Councils “all too often” failing in duties to prevent homelessness, says Ombudsman

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has said that vulnerable people are facing homelessness because some councils are “still not getting it right”, in a report marking five years since the introduction of the Homelessness Reduction Act.

The Act gave councils greater responsibilities to help people at risk of homelessness earlier in the process to prevent them becoming homeless in the first place,

However, the Ombudsman found that “all too often councils are failing in their duties, and some of the most vulnerable people in society are suffering as a result”.

The Ombudsman revealed that in 2021-22 the most complaints it received were from the London region, with nearly 60% of all complaints, and 65% of all upheld complaints coming from people in the region.

The Ombudsman’s new report highlights examples of where councils have “missed the opportunity to prevent people from becoming homeless”. In one case, a man had to sleep in his van for two years when he fled his home because of violence, after his local council failed to accept his homelessness application.

In another case, a man was admitted to hospital because of mental health concerns because the council wrongly decided it could not help him, the report said.

In another case a man spent more than a month sleeping rough on the streets during the winter because the council “failed to respond to his pleas for help”.

‘Common issues’ which resulted in failing to prevent homelessness were identified in the report:

• Not identifying homelessness and making inquiries – “we often find councils at fault for failing to identify at the earliest opportunity that a complainant had made a homeless application”.
• Failings in the prevention and relief duties – councils failing to recognise or act on their duty to make inquiries.
• Personalised Housing Plans (PHP’s) – “Despite being a legal duty for almost five years, our investigations continue to find fault with councils for: failing to issue a PHP, failing to review the PHP at least with every change in duty, not taking the steps it said it would take in the PHP, issuing poor quality, generic, or incomplete PHPs.”
• Interim accommodation – “We often find councils at fault for failing to offer, or delaying offering, interim accommodation.”
• Communication – “Many of the case studies in this report demonstrate how failures in communication or excessive delay can result in additional distress, frustration and uncertainty”.

The report highlights good practice advice throughout the homelessness process and also offers questions officers and local councillors can ask to check their own authorities are fulfilling their duties.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “Five years since the new Act came into force we would have expected the right systems and processes to have been embedded, and for officers to be well aware of their duties. But unfortunately this is not always the case and too often we are finding councils at fault.

“Although we see many examples where councils have got things right, too often our investigations still find that councils have failed in the basics: they haven’t issued a Personalised Housing Plan or considered the support needs of the applicant."

He added: “In other examples people are still telling us they have been turned away and told to come back when the court issues a warrant for their eviction.

“Based on real investigations from our casework, our latest report should help local councils examine their own processes and procedures to see where any gaps in practice may lie.

“I hope local authorities will take the report in the spirit in which it is intended to improve their response to people who may be approaching them at the lowest point in their lives.”

In 2021-22, the Ombudsman received 372 complaints about homelessness, and upheld 75% of the 126 investigations it carried out, it revealed.

Responding to the Ombudsman report on the five years since the Homelessness Reduction Act came into force, Cllr Darren Rodwell, Housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association, said: “Councils work incredibly hard to prevent the tragedy of homelessness from happening, as well as supporting those who find themselves affected.

“Homelessness pressures, combined with depleting social housing stock and an unaffordable private rented sector feels like a perfect storm for already stretched council services.

“It is crucial that the Government brings forward its commitment to removing Section 21 evictions, and looks at developing a cross-departmental homelessness prevention strategy which addresses the drivers and levers of homelessness within central government policy.”

Cllr Rodwell said the building of affordable homes must also be prioritised, and councils should be given the powers and resources to build 100,000 social homes a year to address the national shortage of affordable housing and reduce the number of people on a social housing waiting list.

“We would also like the administrative responsibilities of the Act streamlined, as it takes away from direct contact with the individuals in need and requires a higher skill level role, making recruitment even more difficult,” he said.

Lottie Winson