A pregnant woman, who approached Tower Hamlets council for help when she was made homeless, was left in an unfurnished flat, miles from her support network, the Local Government Ombudsman has found.
The woman was left in the flat for three months and did not even have a bed until she was awarded a grant a month into the tenancy. She eventually moved into private rented accommodation three months after approaching the council.
The woman complained to the Ombudsman, and during its investigation the council agreed to pay the woman a discretionary housing payment to cover the shortfall in her rent until January 2020, and to refund the deposit she paid for her private rental accommodation.
In a damning report the Ombudsman criticises the council for not doing enough to prevent the woman’s homelessness when it had a chance, as it delayed both assessing her and issuing her with a personalised housing plan.
The council then failed to review the assessment when her circumstances changed and delayed providing her with interim accommodation. It did not consider the suitability of the interim accommodation it provided in another London borough, or reconsider it when she asked it to due to the distance from her support network and maternity hospital.
The investigation also found the council also did not do enough to help the woman find accommodation, including delaying properly considering what financial support it could offer her, and making inquiries to consider whether it owed her the full housing duty.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “In this case the woman was left in unsuitable temporary accommodation for three months, causing her unnecessary distress and anxiety at a time when she was most vulnerable.
“I welcome the efforts the council made during our investigation to help the woman and hope its commitment to learn from its errors will help ensure other people are not affected in the same way in future.
“We are issuing this report in part because it highlights to other councils the duties they have under the new homelessness prevention laws, and the steps they can take to learn from the errors we have highlighted.”
The Ombudsman recommended the council apologise and pay the woman £1,000 to recognise the time she spent living in unsuitable accommodation. The council has agreed to consider its service resources and changes it needs to make to work in line with the law.
By Patrick Mooney, Editor