A young mother who was left homeless and sofa surfing while pregnant has been refused housing by Hounslow Council, despite the Local Government Ombudsman finding the authority guilty of a “catalogue of errors” that significantly worsened her situation.
The woman, who first approached the council in May 2022 after her relationship with her parents broke down, has spent over two years struggling to secure stable accommodation for herself and her child. An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman revealed that Hounslow Council took 77 weeks—over a year and a half—to properly assess her housing application.
The Ombudsman concluded that, had the council acted appropriately and in line with its statutory duties, the woman would have been offered a secure tenancy before the birth of her baby. Instead, she was left sofa surfing with friends and eventually moved into a shared one-bedroom property outside the borough shortly before giving birth—accommodation deemed unsuitable for her needs.
Despite these findings, the council has refused to offer her the next available two-bedroom home as recommended by the Ombudsman. It has instead offered her £3,750 in compensation to recognise the distress and time spent in unsuitable accommodation.
Amerdeep Somal, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, condemned the council’s handling of the case:
“Hounslow council has left a vulnerable mother and her child without the security of knowing where she would call home at a particularly desperate time of her life.
All the evidence shows that if Hounslow had acted correctly, the woman would have had the safety of a social tenancy when her child was born.”
In its report, the Ombudsman found that the woman had received misleading advice from the council, including being told she was on a non-existent priority housing band and that making a homelessness application would reduce her chances of being housed. The investigation also revealed that she was not allocated a housing officer and that her repeated requests for information went unanswered.
After she moved to another borough, the council told her that relocation would not affect her eligibility for housing, but she was later removed from the register for doing exactly that. She is now unable to apply for housing in her new borough as she has not lived there long enough to qualify.
In a pointed statement, Ms Somal said:
“I am disappointed that, by rejecting my recommendation to offer her the next suitable property it has available, the council is failing to fully accept the gravity its incorrect advice and practice has had on this woman and her child.
I now call on local councillors in Hounslow to do the right thing and accept the recommendation I have made to house her as soon as possible.”
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However, Hounslow Council remains defiant. Councillor Sue Sampson, Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Homelessness, stated:
“We maintain that at all times in this case we acted legally and in line with housing policy.
During the period in question, [the mother] secured her own accommodation outside the borough. Our priority and responsibility around housing need is for people residing in Hounslow who cannot house themselves.
We cannot accept all the Ombudsman’s recommendations in this case. The Council does not accept that there is evidence that a homelessness application would have been successful, even had one been made.”
Campaigners and local housing advocates have criticised the council’s refusal, accusing it of failing one of the borough’s most vulnerable residents. The case has reignited debate over local authority responsibilities and the treatment of homeless families in London’s housing system.
With public pressure mounting, all eyes are now on Hounslow councillors to see whether they will reconsider the Ombudsman’s recommendations—or continue down a path of refusal that has already caused significant hardship to a mother and her child.
