A mum has claimed she “lost her possessions” after council delays responding to her being served an eviction notice meant the landlord had already changed the locks. She told the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) that when she returned home with her children one day they “couldn’t access their property or belongings”.
An investigation by the LGO found Brent Council was at fault for delays in handling the woman’s homelessness application and for failing to act after she received a Section 21 notice – the legal document a landlord uses to start the eviction process. The LGO recommended a payout of £2,150 for providing “unsuitable accommodation” for three months and the “distress and uncertainty” caused.
The resident, referred to in the LGO report as Ms X, first contacted the council in November, 2023, for help with her housing situation. She complained of a number of issues with the property, including damp and mould throughout the whole house, as well as problems with overcrowding. Ms X also advised the council that her landlord had issued her with an eviction notice, according to the report.
Ms X then advised the council in February, 2024, that she had received a possession order from the landlord the previous month that was set to expire at the end of July the same year. However, the LGO report found no evidence that the council “took any action” following this.
The repair works were ultimately ‘completed’ in March, 2024 but Miss X said some of the issues had not been fixed and made a formal complaint about the council’s handling of the case. In June, 2024, Brent Council acknowledged that it “could have accepted the homelessness duty at the time of the home visit [for] the disrepair issues” rather than leaving Ms X in unsuitable accommodation for three months, according to the report.
The local authority also advised her at this time that it would accept the main housing duty and offered Ms X £1,150 to reflect the delay – but no alternative accommodation was offered. When a council owes housing duties, it is also required to protect the applicant’s personal property if there is a risk it may be lost or damaged.
Ms X told the council again in July 2024 that the possession order expired at the end of the month but the LGO once more found no evidence that it took action at this point. The report states: “Ms X has been caused distress and worry at not knowing what action the landlord would take and whether her landlord would take her property away from her.”
Mum and children ‘extremely distressed’ when locked out
There was also no evidence that the council took any action in September after being told by Ms X that she had received an eviction notice, which was due to expire in early November 2024. The landlord then changed the locks when the notice expired leaving Ms X and her children unable to access the property which “caused them extreme distress”, according to the LGO.
In the report, the investigator wrote: “The council knew from September 2024 Ms X had received an eviction notice which expired in early November 2024. At this point it had accepted the main housing duty, but it had not offered Ms X any accommodation. When Ms X told the council her landlord had changed the locks on her property it should have been aware there was a danger that Ms X’s property could be lost or damaged.
“I cannot see the council took any action to help Ms X protect her possessions, which is fault. This caused Ms X distress and uncertainty. I cannot say had the council taken action that Ms X would not have lost her possessions.”
On top of the £1,150 for the three-month delay in accepting Ms X’s housing duty, the LGO also recommended the council pay her £500 for the “distress and uncertainty” caused for failing to act after being told of the possession and eviction order, and an additional £500 for not taking any action to protect her possessions.
Brent Council apology in full
A spokesperson for Brent Council said: “We sincerely apologise to Ms X for the distress caused by the delays in handling her homelessness application and the failure to take timely action following the service of a Section 21 notice. We recognise the significant impact this had on her and her family, and have offered financial compensation in acknowledgement of this.
“We have also reviewed our internal processes and made improvements to ensure that homelessness applications are dealt with promptly and that appropriate action is taken when residents are at risk of losing their homes. Our priority remains to deliver timely, fair, and compassionate support to all residents in housing need.”
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