A domestic abuse victim who received death threats was left living in temporary accommodation for years despite repeated warnings about the risks she faced, an ombudsman investigation has found.
Barking and Dagenham Council has been ordered to apologise and pay compensation after the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman concluded that it failed to properly assess the woman’s housing situation.
The woman, identified only as Miss F, was living in temporary accommodation and waiting for a permanent council home when she informed the authority in February 2023 that she had a non-molestation order and a restraining order against a former partner. She told the council that she had received death threats and that her former partner had been convicted of assaulting both her and a family member.
While the council’s temporary accommodation team said it would consider relocating her, it also warned that housing shortages meant she might need to look for a private rental property instead.
The following month, a multi-agency meeting involving police, social services and housing representatives discussed her case. Following which they recommended that she be moved because of concerns that the perpetrator could locate her at her address.
Despite that recommendation, no action was taken.
The ombudsman found that the situation escalated further following another domestic abuse incident in February 2025, prompting Miss F to contact the council again.
However, the council responded the following month by stating there was no basis for granting her additional priority on the housing register or moving her to alternative temporary accommodation.
According to the ombudsman’s report, the authority argued that a restraining order was already in place and there had been no indication until recently that it was likely to be breached.
After exhausting the council’s complaints process, Miss F took her case to the ombudsman.
The investigation concluded that she had remained in unsuitable accommodation and in the wrong housing band for three years, causing significant distress and uncertainty. The report stated that she and her children had lived in fear of violence and were scared to leave their home.
Miss F was eventually offered permanent accommodation in October 2025.
The ombudsman found the council was at fault for failing to properly consider whether her temporary accommodation remained suitable and whether she should have been given additional priority on the housing register because of the threats she faced.
As a result, Barking and Dagenham Council has been instructed to pay £500 compensation and issue an apology.
The ombudsman also recommended that the council introduce clearer criteria for deciding when someone can no longer safely remain in temporary accommodation and establish a more transparent process for assessing requests for additional housing priority.
A spokesperson for Barking and Dagenham Council said the authority accepted the findings and apologised for the distress caused.
They added that new processes are being introduced to ensure assessments are completed, recorded and communicated to residents, while domestic abuse related concerns will trigger clearer and faster decision making across housing and safeguarding services.
