Watchdog Finds Council at Fault in Another Housing Case
Left family in unsuitable property for nine months
Wandsworth Council customer services
April 20, 2026
Wandsworth Council failed to take action for nearly nine months to rehouse a mother living in an “unsuitable” property, a watchdog has found.
The borough has apologised to the woman and offered her £500 for the distress and uncertainty its failings caused. A Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report found the authority failed to contact the woman, referred to as Mrs X, or take any substantive action on her case between June 2024 and January 2025. It also delayed responding to complaints made by the woman.
Mrs X applied to the council as homeless in October 2023, as she said her property was uninhabitable. The council accepted it owed her a relief duty to find her emergency accommodation in November.
The council then offered Mrs X emergency accommodation, but she refused this as she said it was too far from the local hospital and her son’s medical needs meant they needed to be closer.
The council accepted it owed Mrs X the main housing duty, to provide her with long-term temporary accommodation, in March 2024. This meant it accepted her current property was unsuitable.
Mrs X refused another accommodation offer from the council in May, as she said the property had damp which would affect her son’s health.
The watchdog found the council then did not contact Mrs X or take any substantive action on her case, including making accommodation offers, for nearly nine months between June 2024 and January 2025.
The report said: “This was fault. While this left Mrs X in unsuitable accommodation, on balance, I cannot say when Mrs X would have left the accommodation had the council acted during this time.
“Mrs X had already turned down two offers of accommodation by the council. The delay caused Mrs X a period of distress and uncertainty for which I have recommended a remedy.”
The council reassessed Mrs X in February 2025 after she provided new medical information and offered her another property, which she moved into the following month.
The ombudsman also found the council delayed responding to Mrs X’s complaints, which it said caused her frustration and uncertainty.
The council took almost 50 working days to reply to her stage one complaint, when its policy is to reply within 15 working days, and it took 35 working days to respond to her stage two complaint – a delay of 10 working days – according to the report.
The council agreed to apologise to Mrs X and pay her £500 for the distress and uncertainty she was caused.
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said, “We’re sorry for the distress caused to this individual and accept that we should have acted more swiftly in this case. We have offered an apology and paid the compensation ordered. We take our responsibilities towards vulnerable residents incredibly seriously and are looking at ways to ensure this does not happen again.”
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter