The Ombudsman's final decision
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the provision of suitable accommodation. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
The complaint
The complainant, Mrs X, complains the Council has not provided permanent accommodation which is suitable for her family’s needs. She wants urgent action and a permanent home.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’, which we call ‘fault’. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint, which we call ‘injustice’. We provide a free service, but must use public money carefully. We do not start an investigation if we decide: there is not enough evidence of fault to justify investigating, or it would be reasonable for the person to ask for a council review or appeal.
(Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended, section 34(B))
How I considered this complaint
I considered information provided by Mrs X and the Council. This includes the decisions about her homelessness application. I also considered our Assessment Code.
My assessment
The Council accepted a homelessness duty to Mrs X. This means it must provide permanent accommodation. In the interim, the Council can provide temporary accommodation provided it is suitable. If someone refuses an offer the Council can discharge the homelessness duty and ask the person to leave the temporary accommodation.
Mrs X was living in temporary accommodation. The Council offered alternative temporary accommodation which Mrs X said was unsuitable and declined. The Council discharged the homelessness duty and asked her to leave.
Mrs X asked for a suitability review and left the property. The Council reviewed the case and decided the property it had offered was unsuitable. The Council has provided new temporary accommodation which Mrs X has moved into. The Council has also reinstated the main homelessness duty.
I will not start an investigation because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council. Although the offer was subsequently found to be unsuitable, this is not an indication of fault. This is because there is an established review process to challenge suitability decisions and the Council followed the process by considering Mrs X’s review request, reversing the decision, and providing alternative accommodation.
I acknowledge Mrs X would like the Council to offer a permanent home, but the law allows councils to provide temporary accommodation until it can offer a permanent home. There are no grounds on which we could ask the Council to offer a permanent home.
Final decision
We will not investigate Mrs X’s complaint because there is insufficient evidence of fault by the Council.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman