Brent Council has apologised for its “shortcomings”
A North London council has been criticised for failing to help a young woman who had been made homeless following a family dispute.
At one stage the woman was housed in a male-only hostel where she claimed she was “unable to secure the door for several days”, according to an Ombudsman report.
The woman – referred to in the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) report as Miss B – complained about the way Brent Council dealt with her case when she presented as homeless in September 2024. An investigation into the case by the Ombudsman found the local authority “did not deal with her application properly”, causing Miss B “distress and uncertainty”.
Miss B, who has health problems, complained that the council failed to ensure the emergency accommodation provided was suitable and ignored her when she said the hostel was inappropriate. The LGO suggested that it could be argued the male-only hostel “was not suitable for a potentially vulnerable young woman”.
Following a family dispute in 2024, Miss B approached the council as homeless. A housing officer contacted a family member who confirmed what had happened and informed them that Miss B “was not allowed back in the house”, according to the LGO report. The officer asked her to return some paperwork but there was no discussion about where she would stay over the weekend.
Later that day, the Support Multi-Agency Response Team (SMART) – which ensures vulnerable adults in immediate risk get safeguarding help – arranged emergency accommodation for Miss B over the weekend as it had not been supplied by the housing team.
Records show that Miss B returned to the housing department on September 23 with documents confirming her medical conditions, reasons she left her previous accommodation and financial information. The housing officer then completed a housing assessment and provided Miss B with a list of hostels and B&B accommodation.
Brent Council’s customer service centre then contacted the housing officer on September 25 asking if the hostel accommodation could be extended as she had lots of belongings and the caretaker was about to change the locks. This left Miss B with “nowhere to go and she was very anxious”, according to the LGO report.
The housing officer said there was no record of the housing department booking the accommodation and did not contact either the safeguarding team or SMART to find out who had arranged it.
On September 27, the safeguarding team found Miss B an alternative but three days later she contacted the housing officer to say she was currently in hospital due to “anxiety induced problems” and felt she was being “passed from place to place”.
Miss B later found her own accommodation in a shared house but lodged a formal complaint to the council about the conditions in both hostels. She told them that the second hostel was male-only, she didn’t have a key to the door for two days, there was no heating, and she was left waiting outside on the street for hours, the report adds.
The council responded to say that it should have accepted that she was homeless in October 2024 and offered her £45 but found no fault with the condition of the properties. Miss B then complained again in April 2025 as she had not received the £45 so the council offered to pay an additional £100.
She then raised another complaint in May 2025 regarding the way she was treated in September and October of the previous year. The housing team responded to say that there was no evidence of mistreatment in the initial contact but acknowledged that it should have confirmed to her in writing that the case had been closed and offered an additional £50.
Following the investigation, the Ombudsman identified a number of failings by Brent Council – including that there was “no evidence” that the local authority had considered whether there was reason to believe Miss B might be homeless, it had not completed a Personal Housing Plan, and should have looked for more suitable accommodation.
The LGO also criticised the delay in making the initial £45 offer and the low amount, as well as the council’s response to Miss B’s complaint. They said that these failings caused her significant anxiety, uncertainty and frustration. The council has been ordered to pay Miss B £300.
A Brent Council spokesperson said: “We apologise for the shortcomings in the way Miss B’s homelessness application was handled and have accepted the Ombudsman’s findings. We are committed to improving our services to ensure residents receive the support, communication and housing assistance they are entitled to, and we have carried out the actions recommended by the Ombudsman.”
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