A South London council has been fined £6,750 after a family of five were left in a one-bedroom flat for almost a year.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman – which regulates councils – said Lambeth failed to rehouse the family soon enough despite being aware they were living in overcrowded conditions. 

The unnamed father and mother, known only as Mr X and Mrs X, told Lambeth Council they were homeless in October 2018 while Mrs X was pregnant with the couple’s first child.

Lambeth gave the couple a room in a hostel with an attached bathroom and shared kitchen.

In October 2019 Mr X asked the council for a larger flat.

Mrs X was pregnant with the couple’s second child and he said the family needed somewhere bigger.

Lambeth told him it didn’t have anywhere larger available. 

The couple’s second child was born in March 2020 and they had a third child a year later in April 2021.

Despite Mr X sending multiple complaints to the council, the family weren’t given a bigger house until March 2022 – 11 months after the birth of their third child and two years after the birth of their second.

The ombudsman said Lambeth had failed to provide the family with a suitable home.

A ruling from May 15 reads: “The council says, based on the dimensions of the room and the council’s hostel standards, the accommodation was designated as suitable for three people.

"However, since moving to the hostel, Mr and Mrs X’s family grew and the accommodation therefore became increasingly overcrowded. 

“The council says the family’s occupation of the hostel room breached the hostel space standards after the birth of Child B in March 2020.

"The Council says the main reason for the time taken to move Mr and Mrs X is the shortage of housing, especially family-sized housing, and the number of other households requiring temporary accommodation.

“I acknowledge the council’s comments regarding the shortage of social housing available.

"However, if a council has decided an applicant’s current accommodation is unsuitable, it is in breach of its statutory duty under section 206 of the Housing Act.

"We consider delay in transferring the applicant to suitable accommodation, even when this is due to external factors such as a shortage of temporary accommodation, is service failure.”

Lambeth Council said: “Lambeth is facing a severe housing crisis, which means that over 38,000 people are on the council’s waiting list for social housing.

"Every night, the council provides temporary accommodation for over 3,150 homeless families, at a cost of over £10 million a year, because of the huge gap between the level of demand for accommodation and the housing supply.

“We do everything we can to find the most suitable accommodation available for homeless families, in the face of a severe shortage of affordable housing, but this shortage means that even those with high priority have to wait longer than we would like.

“Nevertheless, we have fully accepted the ombudsman’s findings in this case, and we have apologised for the distressed caused to this resident and his family.

"In line with the recommendations, we have paid Mr X £6,750 to recognise the distress caused by the delays he has experienced.

“We have reminded staff to ensure the correct time-frames are given when notifying applicants about their right to request a review.

"We are also looking at new and innovative ways to increase the supply and qualify of temporary accommodation, helped by better IT systems to improve casework management.”

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