London council at fault after placing disabled mother and children in mouldy accommodation, ombudsman rules

This included placing the family in a property the mother could not access as she had mobility needs, as well as two that were outside the borough and her support network, both during her pregnancy and when she had a newborn.

After the council placed the family in a property it considered to be suitable, the mother asked it to review the suitability but it failed to respond.

The woman also reported broken lifts and a leak that the council failed to address, which led to damp and mould.

Two months later, an officer visited the family and the conditions were so bad, they were told they needed to move out immediately. They were placed in alternative accommodation while the issues were fixed, but the council failed to protect the family’s belongings from damp and mould damage.

The council then wrongly told the mother she had to return to the same property because the damp was fixed.

However, it had already decided without telling her that the property was not suitable for her mobility needs.

Not long after the family returned to the unsuitable property, the youngest child was hospitalised due to illness caused by mould spores. The council moved the family to unsuitable bed and breakfast accommodation for three months, which is longer than the law allows, until they were found new temporary accommodation in August 2023.

Amerdeep Somal, the local government and social care ombudsman, said: “I was appalled by what has gone on here. This mother and her children have had two horrendous years, being bounced around different accommodation by the London Borough of Lewisham.

“She has told us of repeated instances where she did not know where she would be staying from one night to another, and on one occasion she and her children had to sleep in her car because the council did not tell her where to go until late at night.

“In all, the family were moved between accommodation around 20 times, including stays in hotels without cots or facilities to prepare milk for the baby, and in one case they were exposed to a dangerous police incident.

“One property was so riddled with damp and mould that her youngest child was hospitalised. This is no way for anyone to live, let alone a woman with small children.

“I am pleased the council has held its hands up to what has gone wrong.”

The council also failed to properly consider the mother as a priority on its housing register for permanent social housing, which meant the family lived in unsuitable accommodation for two years, and did not carry out its duties to her under the Equality Act.

A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We have accepted the ombudsman’s recommendations in this case and apologise unreservedly to the resident and her family.

“We expect our housing to be properly maintained, whether managed directly by us or leased from the private sector, and we are sorry this was not the experience of this family.

“Along with all London boroughs, we are facing an acute housing crisis and increasing challenges sourcing temporary accommodation.

“We are currently supporting more than 2,900 families and individuals in temporary accommodation and there are 11,000 households on our housing register waiting for permanent housing. We are striving to improve the standards of temporary accommodation in the borough and continue building new homes as well as buying and refurbishing homes.”

This case under the care watchdog came at the same time that the Housing Ombudsman launched a special investigation into Lewisham Council for “repeated failings”.

The local authority has a maladministration rate of 85%, rising to 90% for leaks, damp and mould.