Blind man left in unsuitable housing in Harrow awarded £6k

A registered blind man has been awarded more than £6,000 because a north London council took 18 months to find him a property where he did not have to climb stairs.

The man had applied for housing support after falling several times and injuring himself at home due to his condition worsening.

An investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGO) found Harrow Council was at fault for delays which caused the man, referred to as Mr X, and his family to avoidably live in unsuitable accommodation.

Harrow Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) it acknowledged it didn’t meet the required standards and apologised for “the distress caused”.

Considering Mr X’s circumstances, the “injustice experienced” by his wife and children, and the impact on his family, the LGO determined the payout should be the maximum of £350 per month for the duration they were in unsuitable housing.

The LDRS added the local authority was ordered to pay him £6,300.

In early 2023, Mr X had been living in private rental accommodation with his wife and children.

Mr X is registered blind and made a housing application in March after his sight got worse.

In the application, he claimed to have fallen on the stairs several times at the property, resulting in injury, and wanted to move somewhere without the need to climb stairs, the LDRS added.

Mr X complained the council was not treating his case as urgently as it should when he was still living in the unsuitable house in June 2024 despite bidding on multiple council properties, according to the LGO report.

In July, after the council refused to uphold the complaint, Mr X escalated the issue to the LGO before the family were finally provided temporary accommodation in November.

A Harrow Council spokesperson said: “While we strive to meet the highest standards for our residents, on this occasion we did not meet those expectations.

“We are reviewing our housing register application process to ensure lessons are learned from these delays and to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.

“Mr X has now been offered suitable temporary accommodation, and we remain in contact with him to ensure all outstanding issues are fully resolved.”