A South London woman was left sofa surfing and sleeping on public transport after a council delayed placing her in emergency accommodation. A watchdog found Wandsworth Council should have housed the woman in July last year, but did not do so until September.
A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report found the council’s delays caused the woman, referred to only as Miss X, distress as she was deprived of suitable accommodation. She said she was forced to sleep in dirty conditions as a result.
Miss X applied to the council as homeless in May 2024, as the friend she was living with could no longer accommodate her. The council accepted it had a duty to prevent her becoming homeless in early July, by which time she was already sleeping on buses and sofa surfing.
Miss X asked the council to consider placing her in emergency accommodation, adding that she was due to have a major operation but could not confirm the date as she had nowhere to recover. The council told her it had no reason to believe she was in priority need and asked her to send medical evidence.
Miss X was due to view a private property in mid-July but the landlord cancelled the viewing. The council notified her about further properties that were available to view, but she said she could not attend as she was ill.
Miss X complained to the council in September, stating it had failed to provide her with emergency accommodation, consider her medical conditions or decide on her case within the set timeframe of 56 days.
The council did not place Miss X in emergency accommodation until later that month, when it finally accepted it had a duty to relieve her homelessness.
Responding to Miss X’s complaint in October, the authority apologised for delaying enquiries into whether it owed her the relief duty, taking too long to consider her medical evidence and the lack of contact from her caseworker.
Council caused woman ‘significant injustice’
Miss X took her case to the ombudsman, who ruled the council had a duty to provide her with emergency accommodation from July onwards. The report said: “Its failure to do so caused Miss X a significant injustice as she had nowhere suitable to stay. She ended up sofa surfing and she spent several nights sleeping on public transport.”
The watchdog told the council to apologise to Miss X for its delay in offering her emergency accommodation and pay her £700, on top of the £300 it had already given.
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said: “Wandsworth Council is committed to providing safe, secure housing for those that need it. We regret the delays in this case and have taken measures internally to ensure this does not happen again. We have since apologised to the individual affected and paid the compensation ordered.”
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