LGO slams council for failure to consider disability discrimination duties in housing case

The Local Government Ombudsman has sharply criticised a local authority for failing to consider its duties under the Disability Discrimination Act , after the council failed to rehouse a family with a disabled daughter in a suitable property.

The Ombudsman, Dr Jane Martin, accused Havering Council of having made an “unfair and illogical” decision. She recommended that it review the wording of its "ambiguous" lettings policy.

The family in question have three daughters. The eldest suffers from multiple sclerosis, which affects her mobility, vision, continence and some cognitive processes. She needs assistance accessing the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs.

Her mother made a housing waiting list application. This was supported by a report from an occupational therapist, who said the daughter’s mobility was likely to deteriorate and that she might require a ground floor bedroom and bathroom.

The application was placed in the highest priority band, with three-bedroom eligibility. A three-bedroom property with two ground floor reception rooms became available. The mother felt that her daughter could use one ground floor room as her bedroom.

Her bid had the highest priority, but Havering concluded that the property was unsuitable. The council argued that the daughter required a ground floor bedroom and, if she used a ground floor reception room as a bedroom, there would be four bedrooms and the family was only assessed to need three. The local authority confirmed the bid would have been successful if the daughter had not needed to use a ground floor room as a bedroom.

Recording a finding of maladministration, Dr Martin concluded that, had it not been for the daughter’s disability, the family would have been rehoused.

“The council’s decision was unfair and illogical,” she said. “It failed to give due consideration to the family’s circumstances and its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (now replaced by the Equality Act 2010) and failed to follow its own Equalities and Diversity Policy.”

The LGO also described Havering’s lettings policy as “ambiguous” and accused the council of failing to apply it fairly and properly.

She recommended that the local authority offer the family suitable accommodation “without delay”, pay them £4,000 in recognition of the injustice they had suffered, and arrange and pay for an additional week of respite care for the eldest daughter. Dr Martin also called on Havering to review the wording of its lettings policy.