The council will pay disabled families £2,000 compensation for ‘unsuitable’ housing.

It took eight months for Enfield Council to move the family from the moldy property, reports Grace Howarth, reporter for Local Democracy.

A family who were living in ‘unsuitable temporary accommodation’ due to damp and mold will receive £2,150 compensation from Enfield Council.

A report by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman detailed the treatment of a father – named anonymously as ‘Mr X’ – and his disabled child.

Mr X declared himself and his family as homeless and was granted a relief charge and offered temporary council accommodation in July 2023 in a property outside the district.

But Mr X complained about the condition of the property “immediately after moving in” as it was moldy and damp and “very far” from his child’s school. The school was an hour and a half away.

The report said a case officer did not immediately respond to “an important email” about the deterioration from Mr X, which the council acknowledged, and instead it was only in August last year when the school and -expressed concern, the council was the first. realized there were problems.

In November the council visited the property and later in January this year agreed it was not suitable.

However, the ombudsman said: “The council could reasonably have reached its view considerably earlier than January.”

A council spokesman said the local authority accepted the ombudsman’s findings and agreed with the procedural review recommendations made in the report.

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In February the council accepted the main housing charge and in March Mr X and his family were moved to another property.

The ombudsman told the council to apologize for the delay in deciding the property was unsuitable, for failing to tell Mr X he could help store his personal belongings and for failing to deal with his application within the statutory time limits. The council also agreed to pay compensation of £2,150.

The council’s spokesman cited the “significant lack of property in London” as an obstacle to being able to house people locally and introduced “national placements”.

They said: “Our priority is to find a suitable, permanent home for families to ensure people are not living for long periods in temporary accommodation or hotels that are unsuitable and unaffordable.

“The scale of homelessness and the impact on budgets means we need to manage these pressures while ensuring that homeless families are provided with adequate housing.

“Demand for our services means responses are not always immediate, but we will prioritize resolving damp and mold issues by taking action with landlords and always seek to minimize uncertainty for residents.”

They concluded by saying landlords had a duty to provide “safe and decent homes” and those who failed to do so would be “robustly” pursued by the council.

The spokesman also referred to a damp and mold working group, which was set up in November, and the council’s “clear policy” on managing mold and condensation as a means of enforcement.

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