Kingston council has wrongly refused to help a woman fleeing domestic abuse with housing. 

A watchdog investigation found Kingston Council delayed helping the woman for five months, as it failed to properly consider her applications.

The woman, named Ms X in the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman report, claimed the council's failings left her living with the risk of domestic abuse for longer than necessary. 

The authority has agreed to pay her £400 for the 'distress and uncertainty' she experienced.

Ms X applied to join the council's housing register to flee domestic abuse in November last year. 

She included a letter from an independent domestic violence advisor (IDVA) which said she also wanted to make a homelessness application and it was not reasonable for her to stay in the property.

The council ruled later that month there was no evidence Ms X needed to be rehoused, which meant she was not added to the housing register. 

But the watchdog found no evidence the council considered the circumstances of Ms X's application involving domestic abuse when coming to its decision, while it failed to factor in the advisor's supporting letter.

The ombudsman said the authority was also at fault for failing to consider Ms X's homelessness application. 

It eventually accepted it had a duty to prevent her from becoming homeless five months later in April, after she made a fresh application.

The report said: "There is no evidence to show Ms X's circumstances changed between November 2023 and April 2024 when the council accepted the duty. 

"The council therefore delayed by five months in accepting the duty and providing support to Ms X to prevent her homelessness."

It added: "I also consider the council would have decided Ms X qualified for the housing register in November 2023 as she would have had reasonable preference by virtue of the council accepting the prevention duty.

"I cannot know, on balance, what priority the council would have awarded to Ms X if it had placed her on the housing register in November 2023. 

"This is because I do not know if the council would have accepted Ms X was fleeing domestic abuse in November 2023. I therefore cannot know if Ms X would have successfully bid for a property.

"But the fault caused distress to Ms X. It also caused uncertainty to Ms X which the council should remedy by now considering her priority."

The ombudsman told the council to apologise to Ms X and pay her £400 for the distress caused by its 'failure to properly consider her housing register and homelessness applications'. 

The authority must also review its procedures for considering housing register applications to make sure officers look at all the information provided by an applicant.

A Kingston Council spokesperson said: "We are committed to doing all we can to provide quality housing for residents and ensure people in the borough have a safe and comfortable place to live. 

"We are currently supporting close to 1,000 families with temporary accommodation and the housing crisis across London and nationally is a critical situation, with demand for properties increasingly outstripping supply.

"We accept the ruling of the ombudsman in this case. 

"We have apologised to Ms X and we have made the payment of £400 to acknowledge the distress and uncertainty caused. 

"Ms X is now on the housing register and we have written to her on October 17 to notify her of her status and priority in line with the ombudsman's request."