Council makes woman homeless - then charges her £75 to get belongings back
A woman with mental health problems was kicked out of her council accommodation and made homeless before being charged £75 to get her personal belongings back, according to a report.
Kensington and Chelsea Council cancelled the woman's booking at the hotel she was staying at in May last year, forcing her to live on the streets for several nights.
Most of her personal belongings were still in her room and without her knowledge hotel staff packed up her things and the council took them into storage. The woman was told she would get her belongings back but had to pay £75, My London reports.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman have now ordered Kensington and Chelsea Council to pay the woman £100 in compensation and apologise for kicking her out of temporary accommodation without assessing her mental health needs.
In the Ombudsman report, the woman, known only as Ms X, allegedly told the hotel and her support worker she was going away for 10 days on a trip she takes every year. However, when she returned her booking had been cancelled, with the hotel claiming she had not been seen "for over two weeks".
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Ms X, who lost her housing benefit as a result, emailed the council saying she had not left the accommodation and she was offered five different hotels across London, which she refused for various reasons.
In the report, the woman claims she was evicted without being given a 28-day eviction notice period and said her room passed the health and safety check.
The hotel previously raised health and safety concerns regarding the woman's stay and provided the council with photos of Ms X’s room, according to the report. While she was away the council sent Ms X a warning letter about the condition of her room and the impact it was having on other guests.
While the woman was away, the hotel packed up her belongings and the council took them into storage. The council told Ms X she’d get them back as soon as she had settled accommodation.
The woman said in the report that she was upset someone had cleared out her room without her permission. Ms X has still not got her belongings back. She had to pay £17 to access them but the council had moved them to a different location and the cost went up to £75 plus VAT to get them.
Ms X, who said she has multiple health problems and a problem with her mental health, claimed she was put in new accommodation without the council properly assessing her needs. Kensington and Chelsea Council admitted it hadn’t asked Ms X about her medical and support needs and gave her a dedicated housing officer to deal with her case but took three months to give her one.
The Ombudsman said on balance it was satisfied the council had “good reasons” to evict Ms X but slammed its record keeping.
They said: “The Council said the Hotel called to say they had not seen Ms X for over two weeks, they had not been told she was going away and her belongings were still in her room. An inventory was carried out and her possessions taken into storage.
"The Council say it discussed whether to evict Ms X over the telephone or on Teams. There is no contemporaneous evidence about the decision making which is fault. The Council say the Hotel had concerns over health and safety due to the condition of Ms X’s room. Ms X says her room passed the health and safety test but has not provided us with any evidence of this.”
Kensington and Chelsea Council was also slammed for the way it communicated with Ms X and the watchdog found it did not consider the woman's circumstances before moving her belongings to a new facility and increasing the fee for accessing them.
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The Ombudsman ordered Kensington and Chelsea Council to review charges for Ms X accessing her things and to train staff on the proper procedures for dealing with homelessness cases. It also said the council had to do more to keep a record of its communications and decision-making process, which was also noted in a previous complaint.
Kensington and Chelsea Council told the Mirror: "We sincerely apologise for failing to meet the high standards we set ourselves in this case and have fully accepted and complied with the Ombudsman's agreed actions.
"We take our responsibilities to residents who are at risk of homelessness very seriously and have since reviewed our processes. We will continue to work with residents to address their specific circumstances and ensure they have safe, healthy places to live.”
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