London borough to pay nearly £8,000 after mother and child placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation for more than two years

The woman (Ms X) and her daughter suffered domestic abuse and were made homeless after leaving their home.

In early 2020 Lewisham accepted a duty to house them.

Between early 2020 and July 2023 the council placed them in temporary accommodation.

In July 2023 Lewisham moved Ms X and her daughter to new temporary accommodation, referred to as Property A, located outside of the council’s area.

The mother requested a suitability review of Property A, with her solicitor saying she could not manage the internal stairs, leaving the borough had disrupted her medical care and her daughter’s studies were being negatively affected during an exam year.

Her complaints were backed up by an occupational therapist, who stated that Property A was not suitable for Ms X even on a short-term basis and she needed housing either on the ground floor or a block with a working lift.

Lewisham accepted that Property A was not suitable for the woman and her daughter. It said it would find her alternative temporary accommodation as soon as possible.

Between September 2023 and April 2025, the council allocated five different properties to Ms X to replace Property A. These were referred to as properties B, C, D, E and F. Each of the properties was eventually found to be unsuitable due, either to being located in an area of risk or unsuitable on medical grounds.

After these offers, the council wrote to Mx X saying she had rent arrears for property A, F and another property which it offered to her before the period covered by the Ombudsman’s investigation.

Over this period, the council did not uphold any of the complaints made by the woman and her solicitor over her treatment.

The Ombudsman found issue with Lewisham’s behaviour around risk assessments for offers of temporary accommodation, with some offers made in areas already identified as unsafe for the complainant.

Failure to complete these risk assessments resulted in the woman being made offers of accommodation which were unsuitable. This caused her distress, which was injustice, the Ombudsman said.

There was also no evidence Lewisham asked its medical assessor to consider medical evidence for almost a year after it had it available. This was a significant delay and was fault by the council.

The Ombudsman also found that the repeated offers of alternative accommodation that did not meet Ms X's medical needs or safety requirements, likely due to failing to carry out proper assessments, was fault. This caused Ms X distress and left her in unsuitable accommodation for 29 months, compounding the injustice.

Finally, the Ombudsman found fault in the decision to charge the woman rent for properties A and F simultaneously. It should not have charged rent for temporary accommodation she had not occupied.

Lewisham has agreed to apologise and pay Ms X £7,750 in recognition of the distress, frustration and uncertainty caused to her. It will also write off the rent arrears she has accrued due to the council’s errors.

The figures comprise of £250 per month from the date the council concluded the property was unsuitable. The figure considers the inconvenience caused while living in property A, and that Ms X requested to remain in property A in November 2024, and £1,000 to recognise the distress caused to her by the council’s offers of unsuitable alternative temporary accommodation.

A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We apologise to this resident that her temporary accommodation did not meet her family’s needs.

“We accept the findings of the report and have put measures in place to ensure that residents are better supported and concerns are identified and addressed more promptly. Like councils across London, Lewisham is facing an acute housing crisis, with the need for temporary accommodation continuing to increase.

“While we strive to place everyone in suitable and decent accommodation, high demand and ongoing challenges in sourcing properties have made this extremely difficult.”

Harry Rodd