Report finds council placed the family with two young children and a baby in “unsuitable” accommodation on multiple occasions, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter
Barnet Council’s offices in Colindale
Barnet Council has been asked to apologise to a homeless family after placing them in “unsuitable” housing and “incorrectly ending its relief duty”.
A report from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that the council had placed the family, made up of a mother, two young children and a baby, in unsuitable accommodation on multiple occasions.
A spokesperson from Barnet Homes, said they accepted the ombudsman’s findings but added it was facing an “unprecedented housing crisis with soaring demand for affordable homes, but a very low supply of them”.
The family declared themselves homeless in September 2023 after renting with a private landlord who increased the rent amount.
The council accepted it had a homeless relief duty and placed the family in emergency bed-and-breakfast (B&B) style housing for six weeks. The watchdog deemed this was “unsuitable” as it was not an appropriate type of accommodation for families.
The council then made an offer in October of settled accommodation to the mother – referred to as ‘Miss B’ – which was accepted.
However, this property had issues including no working electricity, no heating and no hot water. The council said it would send someone to “resolve the issues” in December and in the meantime Miss B stayed with friends and family.
By January 2024 the property’s kitchen ceiling had collapsed and the room had flooded. The family were then placed in emergency B&B accommodation for a second time.
The watchdog concluded the first property the council moved the family to in October was “unsuitable from the outset due to disrepair issues” and the council accepted in the report it should not have ended its relief duty.
The property’s front step was also deemed too “low” as the council’s medical assessor had recommended “stairless” properties that accommodated Miss B’s medical issues.
The B&B accommodation the family were moved to in January had no cooking facilities and Miss B was unable to nurse her baby, and Miss B’s carers were unable to assist her fully.
In late March the council made an offer of self-contained accommodation which Miss B accepted, leaving the B&B accommodation in April.
But the family had been forced to remain in B&B housing for ten weeks and four days and then four weeks and four days over the six-week statutory limit. This the watchdog deemed a “fault”.
The council made a total payment of £896.60 to Miss B in response to her complaint, representing £200 for each week the family stayed in B&B accommodation over the limit and £50 to recognise the “distress” caused.
The watchdog was “satisfied” this amount was “appropriate” and acknowledged the “impact” of the circumstances and did not recommend any more payments be made.
However, the council was told to apologise and within three months provide staff training to remind staff of the six-week B&B legal stay limit for families.
The council was also told to provide evidence it had made progress in reducing its use of this type of accommodation.
The Barnet Homes spokesperson confirmed that currently, the council no longer had any households living in B&B accommodation beyond six weeks.
The spokesperson said: “We accept the decision of the ombudsman and its recommendations in relation to this case. We strive to provide high standards of service to our residents, but in this instance, we have fallen short of the high standards we set. We have apologised to Miss B and will be providing training to staff.
“We take learning from complaints very seriously, be they directly received or via the ombudsman, very seriously and are always seeking to use that learning to improve how we deliver our services continually. We will work with our teams to ensure that correct processes are followed, and actions are carried out promptly.
“Across London, we’re facing an unprecedented housing crisis with soaring demand for affordable homes, but a very low supply of them. Due to a lack of suitable temporary accommodation in Barnet, households have spent longer than six weeks in B&B accommodation on some very rare occasions. However, through our concerted efforts, Barnet currently has had no households who have been living in B&B accommodation for longer than six weeks for the last three months.”
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