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A London borough has been forced to apologise to homeless families after keeping them in hostel and B&B accommodation for eight months.
Redbridge Council was subject to two separate investigations by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman over complaints about failures to properly house homeless families.
Councils are legally only allowed to place homeless households in B&Bs for a limit of six weeks before being found appropriate accommodation.
The authority has agreed to act on the ombudsman’s recommendation that it moves other families out of unsuitable accommodation right away.
It has also promised to adopt a new policy on allocating temporary accommodation.
“While I recognise the pressure councils – particularly in London – are under to provide suitable accommodation for large numbers of homeless families, the law is clear on this,” said Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
“The fact there are pressures does not diminish the council’s duties, or the impact felt by the families.
“Our investigations point to these two families being part of a wider problem in Redbridge with numbers of families spending too long in temporary accommodation. However, the council appears to be making steps to reduce the problem and to act on my recommendations to put things right for the two families.”
One of the families, made homeless after their landlord repossessed their home, was kept in one room with a shortage of beds.
The other family, which included a child with autism and learning disabilities, was placed in a room in a private building outside the borough.
Redbridge Council accepted that the accommodation was unsuitable after two months when the family complained about damp, poor mattresses and vermin, but did not find an alternative for six months.
Farah Hussain, cabinet member for housing at Redbridge Council, said: “Redbridge Council has apologised to the families whose cases were reviewed by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, as the service they received fell below acceptable standards.
“We know that we have more work to do to further improve the accommodation available to our residents when they are most in need, and we will continue to innovate as we strive to meet this goal.”
She added that the council has committed to having no families with children in B&Bs for longer than six weeks by the end of March 2018.