Temporary moves
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About temporary moves
Temporary moves can disrupt daily life and cause stress for residents. These are sometimes known as decants within the social housing sector.
Landlords use them when homes need major repairs or are not safe to live in.
Clear plans, honest conversations, and timely updates help reduce worry and confusion.
Good temporary move processes support fair treatment, protect residents’ belongings, and keep people safe. Poor planning can create delays, uncertainty, and avoidable harm.
Use the guides, reports, and case studies to plan moves well, support residents, and solve issues sooner.
Guidance
Landlord expectations
Use this guide to understand what’s expected when handling temporary moves. It gives clear steps to manage cases effectively and meet the standards set out in the Complaint Handling Code.
Resident support guide
Use this guide to make the complaints process easier and clearer.
It will help you understand your rights, know what steps to take, and get practical advice on temporary moves.
Reports
Learning from severe maladministration
Explore a collection of reports that reveal the most serious failings we see in landlord services. These reports highlight recurring issues in temporary moves such as poor communication.
Use this collection to learn from real cases, understand what went wrong, and apply practical lessons to improve your own services. Browse the full set of reports to find the topics most relevant to you.
Spotlight report on repairs and maintenance
This Spotlight report explains why repair complaints rose by 474% and what that means for you.
You will learn how trust affects every step of the repair process.
The report shows how strong relationships help repairs happen faster and with less confusion.
It also gives simple steps you can use to improve repairs and build trust.
Landlord Learning Hub
Your free training platform from the Centre for Learning
The Learning Hub gives you easy access to expert training designed for member landlords.
Create your account today and start using a wide range of resources to strengthen your complaint handling and meet the Code’s requirements.
Podcasts
Case work conversations: Temporary moves
In this episode, we discuss a case involving repairs and the temporary move of a pregnant resident with young children.
Hear from our investigator about how Raven Housing Trust responded and made decisions to ensure the safety of the resident and children.
Case studies
These case studies come from real cases we’ve handled. You can explore all published decisions via our online decision library, which we share to stay open and transparent.
No maladministration
This case shows how clear communication and reasonable actions can resolve concerns after an emergency. The landlord responded to a gas leak, checked responsibilities, and explained its decisions.
What happened:
- the resident reported concerns after a gas leak at the property
- the landlord confirmed it was not responsible for the leak but still contacted the resident
- it discussed a possible decant and acted reasonably in the situation
- the landlord investigated the gas leak and updated the resident throughout
- it checked who owned the gas pipes and supply, and signposted the resident to the gas supplier
- when the resident asked for a managed transfer, the landlord explained why the criteria were not met
- the decision followed its management transfer policy and was appropriate
- we found no maladministration in how the landlord handled the resident’s concerns
Severe maladministration
This case shows how poor planning and weak processes can cause serious disruption to residents. The landlord left the resident in temporary accommodation for years and failed to support her through the temporary move.
What happened:
- the resident was decanted for major works with little discussion or consultation
- she was expected to live in the temporary home without floor coverings or window coverings
- she had to request storage because the temporary home was much smaller
- the landlord placed her belongings far from the temporary home
- it did nothing to help her access those belongings
- the landlord handled repairs in her original home poorly
- the complaint handling was also severely inadequate
- the resident stayed in temporary accommodation for over 3 years
- the landlord was ordered to pay £4,050 in compensation
- it was also told to apologise and create clear procedures for managing temporary move
- these procedures must cover times, conditions, storage, and access to belongings
Resident information
Resident support guides
Use this collection of support guides to make the complaints process easier and clearer.
They will help you understand your rights, know what steps to take, and get practical advice on all aspects of complaints.
These resources will give you the confidence to raise issues and get them resolved.
When to get help from us
Not sure when to contact the Housing Ombudsman?
This page explains the right time to get help. It shows what steps you need to take first, what we can and cannot look at, and how we can support you if your landlord has not resolved your complaint.
Use it to understand your options and make sure your complaint reaches the right place.