Council to pay nearly £30,000 after wheelchair user left in unsuitable home for eight years

A man from Birmingham has been left in unsuitable temporary accommodation for eight years despite the city council knowing it did not meet his needs as a wheelchair user, an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has revealed.

Birmingham City Council has agreed to pay the man behind the complaint nearly £30,000 for the time he and his family has spent in the accommodation.

The report revealed that for the past eight years, the man has been unable to access the property without the help of others because it has a step up.

He told the Ombudsman he has fallen while trying to get inside the property, and his wife has had to drag him inside, including when she was pregnant.

He has also not been able to wash without help because the home only has a bath and no shower, the report noted.

In 2017, Birmingham put the man on its “Planned Move List” for households who need alternative temporary accommodation.

The man asked the council to review the suitability of his accommodation under s202 in October 2020. The council responded in September 2021. It said that it accepted the accommodation was unsuitable, the report states.

The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council at fault for failing to review the suitability of the man’s accommodation despite his complaints.

The Ombudsman also found delays in the council completing suitability reviews and other statutory homelessness reviews.

Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: “For too long this man has had to live with the indignity of being unable to access his home and bathe without help.

“Despite the council knowing the property is unsuitable, it has failed to offer him a proper alternative since 2014.

“I appreciate the great pressures the council is under to provide housing for homeless people, but it should not have taken so long in this man’s case."

King added: “I am pleased the council has accepted the findings of my report and acted swiftly to provide the remedy I have recommended which recognises the length of time the family has suffered.”

To remedy the injustice caused, the council has agreed to apologise and pay the man a total of £29,700, based on £300 for each of the 99 months he has already spent in unsuitable accommodation.

It will also pay the man £300 a month until it either makes an offer of suitable alternative accommodation or otherwise ends its homelessness duty to him, the report revealed.

It was stressed by the Ombudsman that the council should “liaise with Mr X and his representative to attempt to agree a method of payment which does not impact on entitlement to any welfare benefits or otherwise disadvantage the family.”

Birmingham has additionally agreed to remind staff about their duties to complete reviews for people who are in temporary accommodation within the statutory timescales, as recommended by the Ombudsman.

Birmingham City Council has been approached for comment.

Lottie Winson