Wandsworth Council Compensates Family After Housing Seriously Ill Father in Inappropriate Property
A South London father with a serious medical condition was forced to live in unsuitable temporary accommodation with his family for nine months, a watchdog investigation has revealed. Wandsworth Council has now paid the man's partner £2,400 in compensation and apologized for failing to properly consider the family's medical needs when placing them in a property with stairs he could not manage.
Watchdog Finds Council Failed to Assess Medical Needs
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report detailed how the council offered the family a property with stairs despite the father's serious illness, which made the accommodation completely unsuitable for his condition. The watchdog determined this failure caused the family significant distress and inconvenience over the extended nine-month period.
Prior to this placement, the family had already been living in challenging conditions in a third-floor flat without elevator access for several years. This arrangement became particularly problematic when the father's health deteriorated, making entry and exit from the building extremely difficult.
Housing Assessment Identified Specific Needs
In November 2024, Wandsworth Council conducted a formal review of the family's housing requirements and determined they needed a three-bedroom property either on the ground floor or in a building with elevator access up to five floors maximum. Despite this assessment, the council proceeded to offer the family a different type of accommodation.
On November 26, 2024, council representatives contacted the man's partner, identified as Mrs B in the official report, to discuss offering them a three-bedroom property spanning the ground and first floors of an apartment building. Mrs B accepted this offer, and the family moved into the property in January 2025.
Complaint Process Reveals Systemic Failures
By June 2025, Mrs B had filed a formal complaint with the council, stating the property was unsuitable, hazardous, and in a state of disrepair. The council initially rejected her complaint regarding the disrepair issues. However, when Mrs B escalated her complaint in August 2025, the authority acknowledged that the property's stairs indeed made it unsuitable for the family's needs.
The council admitted it had not properly considered the family's medical requirements at the time of the housing offer. According to the ombudsman's report, council representatives contacted Mrs B to discuss alternative temporary accommodation options, but she declined, expressing frustration with the temporary placement process and stating she did not want any further temporary housing arrangements.
Ombudsman Criticizes Council's Decision-Making Process
The watchdog investigation concluded that Wandsworth Council should have explored whether the property's stairs were acceptable during its initial pre-offer conversation with Mrs B. The ombudsman noted that Mrs B had initially rejected both the council's apology and the £2,400 compensation offer for the period from November 26, 2024, to August 28, 2025.
The report recommended the council remake the compensation offer to provide Mrs B with another opportunity to accept it. Wandsworth Council confirmed it has now paid the full £2,400 compensation amount to Mrs B. The ombudsman did not investigate the property disrepair claims separately, as Mrs B has initiated legal proceedings regarding those specific issues.
Council Response and Commitment to Improvement
The official report stated clearly: "We agreed with the council's view that it failed to properly consider Mrs B and her family's medical needs when it offered the current accommodation. This meant the family lived in unsuitable accommodation for nine months."
A Wandsworth Council spokesperson responded: "We take our responsibilities towards vulnerable residents incredibly seriously and we are committed to providing appropriate temporary accommodation for those that need it. We are sorry for the distress this individual experienced and have offered an apology, and paid the compensation in full. We are committed to learning from this experience to improve our processes and ensure it doesn't happen again."
