A North London council has been ordered to pay £2,500 to a mother and her three children after they were left in unsuitable housing for 10 months.
An investigation by the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found Brent Council at fault for its "failure to secure suitable accommodation" for the mother, referred to as Ms X, and her children, between May 2025 and March 2026.
The property was deemed inappropriate due to Ms X's health issues, with an excessive number of stairs making access to the bedroom and bathroom challenging, according to the Ombudsman's report.
The LGO also found that the council "wrongly discharged its homelessness duty," causing Ms X "an injustice." Despite the local authority accepting its mistake in withdrawing support, it has still not reinstated it or provided any alternative accommodation, according to the report.
Brent Council accepted the main housing duty to Ms X in July 2024 and provided temporary accommodation for her and her three children. After she was moved to alternative temporary housing in December 2024, Ms X requested a review into its suitability and said that she only wanted social housing – not private rental accommodation.
However, in February 2025, the council offered a private rented property, which Ms X accepted despite deeming it unsuitable for her family. The council then discharged its homeless duty the following month.
Ms X has a number of health issues which cause “extreme pain in her legs and lower back” and claimed that the property had too many stairs for her to be able to access her bedroom and the bathroom, according to the LGO. She subsequently requested a review, which the council completed in May of last year and concluded that the property was not suitable. This meant that the duty should be reinstated and her case reassessed.
However, Ms X complained that, despite the conclusion of the review, the council “has not reinstated the duty or provided suitable accommodation for her family”, according to the report. In March 2026 the local authority told Ms X that it was reassessing her circumstances and would aim to make a new offer and this would either be in the private rented sector or further temporary accommodation, depending on availability.
Ms X asked the council to prioritise her family by offering them social housing but was told that it would discharge its duty through the private sector and it “was not obligated to provide permanent social housing”.
Brent Council also advised Ms X that, as she had been awarded Band D priority because the current property was having a negative impact on her heath, she would lose this if the council offered her new temporary accommodation. In March 2026, Ms X told the council that she wanted to continue bidding for social housing and maintain her Band D priority.
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The Ombudsman found that the council was at fault for not making efforts to secure suitable accommodation following its review, despite being aware the property was found to be unsuitable on medical grounds. The LGO has ordered Brent Council to apologise to Ms X and pay her £2,500.
The report states: “We are mindful of the difficulties in finding housing in London and nationally. However, the law says temporary accommodation must be suitable and the duty to provide suitable accommodation is immediate and cannot be deferred.
“I consider the council should make a symbolic payment of £250 per month for the 10 months between May 2025 when it assessed her property was not suitable and March 2026 when it outlined Ms X’s options and she chose to remain in the property.”
Brent Council has apologised to Ms X and her family for “the shortcomings identified” by the LGO in this case.
A spokesperson added: “We have accepted the Ombudsman’s recommendations and have taken action, including paying compensation to recognise the distress and difficulties caused by the unsuitable accommodation, confirming the homelessness duty owed to Ms X, and reviewing our internal procedures to strengthen how we monitor cases where applicants remain in unsuitable accommodation following a suitability review.
“We remain committed to supporting households experiencing homelessness and to continually improving our services to ensure people receive the assistance they need as quickly and effectively as possible.”