Ombudsman urges social landlords to learn lessons from wider orders on poorly handled temporary moves

Richard Blakeway said there were strong reoccurring themes across the cases involving Trident, Wigan Council and Moat, namely “unclear procedures, inadequate oversight, poor communication and records, and a loss of focus on the individual’s circumstances.”

The cases included one where a resident ended up living in a caravan and another where a resident ended her tenancy because of the failings.

In the Trident case, the Ombudsman said a resident was relocated for a year while the landlord dealt with a leak. “Often the landlord frequently had no records of the move or were unable to update him on what was happening.”

An independent review found Trident’s temporary moves policy at the time was not only overdue for a review, but it also was brief and not supported by any procedure documents.

Staff did not know about the policy and there was no oversight of the decanting service, the review found, resulting in the resident in the case being left in a hotel with no fridge or chair.

Trident has now developed a new Decant Policy ensuring residents are fully consulted before any move. It has also created a new Wellbeing and Decant Officer role.

The landlord acknowledged the impact the case had on the resident and said it deeply regretted the distress caused.

“We have taken the Ombudsman’s findings seriously and used them as a catalyst for meaningful change,” it added.

The wider order made against Wigan Council meanwhile followed a severe maladministration finding over the local authority’s refusal to provide a temporary move.

The resident concerned was forced to live in a caravan.

A subsequent independent review into Wigan’s temporary moves found 37 overdue cases, with the longest being 888 days. The average temporary move was 286 days.

“These were for various reasons such as repairs and hoarding,” the Ombudsman said. “The review found that decisions not to move a resident temporarily out of their home was not recorded. It recommended the landlord start to record this. It accepted this and introduced it with immediate effect.”

Wigan acknowledged the Ombudsman’s findings. “The investigation highlighted significant shortcomings in applying our Decant Policy, documenting decisions, and communicating empathetically during a period of displacement. We recognise that failing to assess and record the resident’s needs caused prolonged hardship and distress, which was unacceptable.”

The council has since completed a full review and implemented immediate improvements, including recording of all decant decisions, strengthened oversight of temporary move requests, and a refresher to staff on the need for policy compliance.

In relation to the third landlord, Moat, an independent review was ordered following a lack of temporary move in a structural and damp and mould severe maladministration finding.

The Ombudsman said the review found that a lack of records made it hard to know why a temporary move was not arranged, despite it being promised in the landlord's stage 2 letter.

There was no move considered when the repairs started and the resident eventually ended her tenancy.

Moat has now introduced a vulnerable resident, temporary moves, risk triangulation case meeting. These meetings cross check temporary moves, complaints, customer non-contact, no access, complex repairs and vulnerable customers.

Apologising, Moat said: “We should have done more to keep them updated, manage our contractor, and proactively follow up on our promises - we’re acting on the Ombudsman’s recommendations to make meaningful improvements.

“We’ve introduced new roles and ways of working in our Quality Homes and Asset team, so we can better monitor our contractors and manage their performance.”

Richard Blakeway, Housing Ombudsman, said: “These cases show the human cost of poorly handled temporary moves.

“The disruption, financial implications and shortage of alternative accommodation mean landlords, and sometimes residents, can be reluctant to make a temporary move. These reviews reveal landlords acting too late to make the move or losing sight of the resident who has been relocated. This meant one resident was displaced for 888 days.”

He added: “There are strong reoccurring themes across 3 different landlords: unclear procedures, inadequate oversight, poor communication and records, and a loss of focus on the individual’s circumstances.

“Awaab’s Law places clearer responsibilities on landlords around temporary moves. These reviews provide valuable learning for other landlords to test whether their policy and practices are robust, helping to ensure they can meet the new regulations and provide better outcomes for residents.”

Harry Rodd