Council Delays Left Man with PTSD Homeless for Six Months
Interviews for new homeless applicants introduced after watchdog criticism
Hammersmith and Fulham Council's Housing Department
February 24, 2026
A man who was left homeless for six months after Hammersmith & Fulham Council failed to review his housing application has been awarded £1,750 in compensation.
The resident, known only as Mr X, and who suffers from PTSD, made a homelessness application with the borough in August 2024 but wasn’t placed in alternative accommodation until February 17, 2025, a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report found.
The Ombudsman said the council’s actions caused Mr X an injustice and that it was clear from records the council took no action on his homeless application until November 25, 2024.
Hammersmith and Fulham said it accepts causing the delay and should have identified Mr X needed interim accommodation when he provided them with his medical records in December 2024.
It also accepted failing to respond to “various contacts” from Mr X and his representatives and offered him £250. It then offered him £250 per month for the period of December 2024 and March 2025, equalling £750.
But the ombudsman said the payments should be backdated to August 9, 2024, when Mr X submitted his homelessness application. It also called on the council to draw up an action plan to address the delays in allocating caseworkers to homeless applicants and to apologise to Mr X.
It also said the council must provide guidance to officers working in the homeless team about the council’s duty to provide interim accommodation to those with a priority need, which includes those who have experienced domestic abuse. The council has agreed to these recommendations, the ombudsman’s report shows.
Mr X approached the council as homeless on August 9, 2024, and said he was staying with a friend in his housing association property but could no longer stay there. He told the council he had complex PTSD and had experienced a stroke.
Mr X’s representatives chased the council for progress with his application in September and November 2024. This prompted the council to allocate a case officer who carried out an assessment on November 25, the report shows. The council asked Mr X for supporting medical evidence.
When he provided it a month later, he told the council he had experienced domestic abuse from the person who provided him with accommodation. Mr X’s representatives raised this with the council.
In January 2025, Mr X’s representatives chased the council again and said Mr X had been told to leave his friend’s flat by February 12.
They contacted the council again without success on February 3. Mr X phoned the council on February 6 but did not receive a call back. His representatives lodged a complaint on February 11 and chased the council on February 13.
On February 16, the council wrote to Mr X telling him it had accepted the relief duty. On or around February 17, Mr X was admitted to hospital and later discharged into a crisis recovery house.
The council provided Mr X with temporary accommodation on March 3, 2025, and he has since accepted private rented accommodation with a two-year tenancy.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said, “We have sincerely apologised and offered compensation to Mr X for the delays in assessing his case. He was soon offered temporary accommodation and we now give new homeless applicants an interview as soon as we receive their application. This has improved the speed in which we meet new applicants and complete assessments.”
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter