A council has been ordered to apologise to a homeless and disabled man after failing to respond to his emails caused him ‘significant distress’.

The man accused Bracknell Forest Council staff of discriminating against him and that in providing him with accommodation, he was asked to sign a tenancy agreement without seeing the property first.

He also claimed that the authority had 'not supported him properly', and its communication with him 'had been poo'r.

However ,the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) found no evidence that he had been discriminated against.

The man – referred to as Mr X – had been in a traffic accident in 2016, causing him to be in constant pain. He had also developed claustrophobia and agrophobia.

Since 2019, the council worked with Mr X, who was rough sleeping in a secluded area of the woodlands.

Over a few years, the man was offered accommodation which he declined, as he said it didn’t meet his needs.

Mr X said he needed a rural and secluded place to live, with large rooms and high ceilings, multiple windows and doors, and over two-storeys.

He declined two offers of accommodation from the council as he didn’t consider them to meet his needs.

One of these was a flat near the forest he had been rough sleeping in – but he refused it as it was not over two floors.

Adult and social care services at the council confirmed that it had had difficulty in finding where he had been sleeping, and that having lived in the woods for eight years, Mr X must have moved daily, which they considered ‘unlikely’.

There had been further difficulties with Mr X’s GP, who he had gone on ‘strike’ with, according to the surgery. He had admitted to taking illegally sourced pain killers and had declined an offer of therapy for his claustrophobia.

In June 2023, Mr X formally complained to the council alleging poor treatment from staff members, and that he had been ‘lied to for eight years’.

He took issue with his first offer of temporary accommodation, in which he alleged the council had not set up a viewing for.

The authority said it was unable to do this as it was through an external provider.

The ombudsman ruled that the council had considered his needs well given his ‘detailed and specific requirements’.

Evidence shows that the authority had also tried to accommodate Mr X’s disabilities through different means, including meeting in public spaces. Based on this the LGO said he hadn’t been discriminated against.

But the council was found to be at fault for some of its communication with Mr X, as he had to chase up a response from the council multiple times from December 2023 to 2024.

Based on this, the council was ordered to apologise.