was absent for an extended period and other staff shortages due to COVID-19 placed a strain on the service.
Analysis It is clear from the documentation provided that there have been delays and failings in the way the Council has dealt with Miss X’s application to join the housing register and her requests for assistance.
Miss X applied to join the housing register in June 2019 but was unable to bid on properties until around 18 months later. The Council has not provided any explanation for this delay, or for why Miss X’s son was not initially included in the application. But such long delays are clearly unacceptable and amount to fault.
It is not possible to say whether Miss X would have been able to secure an alternative property had she been able to bid on properties sooner. I recognise there are a limited number of properties available on the housing register. And I am mindful that Miss X may well not have bid on many of the properties she would have been eligible for as she does not want to live in a high rise property. However, the delays and errors in Miss X’s housing register application will have caused her frustration and distress, and the sense of potential missed opportunities.
The Council’s failure to respond to Miss X’s correspondence and her requests for assistance in finding an affordable property also amount to fault. The Council’s stage one complaint response does not address Miss X’s concerns or offer any advice on how to secure an affordable property. It is also disappointing that having offered to speak with Miss X the procurement did not then return her calls or email.
Miss X would like the Council to award her additional priority on medical grounds. It is not the Ombudsman’s role to decide Miss X’s priority on the housing register, that is the Council’s job. We can only consider whether the Council assessed her application correctly. The Council has considered her request and determined her household does not have a medical requirement to move. This is a decision the Council is entitled to make.
Agreed action
The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss X and pay her £200 in recognition of the distress, frustration and uncertainty she has experienced as a result of the delays and errors in the Council’s handling of her housing register application.
The Council should take this action within one month of the final decision on this complaint.
Final decision
The delays and failings in the way the Council has dealt with Miss X’s application to join the housing register and her requests for assistance amount to fault. This fault has caused Miss X an injustice.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman