Birmingham City Council failed to deal with a homeless family properly meaning a woman and her four children had to live in a one-room Bed & Breakfast for over 4 months.
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An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) upholds a complaint from the woman about the council’s poor handling of her homeless application and that she was hit with an unreasonable bill for removal and storage of her possessions.
The complainant fled her council home due to harassment and threats of violence in June 2010 and applied to the council as being homeless. In August that year the council refused her application and upheld its decision after a review was requested.
Following a County Court order that Birmingham Council review the case for a second time, it took 14 weeks for Birmingham to accept the complainant as homeless. This happened in July 2011 – over a year after the initial application.
In the intervening year, she and her four children had stayed in inappropriate one-room accommodation for 17 weeks. Government policy states that the use of B&B accommodation, whilst not suitable for families at all, can only be used in urgent situations and for a maximum of 6 weeks.
The complainant was also moved to three-bedroom accommodation which had a broken oven, no hot water in the shower and a mice infestation.
The council also billed the complainant for nearly £1,900 almost a year after they had returned her possessions from storage, which was vastly more than the estimate she was provided with. The investigation finds the council didn’t take into account the woman’s financial and personal circumstances when calculating the amount that was reasonable to pay.
Nigel Ellis, Executive Director for Investigations at the LGO, said:
“Nearly four months is a totally unacceptable period for any family to be housed in Bed and Breakfast – let alone a five person family in one-room accommodation – and that is why such a significant amount has been recommended as a remedy for the injustice.
“An inappropriate use of Bed & Breakfast accommodation by councils to house people is a trend we are noticing, so we want other councils to be aware that government guidance is clear that it is an unsuitable long term option for families.”
The LGO has recommended that Birmingham City Council apologise to the complainant and pay her £1980 for the stress and anxiety caused by living in unsuitable accommodation and the delay in dealing with a homeless review decision.
They should also pay the family £2000 in recognition of the injustice caused to the children for living in Bed and Breakfast accommodation for a prolonged period, as well as reassess its charges for the removal and storage of the complainant’s possessions.
The Council has accepted the LGO’s recommendations and says it will provide the recommended remedy.
Download the full report here.
