Family paid nearly £4,000 compensation from council after housing ordeal

Haringey Council apologised after the family spent 13 months living in “unsuitable” accommodation for 13 months, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

A family forced to live in unsuitable accommodation will receive £3,900 in compensation from Haringey Council after it delayed moving them for 13 months.

A report on the case from the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman said the council “did not respond properly to communications” from the family.

As a consequence they suffered an “injustice” and the council were told to payout £300 for each month spent in unsuitable accommodation.

In response, the council’s cabinet member for housing and planning, Sarah Williams, said: “We are sorry our service fell below our normal standards and for the poor communication that resulted in the delay with the move.”

A woman – referred to as Ms X in the ombudsman’s report – and her partner were placed in hotel accommodation in April 2022 after approaching the council for housing assistance.

Mrs X had a baby in January 2023 and the family declared themselves homeless and the council accepted its duty to help secure suitable accommodation.

In February the family were moved to self-contained emergency accommodation, but in March Ms X raised concerns regarding the “size, damp and cold”.

By September the council had not provided an alternative, although shortly after it said it had allocated a “suitable one-bedroom council property”.

Despite saying this would be available by the “end of September” the move did not take place.

The watchdog found there was “a clear delay between September 2023 and April 2024 in providing the alternative accommodation for Ms X and her family”.

In total the family ended up living in unsuitable accommodation for 13 months.

In response to the worries raised about the unsuitability of the emergency accommodation the watchdog found there was “no evidence the council took actions to look into Ms X’s concerns until October 2023”.

Cllr Williams said: “We apologise for the distress this has caused and inconvenience to the family. Compensation has been paid and new measures have been put in place to reduce the risk of this happening in the future.

“It is a priority for the council to enhance our services and how we engage with residents.

“Given the ongoing housing crisis, finding suitable accommodation for families is extremely challenging, not just for Haringey, but every Local Authority across the country.

“We will learn lessons from the report and include these findings within our housing improvement programme.”

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