Ombudsman finds “significant delays” in response of council to complaints from vulnerable man left in unsuitable accommodation

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO) has recommended that Peterborough City Council pay more than £2,900 after its delay in revising the housing priority of a vulnerable man.

The LGSCO report found that the complainant, Mr X, remained in unsuitable accommodation for “much longer than was necessary”, and was forced to live apart from his children for whom he had caring responsibilities.

The Ombudsman said Mr X had applied to the council to join its housing register in November 2021. He was living at his sister and brother in law’s home in the living room, sleeping on the sofa.

Peterborough assessed Mr X’s housing application in February 2022 and advised him that his priority was band 2 starting from February 2022.

Mr X applied to the council as homeless because he was threatened with homelessness. “The council accepted Mr X was homeless, eligible and in priority need”, the report noted.

 Mr X complained to the council about the delay in considering his application.

The Ombudsman noted that in April 2022, the council’s Housing Allocations policy changed. If a person was threatened with homelessness and in priority need, the council would place them in band one priority on the housing register.

In September 2022, Mr X complained to the council that he was still living at his sister’s home and had lost his job. The council’s housing solutions officer had advised him in May 2022 that she would move him to priority band one.

However, he said she had not contacted him since then and he had been “unable to speak to her despite trying many times”, said the Ombudsman.

The council did not revise Mr X’s priority to band one until 25 October 2022. As a result, the council acknowledged that he missed out on a property which would have been offered to him in May.

The council offered to remedy its fault by paying £1,650. However, Mr X said this did not take account of the "significant impact on his life and personal relationships".

The Ombudsman investigated and concluded that the council’s remedy was not sufficient, because the impact on Mr X missing out on an offer of suitable accommodation was “significant”.

The report said: “In Mr X’s case he was vulnerable due to his physical and mental health condition and remained in unsuitable accommodation (sleeping on a sofa) for much longer than was necessary. He was forced to live apart from his children for whom he had caring responsibilities. His long term relationships were, and continue to be affected.”

The Ombudsman also found poor complaint handling and communication from the council. The report concluded: “There were significant delays in responding to the complaints and it does not appear there was any action between December 2022 and March 2023.

“There was also significant delay after Mr X accepted the council’s offer of a financial remedy in May 2023. The council had not paid this by August 2023, when Mr X had complained to the Ombudsman. These delays were fault.”

To remedy the injustice caused, the Ombudsman ordered the council to pay Mr X:

• £250 per month for the 11 months that Mr X missed out on an offer of a property, (a total of £2,750).
• £200 for the time and trouble he was put to during the delayed and extended complaint process.

A council spokeswoman said: “We accept the Ombudsmen’s findings and the compensation payment.

“Our own internal investigation upheld Mr X’s complaint but we did not resolve within the time we should have. We sincerely regret the series of delays in responding to this complaint and any distress this caused Mr X. Since this investigation we have changed our processes to ensure there is proper oversight over housing cases to ensure they are being assessed in line with our policies and we are communicating in a timely way with those on our housing register.”

Lottie Winson