Enfield Council has been asked to pay at least £2,300 to a disabled mother and her child following an almost year-long delay in finding them suitable temporary accommodation.
The family, made up of a mother and son, declared themselves homeless in July 2023 and, in response, the council drew up a personal housing plan (PHP) and accepted relief duty, meaning it needed to find them suitable temporary accommodation.
Along with her son, the mother – referred to anonymously as Mrs X in a report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – had been asked to leave her mother’s property. Mrs X had mobility issues, and her son attended a special school.
But the report stated the council failed to provide the family with temporary accommodation for nine months – and counting – with other failings including “properly communicating” and “producing an incomplete PHP”.
By September last year, the council accepted it had delayed arranging a home visit, completing a homelessness assessment and providing an accurate PHP. Mrs X said the PHP included “incorrect information” before being in October.
In November, a list of possible properties were sent, however Mrs X would need to view the properties, something her disabilities made “almost impossible” as she “could not leave the house unaided”.
Following a formal complaint filed by Mrs X, over the way her case had been handled, the council acknowledged fault.
Communication had been “poor” according to the ombudsman report, not helped by officers changing “three times”, and the council had offered interim accommodation outside Enfield due to a lack of accessible housing within the borough.
The council agreed the initial PHP was “misleading” and it had “failed” to respond to Mrs X within the “agreed timescale”.
The council accepted main housing duty in January 2024, apologised to Mrs X and offered her £1,000, but which at the time of the watchdog’s report in May she said she had not received.
The council also stated that while it “tried to find an offer of final accommodation” Mrs X’s current interim accommodation was considered “suitable”.
But the ombudsman report stated there was “no evidence” the council had made any offers of interim or temporary accommodation once accepting main housing duty in January, something it called “a fault”.
The report said: “A lack of supply does not mean the council can ignore this duty, and so even if it repeatedly failed to find suitable interim accommodation we would consider this to be a service failure.”
As a result Mrs X and her son continue to live in “unsuitable accommodation”.
As part of its agreed actions with the ombudsman the council must pay Mrs X £1,800, recognising the time she and her son have lived in unsuitable accommodation; pay her £200 per month for every month this remained the case; and pay her £500 to recognise the distress caused while Mrs X pursues the complaint.
An Enfield Council spokesperson said: “Enfield Council accepts the findings of the ombudsman and we have agreed to the procedural review recommendations that were made in the report.
“The service continues to experience unprecedented demand from homeless families. We still have a significant lack of affordable housing in London and the south-east and there are but a handful of properties in Enfield that are suitable for those with additional needs.
“As noted by the ombudsman, the council is reviewing temporary accommodation procurement methods with a view to increasing supply. However, the current lack of housing and rise in rents locally means we will have to look outside of London for suitable homes at reasonable rental rates for those in temporary accommodation.
“We look forward to working with the new government on ways to provide more affordable housing in London, and to seek ways of better supporting the needs of homeless families in our borough.”
