Tag Archive for 'temporary accommodation'

Private Sector Accommodation and Part 7

By NL on 30/11/2010. 6 Comments

Hanton-Rhouila v Westminster City Council [2010] EWCA Civ 1334

This was a second appeal from a s.204 Housing Act 1996 appeal which had been dismissed by a Circuit Judge. Mrs Rhoulia had applied as homeless to Westminster and the appeal was of Westminster’s rejection of her application on the grounds that she was not homeless.

The basic facts were that Mrs Rhoulia had applied as homeless after being asked to leave by her sister in law, with whom she and her husband had lived since 2007. Mrs R suffered from cancer, kidney failure and severe depression. On about 28 April 2009, Westminster accepted the application, began enquiries, and offered temporary … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , .

Gatekeeping and an absence of records

By NL on 30/01/2010. 0 Comments

Local Government Ombudsman’s decision:  London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (09 001 262)

‘Ms Kenza’ (not her real name) approached LB Hammersmith and Fulham as homeless when she had to leave her private rented home following an incident of domestic violence. She was 8 months pregnant.

Hammersmith did not place her in temporary accommodation pending enquiries. Instead officers encouraged her to find accommodation in the private sector. A homeless application was not mentioned by the officers. She was later given a night’s accommodation by the out of hours service and, she asserted, she then spent 4 days sleeping rough in a park.

She complained to the Ombudsman that Hammersmith … Read the full post

Posted in Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , .

Outsourced temporary accommodation

By NL on 05/05/2009. 4 Comments

Many local authorities use private accommodation for temporary accommodation under Housing Act 1996 Part VII. This may be by an LA ALMO ‘managing agency’, on which more at another time, or by licence agreements with private agencies.

One of the latter came to grief in Birmingham in 2008 and the decision to abandon the agency agreement was the subject of judicial review proceedings in First Real Estates (UK) Limited v Birmingham City Council [2009] EWHC 817 (Admin).

First Real Estates (FRE) supplied temporary accommodation to Brimingham between 2005 and 2008. It was founded by Iftikhar Hussain, who had previously worked for Dyadal Property Link. Dyadal then became one of FRE’s … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Homeless, Housing law - All and Licences and occupiers. Tags: , , , , , .

An inconvenient problem

By Dave on 01/04/2009. 1 Comment

There were lots of good intentions behind the SI making clear that 16/17 year olds are in priority need (The Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002 (SI 2002 /2051)). But as a few have pointed out in recent years, there might be consequences because of the capacity requirements of property law. Well, in Alexander-David v LB Hammersmith & Fulham, those good intentions (and property law) have bitten back.

Ms Alexander-David, a 16 year old who was also pregnant, was provided with accommodation by Hammersmith and Fulham LBC under s 193(2). They granted and she took a standard form non-secure tenancy agreement terminable by four weeks notice … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Homelessness – when unitary authorities aren't.

By NL on 15/01/2009. 0 Comments

R (Hassan) v Croydon LBC (Admin Court 13 January 2009. Only reported  so far in Arden Chambers eflash 336) was a judicial review on the discretion to secure accommodation pending s.202 review under s.188(3) HA 1996 and whether a potential duty under s.20 Children Act 1989 by the authority should be considered.

The applicant, together with her children aged 10 and 3, had fled Doncaster in 2005. In an initial application to Croydon, she stated she had fled through violence by a gang of youths. She was found not homeless. In a subsequent application,in 2006, she stated that the real reason was domestic violence, of which she had been ashamed. … Read the full post

Posted in Community care, FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Refusing Temporary Accommodation

By NL on 21/12/2008. 0 Comments

Once someone is in temporary accommodation, following an acceptance of the full housing duty to a homeless person by the local authority, what happens when that temporary accommodation becomes unreasonable for the household to continue to occupy, but alternative temporary accommodation is refused by the tenant?

Muse v London Borough of Brent [2008] EWCA Civ 1447 was an appeal arising from LB Brent’s decision to discharge duty under s.193 HA 1996 when Mrs Muse refused alternative accommodation offered when her current temporary accommodation (at Press House!) became overcrowded.

Mrs Muse was successful at s.204 appeal, arguing that s.193(5) did not apply. S.193(5) provides:

The local housing authority shall cease

… Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

Manchester CC v Moran – Lords appeal

By NL on 29/10/2008. 0 Comments

One of Nearly Legal’s band of information elves (sorry H) brings news that Sharon Moran in Manchester City Council v Moran [2008] EWHC Civ 378 has been given leave to appeal to the Lords. This was the important Court of Appeal case on women’s refuges and homelessness that we previously reported. I am also, via another route, reliably informed that Richards, the respondent in the joined case at the Court of Appeal, has not sought permission.… Read the full post

Posted in Homeless and Housing law - All. Tags: , , .
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