Council pays out £2k compensation over delay rehoming 'housebound' disabled woman

Ombudsman found the tenant faced a 20-month delay before “useful action” to get her rehoused was undertaken, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

Alexandra House, headquarters for Haringey Council

Haringey Council has been ordered to pay a disabled tenant £2,000 in compensation after she became a “prisoner in her own home” for nearly two years.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman reported the resident, referred to anonymously as Ms D, faced a 20-month delay before “useful action” to get her rehoused was undertaken.

In response, the deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and planning, Sarah Williams, said the council’s handling of the case “fell below the standards our residents should expect”.

Cllr Williams confirmed that, since the investigation, the resident had been made an alternative offer of accommodation, which has been accepted.

In April 2022, after applying to join the local housing register, Ms D was told via letter she was “not eligible to join” because she was “adequately housed”. The council showed the ombudsman this response but Ms D said she “never heard anything back” and therefore applied again in July.

After a vulnerability check was carried out by the council in January 2023, following intervention from a local MP, a representative of Ms D, anonymously referred to as Ms E, explained the property was “impacting her [Ms D’s] health”.

In February, a housing officer told Ms D she could “seek a transfer on medical grounds” and supplied her with a link to the housing registration team. The officer also sent a referral form to the adult social care first response team.

In May, Ms E again complained to the council the tenant could “not manage the stairs”, “was often stuck in the property” and “could not safely use her bath” but she did not receive a response.

From August to October, Ms D did not receive a response about the referral or the transfer and was told at one point to make another online housing register application if her home was unsuitable due to medical needs.

By October the council had offered Ms D £150 to apologise for the “failure to progress an occupational therapist assessment” which is needed to assess if a home needs adaptations.

Ms E again raised how Ms D was stuck in her home and Ms D made another housing register application.

In November, the occupational therapist (OT) visited and said it was a “priority” for Ms D to be “rehoused and that adaptations to the property were not being recommended”.

The OT confirmed in their report Ms D could not use her bath and “struggled” with stairs and reiterated the home was “not suitable” and without support Ms D was left “housebound”.

The ombudsman noted “no useful action” was taken after the meeting in February and the OT’s assessment was unnecessarily “delayed by eight months”.

In January 2024, Ms E asked why Ms D did not have a housing band yet or an assigned housing officer.

Sheltered housing was proposed by the council in April but Ms E confirmed this was not what Ms D wanted and that she had “been consistent in asking for a like-for-like housing transfer”.

The ombudsman said “valuable time” was “wasted” discussing supported housing and other options in 2024 when the OT had recommended a “housing transfer”.

In June, the council suggested Ms D consider private sector housing options but the ombudsman found this option was not further clarified and Ms D again reiterated she was a “prisoner in her own home”.

Between October 2024 and March 2025 the council set up a direct offer of a “ground floor property” but Ms D declined this as it had exterior stairs and “she did not feel it was a like-for-like offer”.

The ombudsman said there was a “substantial delay” as a direct offer should have been made “much sooner”.

When asked why it took the council until March to set up the offer, it had no explanation.

Following its investigation, the watchdog ordered the council to pay Ms D £2,000 to compensate for the delay in transferring her. The council was told to allocate a senior officer to monitor the handling of the case, producing fortnightly updates.

Cllr Williams said: “We regret the delays finding suitable accommodation and have paid compensation.

“The findings of the ombudsman are taken very seriously and have been used to improve our services, including case handling and communication with residents.”

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