A Central London pensioner has been awarded £650 in compensation after Westminster City Council repeatedly offered her homes deemed unsuitable, leaving her in limbo for months.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found the council had caused “distress and uncertainty” to the resident, identified only as Ms E, and ordered it to apologise, backdate her place on the housing register to August 2023, and provide the payment.
The Ombudsman concluded that when Ms E first contacted the council in June 2023, it should have taken stronger steps to help her remain in her home or secure new accommodation. This could have included liaising with her landlord to avoid eviction.
However, it acknowledged that since her landlord had raised the rent to a level she could not afford — and she refused the increase — it was “more likely than not” the council could not have stopped her becoming homeless.
Despite knowing her eviction notice would expire in August 2023, the authority did not fully consider its duty to rehouse her. Nor did it recognise at the time that she may have qualified for community-supported housing.
According to the watchdog, it took Westminster Council two months to respond after assessing Ms E in July 2024. Although she was told she had the legal right to remain in her property after the eviction notice expired, the Homelessness Code of Guidance makes clear it is rarely reasonable to expect someone to stay beyond that point.
The delays meant Ms E “had no certainty as to what support the council would provide to her or when”. The £80 initially offered as a goodwill gesture was ruled to be insufficient compared with the distress caused.
“The £80 offered to Ms E in recognition of its poor communication does not reflect the significance of the injustice caused by the faults identified in this investigation,” the Ombudsman stated.
Following her approach to the council, Ms E — who is over 60 and has mental health struggles — was offered properties in November 2023, April 2024, and July 2024. She declined them, citing location concerns, including proximity to an abusive ex-partner.
She also rejected community-supported housing, saying it was more suited to those with significant mobility issues or higher dependency, and feared it would damage her mental health.
By July 2024, she had left her property, staying with friends until finding a private rental in November 2024.
The watchdog has now directed the council to pay £650 “to acknowledge the delays causing distress and uncertainty in what would have been an already difficult time for Ms E”.
