Ealing Council to pay compensation for housing disabled mother in B&B 14 months

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that Ealing Council breached legal limits by placing a disabled pregnant mother, referred to as Miss Y, and her baby in a bed‑and‑breakfast for 14 months. By law such accommodation is unsuitable for families with children and may be used for a maximum of six weeks. The council delayed assessing her housing‑register application and priority banding, and failed to consider medical information, leaving the family in unsuitable shared‑facility accommodation until November 2025.

The Ombudsman ordered the council to apologise and pay £6,000 in compensation for the unsuitable accommodation, plus an additional £150 for distress caused by the priority‑assessment failures. Ealing Council said it will review its homelessness procedures, tighten the use of B&B accommodation, and improve housing allocation processes to ensure medical information is properly considered.