Summary: The Council failed to provide Mrs B with suitable accommodation when she was homeless. It also failed to review Mrs B’s housing priority when it introduced a new housing allocations scheme, which prevented Mrs B from being able to bid for social housing. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to Mrs B. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

Summary: the Council delayed processing Mr B’s homeless application, delayed completing a medical assessment, failed to properly consider the information Mr B provided, delayed offering him temporary accommodation and failed to notify him of his appeal rights. An apology, payment to Mr B and training for officers is satisfactory remedy.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about damage caused to the complainants home caused by its tenants under a private lease agreement. This is because it is reasonable for the complainant to seek a remedy in the courts.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council failing to provide her with a satisfactory service when she asked it to support her with rehousing as her current accommodation was overcrowded. This is because an investigation would not lead to any different findings or outcomes.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s consideration of a homeless application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to reject Mr X’s application for its housing register. This is because the complaint relates to events that took place more than 12 months ago and it would have been reasonable for Mr X to bring them to us at the time.

Summary: Mr D complains about how the Council dealt with him when he approached it as homeless. His view is it should have found him in priority need and found him a property. He also complains the Council did not check with him about how his disabilities affected his communications. The Ombudsman’s decision is the Council is at fault as it did not ask Mr D about any adjustments he needed in its communications with him, despite this being a requirement of the Equality Act. The Council has agreed to our recommendations.

Summary: Miss X complains the Council failed to properly respond to her complaints about disrepair at a flat she rents. We found there were some communication issues and delays in responding to her. We found no fault in how the Council reached decisions about what action it should take. We recommended a written apology for the issues we identified.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council arranging shared accommodation for Ms X when she became homeless. This is because she could have asked the Council for a statutory review of the suitability of that accommodation, and it was reasonable for her to have done so. Further, we cannot achieve the outcome Ms X wants, which is to be rehoused in the Council’s area, because the Council has since discharged its housing duty. Ms X had a right of appeal against that decision, and it was reasonable for her to have used it.

Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about the assessment of a housing application priority in 2022. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mrs X could not have complained to us sooner.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about the Council not taking action against its tenant for blocking a shared alleyway. This is because we cannot investigate complaints about the management of social housing by councils.

Summary: We will not exercise discretion to investigate this complaint about removal of a housing application from the housing register. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Miss X could not have complained to us sooner.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of a housing application and disrepair in a council rented property. There is insufficient evidence of fault in the Council’s assessment and we have no jurisdiction to investigate complaints about disrepair in social housing.

Summary: Miss X complains the Council placed her son, Mr Y, in unsuitable accommodation following his discharge from hospital. We have found fault in the way the Council made its decision to place Mr Y in a hostel when he was threatened with homelessness. There was also poor communication with Miss X and Mr Y about a proposed move to an alternative temporary accommodation. These faults caused serious injustice to Mr Y who is vulnerable because of his mental health issues. We have also found fault in the Council’s communication with Miss X and the handling of her complaint. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a financial payment and service improvements for the injustice caused to Mr Y and Miss X.

Summary: Mr X complains about unsuitable temporary accommodation which he says he could not live in. We found there was unnecessary delay by the Council. It has agreed a remedy.

Summary: The Council delayed assessing Mrs X’s housing application and then failed to clearly tell her what evidence it needed to complete its assessment, which led to it closing her application. The Council has agreed to apologise, assess Mrs X’s application and backdate her registration date. It has also agreed to make service improvements.

Summary: The Council delayed assessing Miss B’s housing application and review request, but there was no fault in the way it decided that she does not qualify to join its housing register. The Council has agreed to apologise to Miss B and to take action to prevent similar failings in future.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Mr X’s income in relation to grant assisted energy improvement schemes. We consider further investigation is unlikely to lead to a different outcome. And we cannot achieve the outcome the complainant is seeking.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s assessment of Miss X’s housing application. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s decision to class Miss X as intentionally homeless and end its housing relief duty to her. This is because Miss X has right of appeal to the court and it would be reasonable for her to use it.

Summary: The Council did not contact Ms X’s landlord and did not tell Ms X it would rehouse her a few days before deciding she was not homeless. However, Hthe Council failed to consider relevant information when making this decision. It took too long to deal with Ms X’s request for a review and provided conflicting information about complaints. These faults caused Ms X avoidable uncertainty and distress. The Council has agreed to apologise, make a payment to Ms X, and act to improve its services.

Summary: Mr X complained the Council placed he and his family in unsuitable temporary accommodation. Mr X says the Council moved his family to another property, but this was also unsuitable. We found fault with the Council for failing to provide suitable temporary accommodation for Mr X and his family for 21 months. The Council has agreed to apologise to Mr X and pay him £4,425 in addition to the £500 already paid.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s housing application. He says the Council failed to properly consider the information he provided regarding his medical conditions and has not awarded him the correct priority band. This is because there is insufficient evidence of fault.

Summary: We will not investigate Ms X’s complaint about the Council’s decision she did not qualify to join its housing register as she was adequately housed. This is because there is not enough evidence of fault in the way the Council made its decision.

Summary: Miss F complained she and her family had been housed in unsuitable accommodation. We found fault as they remained in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks. This caused distress, affected her children’s education and led to extra costs for storage and food. The Council has agreed to apologise and make a payment to remedy this injustice.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s offer of accommodation which Mr X says was unsuitable for his needs. There is insufficient evidence of fault which would warrant an investigation. We will not exercise discretion to investigate earlier events related to an investigation we decided in 2021. This complaint was received outside the normal 12-month period for investigating complaints. There is no evidence to suggest that Mr X could not have complained to us sooner.

Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council’s handling of Mr X’s homeless application. He says the Council incorrectly decided he was intentionally homeless. This is because it was reasonable for him to have used his right of appeal to challenge the Council’s decision.

Summary: We cannot investigate this complaint about property damage as it is not within our remit.

Summary: Ms X complained about how the Council handled her housing, particularly that it disregarded her disabilities and medical vulnerability, which kept her in unsuitable accommodation. Ms X said this caused unnecessary distress and frustration, and caused her mental and physical health to deteriorate. We find the Council at fault, and this caused Ms X injustice. The Council will apologise, make a payment to Ms X, and improve its service.