Homeless Man Had to Wait Seven Weeks for Council Appointment
Watchdog found blunders prolonged time he ended up rough sleeping
The council is increasing the size of the team that responds to requests for assistance from the homeless
October 13, 2026
Wandsworth Council was at fault for delaying dealing with a man’s homeless application while he was rough sleeping, a watchdog has found. Wandsworth Council repeatedly asked the man for documents he had already provided.
A new Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report said the man, referred to only as Mr X, faced significant injustice as the authority’s failings left him uncertain over whether he could have been housed sooner.
The watchdog found the council took seven weeks to hold an appointment with Mr X to assess his homelessness on May 20, after he told the authority he was rough sleeping and had nowhere to stay. It said this was not a reasonable timeframe to assess his application.
The council agreed it had a duty to relieve Mr X’s homelessness and referred him to its private sector team. He viewed a property on May 21 and asked to view other properties.
The report said that while Mr X immediately provided the council with information it asked for, the authority delayed uploading documents onto his file and repeatedly asked him for information he had already provided.
It said the council delayed providing Mr X with a copy of his personal housing plan until June 18, one month after their appointment.
The authority also said a housing officer would discuss Mr X’s case with him by July 18, but the officer did not contact him at all. An officer from the private sector team did not contact him until August 7.
The report said: “Mr X told the council he liked the property he had viewed in May, but he wanted to view other properties so he could make an informed decision. The council did not arrange for Mr X to view any other properties until August. This is a significant delay.
“The council told Mr X it could not progress with any property offers because Mr X had not provided the relevant documents. However, as I have explained above, Mr X had already provided the documents. Therefore, there was no reason why the council could not have progressed the application.”
The watchdog said the council’s failings caused Mr X “frustration and upset at an already difficult time”. He viewed a property and accepted it on August 12.
The council apologised to Mr X in response to his initial complaint, and said it had hired more staff for its homelessness department to prevent some of the delays he faced. The watchdog also told the authority to pay him £350 for the significant uncertainty and upset he was caused.
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said: “We accept the ombudsman’s findings and apologise to Mr X for the delays in dealing with his homelessness application and the frustration and uncertainty this caused.
“We have agreed to make the recommended payment to Mr X and will take the findings of this investigation into account as we continue to improve our homelessness service.”
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter