The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) said Lewisham Council failed to uphold the woman’s human rights by housing her in temporary accommodation without enough space for her to live with her child.
The mum, known only as Mrs X, was unable to bathe properly in the flat, which she complained had a sewage problem, a lack of hot water and insufficient central heating.
A few days after she moved into the property, her carers—who Mrs X relied on to help her wash, prepare food and do the laundry— told the council there was not enough space for them to care for her safely in the flat.
Internal emails seen by the Ombudsman showed Lewisham knew the flat was unsuitable as early as August 2023.
But according to the LGO judgement from February, the council delayed officially assessing the suitability of the property for five months.
In the meantime the mum’s abusive former partner tracked her location down. The Ombudsman said Mrs X’s physical health conditions would have made it ‘difficult to escape a dangerous situation’ if the partner had turned up at the property.
The Ombudsman added: “The impact on Mrs X of being left in the unsuitable property was profound.
“Mrs X could not bathe properly. The care workers could not provide personal care in the property.
“Mrs X could not attend medical appointments. Mrs X could not receive procedures to support health conditions, because the environment in the property was not conducive to recovery.
“Mrs X was located by the perpetrator of domestic abuse and lived in fear of further abuse.
“These are significant injustices to Mrs X. In leaving Mrs X in unsuitable accommodation for the period August to June 2024 and without sufficient space for [her] to live with her child, the council failed to have due regard for Mrs X’s Article 8 right to private and family life.”
The mum was eventually moved to alternative accommodation by Lewisham in June 2024.
The LGO ordered the council to pay her £3,550 compensation and apologise to her for the handling of her situation.
The Ombudsman noted similarities to a separate case highlighted in a June 2024 report, where a mum and her children were placed in unsuitable temporary accommodation by the council for over a year.
Following the June 2024 report, the council was ordered to produce an action plan showing how it was addressing faults identified in the case.
The Ombudsman has requested an update on the council’s progress with the action plan.
Councillor Will Cooper, Lewisham’s Cabinet Member for Better Homes, said: “We recognise the significant impact of unsuitable accommodation on residents and the frustration of waiting for long periods for decisions from the council.
“We are already making sure that the findings from this investigation are being shared among all relevant departments, with a particular focus on best practice when working with victims of domestic abuse.
“We were clearly at fault in this case, but it is important to also note the role of the housing crisis currently gripping Lewisham and the rest of London. The rising costs and low availability of housing is putting huge pressures on us and our staff and too often resulting in poor outcomes.”
