West Northamptonshire domestic violence victim, 18, left sleeping in car
A council will compensate a young domestic violence victim who had to sleep in his car for a fortnight.
West Northamptonshire Council apologised for refusing to house him when he said he had left home because his mother had assaulted him.
The Local Government Ombudsman said the council "does not fully understand" the definition of domestic abuse.
The authority has agreed to pay the man £750 and review its procedures to ensure it does not happen again.
The university student went to the council at the end of July 2023 and told staff that his mother had assaulted him while he was staying with the family over the summer.
He said that he had been treated in hospital for his injury, and had been sleeping in his car because he could not return home.
The authority initially housed the teenager and carried out further enquiries with police assigned to the case.
According to the Ombudsman, the officer involved felt the man had exaggerated the event and that his mother did not want him back "due to his own behaviour".The council then informed the student they did not believe he was in priority need and asked him to leave the temporary accommodation.
The student said this meant he was homeless, incurred debt and had to sleep in his car for a fortnight.
The Ombudsman said the council's failure to carry out proper enquiries resulted in him having nowhere to stay, causing "significant injustice".
It also found that the incident shows the council "does not fully understand" the definition of domestic abuseThe student was eventually given accommodation for the last month before the university term started.
The Ombudsman's report said: "The decision-making was so poor on this occasion that I will recommend a remedy for the distress caused. [The student] was a vulnerable young man who was left to sleep in his car for two weeks after being a victim of domestic abuse."
Adam Brown, the council's cabinet member for housing, said: "The Council would like to offer a sincere apology for failing to deliver the support required by the resident and I have reached out to the resident personally to offer my own apology."We accept the recommendations of the ombudsman and we are reviewing our procedures to make sure this doesn't happen again."
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