Pregnant Woman and Child Left in B&B for Over a Year
Watchdog finds Ealing Council went beyond the six week legal limit
By law, B&B accommodation is deemed unsuitable for families with children. Picture: AI Generated
July 14, 2026
Ealing Council left a disabled pregnant mother and her child in an unsuitable bed and breakfast for over a year.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has ruled that the borough breached legal limits by placing the family in the B&B for 14 months. By law, B&B accommodation is deemed unsuitable for families with children and can only be used for a maximum of six weeks.
The mother, referred to in the report as Miss Y, uses a wheelchair and has complex medical needs. She originally approached Ealing Council as homeless in February 2024.
The B&B itself was physically unsuitable for Miss Y due to her disabilities. She was placed in accommodation with stairs, which severely restricted her mobility.
The Ombudsman found Ealing Council failed to provide Miss Y with suitable accommodation from 15 March 2024 until 12 November 2025. She spent eight weeks and four days in bed and breakfast accommodation before living for nearly a year in council-managed temporary accommodation with shared facilities – the Ombudsman ruled that this was unsuitable for her needs.
The watchdog noted that medical professionals had informed the council about the impact the shared facilities were having on her health. Despite this, the council did not provide self-contained accommodation until November 2025.
The report says: “The council’s continued failure to provide Miss Y with suitable accommodation while she was homeless was a fault.”
Miss Y later left the accommodation because of its impact on her health and, together with her baby, had to stay with family and friends for around six and a half months before being rehoused in self-contained temporary accommodation.
During her 14 months in the bed and breakfast, the council was found to have failed her by delaying assessing her housing register application and priority banding. Due to this delay, Miss Y was unable to bid on suitable properties.
The Ombudsman found this to be an “unreasonable delay,” stating that the council failed to act promptly upon receiving her medical information from her midwife to assess her priority band. The council also failed to deal with Miss Y’s complaints appropriately.
The Ombudsman also found fault in the council’s January 2025 decision on Miss Y’s housing register priority. While the council obtained advice from a medical adviser, it failed to properly consider all of Miss Y’s medical information before making its decision and did not tell her she had the right to request a review.
The Ombudsman’s report notes that there was a delay in complaint handling, which the council itself accepted was outside of its standard timescales.
Ealing Council has agreed to apologise and pay £6,000 for the impact of the unsuitable and unavailable accommodation, together with a further £150 for the distress and uncertainty caused by the failures relating to her medical priority assessment and review rights.
A council spokesperson said: “We accept the findings in the report and sincerely apologise to the resident for the failings identified in this case and the impact this had on them. We have agreed to the Ombudsman’s recommended actions, including a formal apology and financial compensation to acknowledge the distress and inconvenience caused.
“We are taking steps to ensure this does not happen again. This includes reviewing our homelessness procedures to ensure that bed and breakfast accommodation is only used where absolutely necessary and for no longer than permitted and that we actively seek suitable alternative accommodation for households as quickly as possible.
“In addition, we are strengthening our housing allocation processes to make sure medical information is properly considered, decisions are clearly recorded and residents are informed of their right to request a review.
“We are committed to learning from this case and improving our services for residents who are in housing need.”
Philip James Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter