Council Left Family in Leaky Flat for Nearly Two Years

Watchdog orders compensation to be paid after finding fault

The accommodation was assessed as unsuitable in May 2022. Picture: AI generated

July 7, 2026

Hounslow Council repeatedly failed a woman and her disabled children by leaving them in leaking temporary accommodation for almost two years.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that the council was at fault in several areas including its failure to find suitable accommodation. The council has been forced to pay compensation to the mother.

In November 2021, the mother, referred to as Miss X in the report, and her three children (two of whom have diagnosed disabilities) were evicted from their home. Following their eviction, the council placed the family into temporary accommodation.

Due to the family’s specific needs, the council’s medical advisor recommended that Miss X bypass the standard bidding system and receive a “direct offer” of permanent housing. However, the Ombudsman’s investigation found that “the council delayed making a direct offer of accommodation”.

In May 2022, the council opened a social care assessment for Miss X’s disabled children – three months after she requested it. It would take until October 2022 for the assessment to take place.

In September 2022, the temporary accommodation that the family were living in was officially assessed as unsuitable. One month later, almost a year after she was first evicted from her home, Miss X formally reported a leak in the roof of her temporary accommodation.

The report notes that this leak was disruptive and directly affected the bedroom. Despite an officer attending in late October, the leak was not fixed.

The Ombudsman found that the failure to review her housing plan when she reported the leak constituted a fault on the part of Hounslow Council. In November 2022, Miss X’s MP contacted the council.

This led to her being offered hotel accommodation, which she declined because it lacked cooking facilities and was too far from her children’s schools. Then, in January 2023, the leak was finally fixed.

It was only then that Hounslow Council finally referred Miss X for housing support. The watchdog ruled that this was a fault, as it should have occurred much sooner.

In March 2023, the council agreed to provide specific support packages for the children. In July, Miss X complained to the council about the delays and poor communication. It wasn’t until August 2023 – almost two years after initially becoming homeless – that the family was made an offer of permanent accommodation.

To remedy the injustice and distress caused by the local authority to Miss X and her family, the council agreed to apologise and pay compensation of £1,100. The Ombudsman found “fault with the council for poor communication, delaying arranging her move, and delaying completing social care assessments for her children,” and the complaint was formally upheld.

A spokesperson for Hounslow Council said: “The council is constantly striving to improve its performance, and this includes having the appropriate regard for LGSCO findings. In this instance, we have taken the agreed actions to prevent similar faults and have apologised to and compensated the complainant.”

Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter