London council ordered to pay compensation for 'injustice' caused to homeless woman

It follows a ruling by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman last month, which found multiple faults in the local authority’s response to a woman living in temporary accommodation.In a report the regulator describes how a woman, referred to as ‘Miss X’, first raised disrepair issues with the managing agent of her property in June 2024. On inspection, the agent found that “the front door handle did not work properly, the landing light did not work, the ceiling in the living room needed to be redecorated, and the garden was overgrown”. Despite its findings, the managing agent failed to fix these issues, leading Miss X to raise the problem directly with the council in November that year. The ombudsman found the council “should have taken action” to ensure the managing agent carried out the repairs. As it was, by July 2025 – over a year after the issues were first reported – the fixes still had not been carried out. Tammy Hymas, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said the local authority had taken the ombudsman’s findings “very seriously” and had apologised for “the mistakes made and avoidable distress it caused”Haringey Council/ LDRSAt this point, instead of ensuring the issue was resolved, the council “encouraged Miss X to pursue the matter herself” and incorrectly told her the managing agent was primarily responsible for the repairs. The regulator concluded that the local authority caused further “injustice”, when it failed to inform the woman of her right to a Section 202 review of aspects of her homelessness application.Later, when Miss X was faced with eviction from her temporary accommodation, the council did not rehouse her until the date of the eviction itself. Here, the council admitted that it did delay in rehousing Miss X. The ombudsman welcomed this acknowledgement and the accompanying apology issued by the council “for the distress caused”.It also recognised the shortage of temporary accommodation, especially in London. This came after the local authority “provided evidence” that it delayed rehousing “because of the number of families ahead of Miss X on the transfer list”.Read MoreNevertheless, the regulator said it had “seen no evidence” that the council “took proactive steps” to source alternative housing for Miss X when she faced eviction, describing the delay as a fault that caused her further “distress and uncertainty”.In its ruling, the ombudsman ordered the council to apologise to Miss X for “the injustice caused” by multiple faults it identified. The council must also “develop an action plan” to help ensure its housing staff correctly follow procedure in the future. The local authority must now pay the woman £1,000 in compensation and an additional £200 “in recognition of the injustice caused” by its incorrect handling of her complaints.These remedies must be completed by Friday, 4th September, three months after the date of the ombudsman’s ruling. Responding to questions from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) Tammy Hymas, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said the local authority had taken the ombudsman’s findings “very seriously” and had apologised for “the mistakes made and avoidable distress it caused”.She added: “We have already taken steps to improve our services, including issuing guidance to staff on responding to reports of disrepair in temporary accommodation.”Cllr Hymas said that acting with “transparency” to improve housing in Haringey was “a key priority” for the minority Green administration, which came to power following the local elections in May.The co-deputy leader added: “We are committed to learning from this case and providing the high standard of service our residents deserve.”