London council left man fleeing domestic abuse street homeless for five weeks
A man who fled his home due to domestic abuse was left homeless by an east London council for five weeks, the social care watchdog has found.
London council left man fleeing domestic abuse street homeless for five weeks #UKhousingA man who fled his home due to domestic abuse was left homeless by an east London council for five weeks, the social care watchdog has found #UKhousingThe London Borough of Waltham Forest has agreed to apologise and pay the resident £1,600 following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
The watchdog said the council had “let this man down”, criticising a three-month delay in providing assistance and its failure to consider the risks posed by his abuser.
According to its report, the resident first asked the council for help in January 2024, saying he could no longer live with relatives who were abusing him.
Read more
Despite asking for help again a month later, the council only offered hotel accommodation in mid-March when the resident’s representative threatened to take legal action.
The ombudsman report also said the council did not then change the resident’s hotel when he said his abuser knew where he was staying, causing him distress.
The man then lost his possessions after the council said it would not help him store them unless he paid them an upfront fee of £500 – money which he did not have.
During the period when the man was in hotel accommodation, the council failed to confirm a hotel booking, meaning the man was again street homeless for three nights, during which time he said he was assaulted.
Amerdeep Somal, local government and social care ombudsman, said Waltham Forest had “let this man down” when he approached the council for help.
Ms Somal added: “He told me he had to make repeated requests for assistance before the council took action and it was not until the council was threatened with legal action that it did anything practical to help.
“This should not have happened, and I am pleased the council has acknowledged the gravity of its errors and accepted the recommendations I have made. I hope other survivors of domestic abuse will be treated better in future.”
The ombudsman’s investigation found the council failed to consider the man’s circumstances when he first approached it as homeless and failed to consider whether he was vulnerable as a result of the domestic abuse he suffered.
There no evidence of how the council assessed the man’s hotel accommodation as suitable. The watchdog also criticised Waltham Forest for the three-month delay in accepting it owed him the main housing duty.
Ahsan Khan, deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and regeneration at Waltham Forest Council, said: “We apologise to the resident for their experience – we know that we did not reach the high standards that we set ourselves in this case.
"We take on board the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s findings and will ensure we use these to improve the service we provide for residents in the future.”
Related stories
