Disabled student forced to sleep in car after council failings
A watchdog's ruled the “poor response caused her distress and impacted on her mental health”
A disabled student who was “clearly in crisis” had to sleep in her car for two nights and stay in an inaccessible hotel where she could not bathe or shower for four nights because of Bristol City Council failings.
The authority has apologised and paid £400 compensation to the woman, who uses a wheelchair, after the Local Government Ombudsman upheld her complaint.
The watchdog concluded that the council’s “poor response caused her distress and impacted on her mental health”.
Homes and housing delivery committee chairman Cllr Barry Parsons (Green, Easton) said it “sincerely apologised” and that the organisation had made “significant changes” to how it records information about people’s accessibility needs to prevent it from happening again.
The ombudsman’s report said the woman, Miss B, had to leave her student accommodation at short notice and that the local authority accepted it owed her a main housing duty because she was officially classed as homeless.
It said the council decided that any accommodation would need to be on the ground floor with level access or a lift, a walk-in shower, and room to move around in a wheelchair.
The report said she was moved into accessible self-contained interim accommodation in August 2024 but experienced antisocial behaviour from neighbours and told the authority she felt unsafe, but that it did not act quickly enough.
It said: “The case notes suggest that Miss B would stay at her friend’s house overnight while the council found somewhere else or decided she should return to the interim accommodation.
“However, this became several nights and there is no record of contact from the council about a way forward.
“Miss B then stayed in her car for two nights which was unsuitable for her, before the council decided that she should not return to the interim accommodation.”
The report said the authority then moved the woman to various hotel rooms as they became available, including one in October 2024 that had no accessible bath or shower.
It said: “Miss B told the council but it could not move her for another four nights.
“The council then offered Miss B a bungalow.
“However, when she went there she found the property was not accessible.
“Miss B could not access the shower and it did not have the dedicated parking she needed.”
The report said the student told the authority that being moved to different hotels at very short notice made it difficult to book accessible transport.
It said: “The council has acknowledged that it failed to offer her suitable accommodation when it offered her an inaccessible hotel room without showering facilities in October 2024, and then when it offered her an inaccessible bungalow.
“The council relied on information that was not fully accurate, but this is still a failing by the council.
“I acknowledge that the council had provided Miss B the self-contained interim accommodation.
“In addition, it is for the council to decide whether accommodation is suitable, but it did not do this quickly enough when Miss B was clearly in crisis.
“The council was also at fault when it offered Miss B the same hotel that had no accessible showering or bathing facilities in June 2025.
“Miss B had to move from hotel to hotel as and when accessible rooms were booked by guests, or became available.
“This is an inevitable part of interim accommodation in hotels and this is why the council tried to avoid placing her in hotels.
“However, there is little on the council’s case notes to suggest that it considered how Miss B would be able to travel between hotels given her physical disabilities.
“I can see that the council booked taxis but these were not always accessible.
“This lack of professional curiosity is further fault and contributes to Miss B’s feeling that the council did not fully consider the impact on her of being homeless and disabled.
“Overall, Miss B spent two nights in her car, and four nights in a hotel where she could not bathe or shower.
“Miss B was also left distressed, frustrated and uncertain when the council did not decide quickly enough whether she could return to the interim accommodation at which she felt unsafe and harassed by other residents; and when it offered her the same unsuitable accommodation twice.”
Cllr Parsons said: “We sincerely apologise for the distress caused by this situation and deeply empathise with those involved.
“We are committed to learning from this and improving the services we provide.
“We fully accept the findings of the Ombudsman and have taken the recommended steps to remedy the situation.
“To prevent this from happening again, we have reviewed the way we record information about people’s accessibility needs and have made significant changes to ensure the process is now clearer for all staff booking accommodation.
“We will continue to review this process as part of our wider work to improve the way we allocate emergency accommodation.”