Council fined for leaving abused man homeless

A domestic abuse victim was left to sleep on the streets for five weeks despite asking Waltham Forest Council for help, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found.

The man, who has not been named, asked the council for help in January saying he could no longer live with relatives who were abusing him, the report said.

The council has agreed to pay £1,600 to acknowledge the man's distress.

Councillor Ahsan Khan apologised and added the council took on board the report's findings and would "ensure we use these to improve the service we provide for residents in the future".

He added the council was "aware it did not reach the high standards it sets itself".

The Ombudsman reported the council did not help the man until March after the man's representative threatened the council with legal action.

It found the council then offered the man hotel accommodation but did not change the hotel when he said his abuser knew where he was staying.

Despite this, the man stayed at the hotel but a booking error on behalf of the council meant he was then left homeless again for another three nights, during which time he said he was assaulted, the report said.

The Ombudsman's investigation also found the man had asked the council for help storing his belongings while he was homeless but was told this was only possible with an upfront payment of £500. As he was unable to pay this, he lost his possessions.

The report summarised that the council had failed to consider his circumstances when he first approached them as homeless and also failed to consider whether he was vulnerable as a result of the domestic abuse he had suffered.

The investigation also criticised the council for the three-month delay in accepting it had a duty to support him with housing.

Amerdeep Somal, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, said: "Waltham Forest council let this man down when he approached it for help.

"This should not have happened, and I am pleased the council has acknowledged the gravity of its errors and accepted the recommendations I have made.

"I hope other survivors of domestic abuse will be treated better in future."

The Ombudsman has instructed the council to remind staff of the rules around housing, especially to those who may be vulnerable.

Waltham Forest Council told the Ombudsman it had agreed to create an action plan to reduce its delays in considering the main housing duty to people in its area.

It would also review its policy on how it protected the property of homeless people to ensure it complied with the law.

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