Oxford City Council v Bull [2011] EWCA Civ 609 In which the Court of Appeal had to consider whether the homeless applicant had made himself intentionally homeless and whether he was in priority need. Mr Bull separated from his wife in June 2009 and left the...
Judicial review costs redux
We've seen reports of a case called R (Ambrose) v City of Westminster (Admin Court 13 May 2011. Not on Bailii or reported elsewhere so far). It was a judicial review of a refusal to provide interim accommodation pending review. Westminster had apparently...
Someone to watch over me
R (Nassery) v London Borough of Brent [2011] EWCA Civ 539 This was the appeal of a judicial review of Brent's decision on provision of care and accommodation under section 21 National Assistance Act 1948. Mr N was an Iranian asylum seeker (granted indefinite...
Only Connect
TG, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Lambeth (Shelter Intervening) [2011] EWCA Civ 526 The disconnection between Local Authority Social Services and housing departments has been a frequent topic here and in the courts, not least in the House of...
A room of one’s own
Virginia Woolf famously remarked that for a woman to write fiction, she required enough means to support herself and a room of her own. For homeless applicants, though, sometimes separated spaces can be the problem. Aliya Sharif v Camden LBC [2011]...
Let’s all move to … Wales*
Forgive the slight delay in picking this up, but the Welsh Assembly has issued a consultation on a new Code of Guidance on allocations and homelessness (closing date 30.06.2011; comments to Affordablehousing.actionteam@wales.gsi.gov.uk or by post). By any...
Never apologise, never explain
Akhtar v Birmingham City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 383 [not on bailii yet, we've seen a transcript] When a Local Authority accepts the applicant's case on a review under s.202 review under Housing Act 1996, is there or should there be a duty to give reasons...
Face time
Makisi & Ors v Birmingham City Council [2011] EWCA Civ 355 Does the right to make oral submissions to a review officer on a s.202 Housing Act 1996 review, following a 'minded to' letter, mean that the applicant has the right to insist on a meeting? This...
Well, that’s embarrassing
You know how when you search for something that isn't there on NL, it comes up with that (quite annoying) "well, that's embarrassing" logo? Well, I searched last night for Vilvarasa v Harrow LBC [2010] EWCA Civ 1278 but couldn't find it. Then, it struck me...
The Schleswig-Holstein Question
As Lord Palmerstone might have said: "Only three people have ever really understood this eligibility business - the Prince Consort, who is dead - a German professor, who has gone mad - and I, who have forgotten all about it." That, frankly, sums up my (and,...
A (further) symbolic consultation
Readers of my previous notes of the "consultation" exercises undertaken by the coalition government will readily appreciate that I am not the best person to write about a further symbolic consultation, being lead by DCLG, on what it terms "burdens" (indeed,...
Why are they there?
Hemans & Anor v Windsor and Maidenhead Royal Borough Council (2011) CA Civ Div 2 March 2011 [Lawtel note of extempore judgment. Not on Bailii yet] This was an appeal by Windsor of the first appeal of a Housing Act 1996 s.202 review decision that it...