The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the suitability of her temporary accommodation. The Council has upheld the complaint and agreed to pay her £800 to remedy the injustice caused.
The complaint
Ms X complained about the suitability of the temporary accommodation the Council provided for her and her children. She said she did not have enough bedrooms and the property was affected by damp and mould.
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 provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we are satisfied with the actions an organisation has taken or proposes to take. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(7), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Ms X and the Council.
I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
Ms X complained about the suitability of the temporary accommodation the Council had provided. She said she had to share a bedroom with one of her children, which was not appropriate due to her health issues. She also said the property was affected by damp and mould. She asked the Council to review the suitability of the accommodation and the Council decided it was not suitable.
In response to my preliminary enquiries, the Council said: It had given advice to Ms X after she reported a leak from the flat above hers, which was not owned or managed by the temporary accommodation provider and had arranged for the safety of the electrics to be checked.
It had inspected the property when Ms X reported mould in the bedrooms and advised her this was due to a lack of airflow/ventilation. It had advised Ms X to move some furniture to allow the affected area to be treated, but she said she was not able to do so, and it had not been able to identify someone to assist her, due to the risk they would be liable for any damage to the furniture.
The medical evidence it had received did not show the accommodation was unsuitable due to Ms X’s medical needs, although it noted she has a care package to support her. It will seek further medical evidence.
It identified alternative temporary accommodation, which Ms X accepted on 10 April.
If we investigated this complaint, it is likely we would find the Council at fault for providing unsuitable temporary accommodation. We therefore asked the Council to consider remedying the injustice caused.
It agreed to pay Ms X £800 within one month of the date of this decision to remedy the injustice caused by the unsuitable temporary accommodation. This is calculated on the basis of £200 per month between December 2023, when Ms X complained about the accommodation, and April 2024, when alternative temporary accommodation was identified, and is in line with our Guidance on remedies, available on our website.
Final decision
We have upheld the complaint but will not investigate further because the Council has agreed to resolve it early by providing a proportionate remedy for the injustice caused.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman