Hounslow Council misled care leaver on housing offer, watchdog rules

Hounslow Council misled a 21-year-old care leaver by wrongly informing him he would receive a council house, a watchdog has determined. The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that the council provided incorrect details about the housing offer, which was for a property managed by a housing association at a substantially higher weekly rent than initially suggested.

The young man, who entered the UK as an unaccompanied minor and was in the local authority's care, was told that his permanent accommodation would be a council property due to his status as a care leaver. However, when the offer was made, he was presented with housing association properties. He was informed the rent for one such property would be £232.18 per week, including service charges. At the time, he was a college student intending to start full-time work after completing his studies.

Concerns over affordability and 'one-offer' policy

The care leaver raised concerns about the affordability of the housing association property, noting it was more expensive than a council-owned home. He was told by the council that they operated a 'one-offer' policy, implying he had to accept the property or risk losing his right to be housed in the area. He estimated that accepting the offer would leave him with only £300 per month for travel, bills, and food.

The council stated it considered the property affordable, acknowledging it had not made clear that housing association properties could be offered to care leavers. The Ombudsman noted that while the council's allocations policy mentioned other property types could be offered, the incorrect information in the local offer led the young man to expect a council property. This created a fault and raised his expectations.

Furthermore, the care leaver was reportedly told by his advisor that refusing the offer without a significant reason could lead to him being considered intentionally homeless. The council declined to comment on this specific point when the complaint was escalated. The council stated that the financial assessment was based on his circumstances at the time, finding the rent affordable because he was on universal credit and eligible for the full rent payment. They could not base decisions on hypothetical future income.

The Ombudsman ruled that the care leaver was significantly disadvantaged because the council's 'one-offer' policy for care leavers does not include a right of review, unlike most other housing offers.

Council's response and next steps

Hounslow Council has been directed to issue an apology to the young man and to review the suitability of the housing offer made to him. If this review concludes that he had valid grounds to refuse the property, the council must reinstate his care leaver priority and make a new offer.

A spokesperson for Hounslow Council stated: "The council does not comment about individual cases. However, the council has acted upon the Ombudsman’s findings and recommendations in full, to resolve the issues raised. The Local Offer has been updated, and we continue to seek to provide a high level of support to all our care leavers."