Council to pay homeless man over email error

A homeless man who missed out on a new home due to a council error will receive a payout.

The man, who was in the top priority of Northumberland County Council's housing register, complained that staff amended the email address held for him which meant he did not receive an offer of a property.

The Local Government Ombudsman was unable to make a finding as to whether the change was made accidentally or intentionally.

The council apologised to the man, whose identity remains anonymous, and will pay him £1,400 to "reflect the injustice and distress its faults caused him".

According to a report by the Local Government Ombudsman, the man said a member of council staff amended the email address the council held for him, causing him to miss out on an offer of a property.

The report said the council called the man, who had been sleeping rough for several years, in November 2023 to inform him that an offer of housing would be made via email, but he never received it.

He contacted the council two weeks later and was told the offer had been withdrawn with the property allocated to someone else, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The council said the man did not answer two phone calls during the offer period or answer a letter which had been sent to an agreed correspondence address.

An investigator found the email error was a fault on the part of the council but was unable to make a finding as to whether the change was made accidentally or, as the man alleged, intentionally.

The man received a direct offer of a one-bedroom flat in June 2024, but declined the offer as he did not want to live in the location offered.

As well as issuing an apology and a payment, the council said procedures had been reviewed after the mistake was caused by "human error".

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