The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: Ms X complained the Council repeatedly provided incorrect advice in respect of her housing situation and rent payments. The Council were at fault in the incorrect advice it gave to Ms X about having to clear her arrears before she could join the housing register and failing to keep adequate records. This caused Ms X stress and impacted on her mental health. A suitable remedy for the injustice cause has been agreed.
The complaint
Ms X complains the Council has repeatedly provided incorrect advice in respect of her housing situation and rent payments and benefits since she approached it in July 2021.
Ms X says the failure to properly address her housing issues caused stress and affected the health of herself and her family.
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 an organisation’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 the complainant; made enquiries of the Council and considered the comments and documents the Council provided; discussed the issues with the complainant; sent my draft decision to both the Council and the complainant and taken account of their comments in reaching my final decision.
What I found
Ms X lives with her partner and two children. They lived in a privately rented property and had no problems paying the rent until July 2021 when Ms X’s partner was unable to work due to ill health.
Ms X contacted the Council as soon as she realised the amount of income the family would receive on Universal Credit (UC) would be less than the monthly rent charge of £1200. She explained that she would not be able to keep up with the rent payments and that she worried the landlord would eventually evict her due to rent arrears.
The Council officer Ms X spoke to about this failed to make any notes on the computer system. There are no notes for the period 19 May to 16 August 2021. The notes for 16 August show that Ms X contacted the Council to say she could not afford her property and she wanted to talk to someone as not sure what to do. An officer phoned Ms X on 31 August and she confirmed she was struggling to pay the rent but she had not been given notice as she was not in arrears due to using all her savings to cover the rent. The officer concluded there was no current threat of homelessness.
Ms X contacted the Council again on 13 September. The notes say Ms X told the Council the landlord had increased the rent and she could not afford it. She provided documents she said was notice to leave the property. The Council emailed Ms X on 15 September. It said the notice provided was invalid and so she was not required to leave the property. The Council said that while it was noted she was concerned about affordability, she should explore all options before surrendering the tenancy as she could be found to be intentionally homeless. It said it had booked an appointment for a full housing assessment on 13 October and made a referral to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) for a budgeting assessment.
Ms X continued to contact the Council explaining her situation was acute and she was unable to cover her essential bills. She said the landlord had listed the property as available for immediate rent. After checking Ms X’s tenancy agreement the Council said she did not have to leave the property until a court order for possession was obtained by the landlord.
Ms X notified the Council that the landlord had re-let the house as of 30 September and asked the Council to help her. She explained she was having panic attacks and was worried the family would be homeless next week. The Council telephone Ms X and again explained she had not received a valid notice to quit. Ms X told the Council she was now £600 in arrears and she could not afford to pay the rent of £1200. The Council advised her not to vacate the property. There are no notes on the file of the housing appointment which was booked for 13 October.
The officer dealing with Ms X’s case left the Council at some point in October. There is nothing to show Ms X was notified of this or given the name of a new officer who had taken over the case. The case notes indicate Ms X made several calls in October and November asking who was dealing with her and what was happening. Her requests for help indicate she was getting increasingly concerned about the situation.
A housing manager reviewed the case on 3 December. Her notes say she has looked through all the notes and “the case is a mess”. She noted the following issues: Multiple failed contacts and lack of notes to show whether attempts to call were made; No advice on the personal housing plan and incorrect actions noted; The s21 notice is invalid as the tenancy agreement clearly states Ms X signed a 24 month contract which is in place until June 2022, therefore notice cannot expire within the fixed term; Ms X gave notice to landlord to surrender the tenancy in September. Advice given was incorrect and Ms X is lucky the landlord did not carry out a peaceful eviction i.e. change the locks, as they would have now been entitled to do; Assumption has been made that a further Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) claim will be rejected. This is the decision of the Benefits team, not the housing team; No assessment made as to how the arrears accrued and whether this was unavoidable. If the tenant is not to blame for the arrears then they qualify for the Housing Register; No consideration appears to have been given to the fact Ms X has told the Council her ex partner, who perpetrated domestic abuse against her and made threats to kill, is now aware of her current location; Ms X has been told that she risks being found intentionally homeless if she surrenders her property. This would not be the case if the property is not affordable / suitable for her.
The Manager then listed the actions that needed to be taken which included: Immediate contact with Ms X to apologise for the mis-management of the case and to reassure her the Council will do all it can from that point onwards to ensure she is given the correct assistance; Ensuring all notes are kept up to date including every attempted phone call; Advise Ms X and her landlord that the notice is invalid and explain the reasons why; Make an assessment of the suitability of the accommodation based on both affordability and the risk from Ms X’s ex-partner. If satisfied Ms X is homeless then move to the relief duty and offer interim accommodation. Can consider Ms X as homeless at home but then she needs to be aware she will be accruing arrears. If not satisfied Ms X is homeless then end the prevention duty and close the case. Manager indicates she considers this outcome unlikely based on what she has read so far; Check if benefit department would consider a further DHP claim and if so send a DHP claim form and encourage PA to complete and return; Carry out an assessment of the arrears and how they accrued. If satisfied they were not the fault of Ms X then register her housing application as soon as possible and backdate as appropriate.
The Council made Ms X an offer of interim accommodation on 13 December. Ms X decided she would stay in the property for Christmas and approached the Council for help on 27 December. Ms X’s housing application was registered and backdated to 23 November 2021.
The Council provided interim accommodation for Ms X and her family at a motel in a self contained unit with laundry and cooking facilities from 27 to 30 December. She then moved into a Council owned three bedroom house. Ms X is currently living in a two bedroom housing association property. Ms X requested a review of the suitability of this accommodation and the Council provided a detailed response on 7 February 2022 explaining why it considered it was suitable In response to Ms X’s complaint the Council accepted that she did not receive the level of contact expected throughout a homeless case. It also accepted it was incorrect to say she had to clear any arrears before she could join the housing register. The Council says that no consideration was given to how Ms X’s arrears accrued but that the debt would need to be addressed at some point and as Ms X’s mother was guarantor on the tenancy she could be held legally liable. The Council made a payment of £200 to Ms X for the distress caused.
Analysis Ms X complains about how the Council dealt with her when she contacted it in July 2021 concerned about her housing situation. As the Council failed to make any notes of this initial contact I cannot know for certain what information was provided to Ms X. However, based on the review of the case by a manager in December 2021, there is no doubt that there was fault in how the Council dealt with this case. I am pleased to note the Council accepted this as part of the complaint’s procedure. However, Ms X remained dissatisfied with the outcome and so complained to the Ombudsman.
Ms X says that the Council gave incorrect advice about having to clear her arrears before she could join the housing register. While there is no record to show what advice the Council gave on this point, I am satisfied it did give incorrect advice about arrears and joining the housing register. The Council also accepts this as detailed in its response to Ms X’s complaint.
The information provided to me shows the faults in this case were identified by a manager on 3 December and information was provided about what action needed to be taken. As the Council offered Ms X interim accommodation on 13 December, it is clear action was taken. Ms X says that her mum gave her the money to pay off the arrears due to the pressure of the situation. Ms X says this would not have happened if the Council had acted correctly.
I note that Ms X’s mother was a guarantor for Ms X’s tenancy and so had a legal obligation and the landlord could have pursued her for any money owing in connection with the tenancy. Ms X says the money to clear the debt owed to the landlord was paid on 7 January 2022. This was after the Council took action in respect of its previous failings and after Ms X moved into interim accommodation.
Ms X, and her mother as guarantor, was liable for rent owed up until she left the property. So, while the incorrect advice provided by the Council may have meant Ms X felt under pressure to clear the arrears, I cannot conclude she has paid money that she did not owe or otherwise was not liable to pay. I therefore make no financial recommendation in respect of the payment of the arrears.
I note the Council made a payment of £200 to Ms X to acknowledge any distress caused as a result of the fault in this case. Our guidance recommends a payment of up to £300 for distress and I consider a payment of this amount is appropriate in this case. Ms X took early action when she realised her situation had changed and she would not be able to pay her rent. The time taken for the Council to act correctly caused a significant amount of distress and affected Ms X’s mental health. I also consider Ms X was put to considerable time and trouble in pursuing this matter as a result of the Council’s failure to return calls and keep her informed.
Ms X is currently living in a two bedroom property which met her needs in terms of bedrooms when she moved into it. However, her son is now 10 years old and so the family has an extra bedroom requirement as he should have his own bedroom. Ms X is entitled to apply to join the housing register and seek a larger property in line with the normal procedure. There is nothing to suggest any fault in the Council offering her a two bedroom property previously. I can see no reason why any past mistakes by the Council, which have been separately remedied, would give rise to Ms X now being offered a three bedroom property outside of the normal allocation procedure.
Agreed action
To remedy the outstanding injustice caused to Ms X as a result of the Council’s fault in this case the Council will, within one month of my final decision, take the following action: Pay Ms X £100 in addition to the £200 already paid to recognise the distress caused; and Pay Ms X £200 to recognise her avoidable time and trouble in pursing this matter.
Remind all relevant staff about the importance of keeping a written record when they have been in contact with callers and share a copy of the final decision in this case to illustrate the consequences of not keeping contemporaneous records.
Final decision
I have completed my investigation with a finding of fault for the reasons explained in this statement. The Council has agreed to implement the actions I have recommended. These appropriately remedy any injustice caused by fault.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman