Our grateful thanks to Liam Evans and Daniel Grütters of One Pump Court for this note of a s.204 appeal on an affordability assessment for a suitability decision, including the vexed topic of use of AHAS guidance. Ake v Lewisham Borough Council (2024)...
Out of borough accommodation and the homelessness relief duty – raising issues on review
Moge v London Borough of Ealing (2023) EWCA Civ 464 Another one that I am apparently late in writing up. A second appeal to the Court of Appeal from a s.204 appeal. Ms Moge was owed the section 189B Housing Act 1996 relief duty as homeless by LB Ealing....
Intentional homelessness from a half way house
Kyle v Coventry City Council (2023) EWCA Civ 1360 Yes, I am very late with this one. I've found a browser tab group I must have accidentally closed at some point.... Mr K was homeless and addicted to class A drugs. During the relevant period for this second...
Housing and Children Act – homeless 17 year olds
A couple of brief notes on two judicial reviews on housing, the Children Act 1989 and 'looked-after children'. BC, R (On the Application Of) v Surrey County Council (2023) EWHC 3209 (Admin) BC was a child who had been asked to leave the family home because...
Homelessness in Wales: An update
(Our very grateful thanks to Mike Norman of Harrow Law Centre - our official Wales correspondent, whether he knows it or not - for the following update.) On 10th October 2023, the Welsh government released its Consultation on the White Paper on Ending...
Deficient enquiries and accommodation pending review
Saint Sepulchre, R (On the Application Of) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (2023) EWHC 2913 (Admin) A judicial review of RBKC's refusal to provide temporary accommodation pending section 202 review of the decision that Mr S was not homeless. Mr S...
Saying you are broke isn’t enough to avoid a duty – suitable accommodation and resources
Imam, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Croydon (2023) UKSC 45 Full transparency - I acted for Crisis on an intervention in this case. This is the long awaited Supreme Court decision in Imam v Croydon on what conditions a court should have regard...
Private sector accommodation in discharge of duty – meeting the tests at the right time
Ayinla v London Borough of Newham. Central London County Court. 29 September 2023 (copy of judgment) Our thanks to Haroon Sarwar of TV Edwards for the judgment in this section 204 appeal. The key issue was whether LB Newham had met the requirements of...
Homelessness and evidence
Oday Yabari, R (on the application of) v The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster (2023) EWHC 185 (Admin) A judicial review of what was alleged to be Westminster's failure to meet its s.188(1) duty to secure suitable accommodation and breach of...
Mental health and security of occupation
Islam & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Haringey (2022) EWHC 3933 (Admin) This was a judicial review of Haringey's refusal to award Mr Islam Band A priority on its housing register, rather than Band B. Mr I and his household were...
Distance, affordability, suitability
Katie-Leigh Webb-Harnden v London Borough of Waltham Forest (2023) EWCA Civ 992 This was the second appeal from a review decision upholding the suitability of an offer of a private sector tenancy in Walsall in discharge of Waltham Forest's s.193 duty to Ms...
Suitability s202 reviews and ‘minded to’ regulations
E v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. 9 December 2022. Central London County Court (Unreported - Anonymised at claimant's request) ) This is a s.204 appeal judgment that I have been sitting on for an inexcusably long time, ever since I was kindly sent...