Council Fined for Not Helping Landlord and Tenant with Eviction – Homelessness Duty Ignored

A council has been found at fault by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman for failing to properly investigate and act on a homelessness application, leaving a tenant at risk of being made homeless without the support she was legally due. This decision highlights that councils must help families who are threatened with homelessness, and when they fail to do so, they must be held to account.

Families Are Due a Homelessness Duty

Under Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 and the Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (the Code), councils have a clear statutory duty to make inquiries when someone may be homeless or threatened with homelessness within 56 days. The threshold to trigger that duty is intentionally low — a person does not even need to fill in a specific form or go to a particular department for it to apply.

In this case, the tenant — referred to as Ms B — repeatedly contacted the council in June 2022 and January 2023 to say she was facing losing her home. The council, however, repeatedly closed her applications without properly deciding what duty, if any, it owed her, and failed to make the inquiries it was required to make.

The Ombudsman found that even when the council had reason to believe that Ms B might be homeless or threatened with homelessness, it did not properly decide whether it owed her a prevention or relief duty as set out in the Homelessness Code. That failure itself was fault.

The Council Must Help to Rehouse a Family

When someone is found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness and eligible for assistance, councils must take reasonable steps to help secure accommodation and prevent homelessness — this is known as the prevention duty and relief duty under the Homelessness Code of Guidance.

Ms B provided the council with information that her landlord was seeking possession of her home and that she could not afford the rent increase. Despite this, the council delayed in accepting any duty until July 2023, by which time the possession order had already expired and a bailiff warrant had been sought. When the council finally accepted the duty, it still failed to offer suitable interim accommodation without delay.

The Ombudsman noted that this was not in line with the Code of Guidance, which clearly states that interim accommodation should be offered where there is reason to believe a household may be homeless and in priority need (for example, where children or a person with a disability are involved).

Failure Must Be Punished

Because the council delayed and failed to act, Ms B experienced significant and avoidable distress and uncertainty, a direct result of maladministration. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and required the council to:

• Apologise to Ms B in line with Ombudsman guidance

• Pay Ms B £750 in recognition of the injustice caused

• Remind staff about the duty to make inquiries at the earliest point• Ensure future decisions clearly explain statutory rights, including the right to request a review 

This decision reinforces that councils don’t just have a power but a duty to act promptly when someone is at risk of losing their home — and that failure can lead to formal findings of fault and financial remedies.

The Code of Guidance Is Not Optional

The Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities exists precisely to ensure fairness, transparency, and statutory compliance in how councils deal with people at risk of losing their homes. It spells out:

• How and when councils must make inquiries

• When prevention and relief duties are triggered

• What interim support must be offered

• The right of applicants to request a review of adverse decisions

When a council fails to follow that guidance, affected households are left in limbo — and the Ombudsman will step in to ensure legal duties are met and injustices are remedied.