Ciftci v London Borough of Haringey (2021) EWA Civ 1772 A second appeal to the Court of Appeal on Haringey's decision that Ms Ciftci was intentionally homeless. Ms C lived in Switzerland, where she had a rented flat, which was suitable and affordable for...
Recitation is not application
SR v Lambeth London Borough Council, County Court at Central London, 21st October 2021 H40CL201 – HHJ Roberts (unreported elsewhere) Our thanks to Justine Compton of Garden Court Chambers for the following note of a section 204 appeal judgment on a priority...
Reasonable evidence of in reasonable condition – private sector discharge
Hajjaj v City of Westminster (2021) EWCA Civ 1688 Where a local authority proposes to discharge the homeless duty by an offer of private sector accommodation, what does it have to do to satisfy itself that the property is suitable, with regard to the...
9 years of unsuitable accommodation – LGO award of £27,000
Our thanks to Naomi Trewinnard of Harrow Law Centre for this note of a remarkable Ombudsman decision in which LB Brent was found to have left a homeless household in wholly unsuitable temporary accommodation for 9 years - yes, 9 years. I've never seen an...
Homelessness – renewed applications and overlooked facts
Ibrahim, R (On the Application Of) v Westminster City Council (2021) EWHC 2616 (Admin) This was a judicial review of Westminster's refusal to accept a third homelessness application from Ms Ibrahim, following a review decision upholding a decision that she...
Intentional homelessness, affordability and allowances
Patel v London Borough of Hackney (2021) EWCA Civ 897 A second appeal to the Court of Appeal, following a s.202 review decision and s.204 appeal on the issue of whether Mr Patel's private sector accommodation from which he was evicted for rent arrears was...
Domestic Abuse and Priority Need
After assorted rumours, it was officially announced that section 78 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force today, (Monday 5 July 2021), although the regulations bringing it into force weren't actually published until about 4.30 pm (I was hunting for them)....
A Sigh of Relief: Elkundi & Ors v Birmingham City Council
Hot on the heels of the decision in R (Imam) v London Borough of Croydon (2021) EWHC 739 (Admin) (see our note here) comes this altogether more satisfying decision, Elkundi & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Birmingham City Council (2021) EWHC 1024...
Rough sleeping and the immigration rules: an update
Back in October 2020, we covered the introduction of new 9.21.1 and 9.22.2 of the Immigration Rules (here). In outline, these created a power for the Secretary of State to refuse an immigration application where the applicant was a rough sleeper or to cancel...
Section 204 appeals – weighing medical evidence and ending ‘relief duty’
Perrott v Hackney London Borough Council, 29 Janaury 2021, Central London County Court (unreported - approved judgment here) and Perrott v Hackney London Borough Council, 29 January 2021, Central London County Court (unreported - approved judgment here) Two...
Assortment – RROs, landlord compensated for delay to homeless application, and consultation on mould
A handful of brief notes of things of interest. 16 Cornwall Gardens, London, NW10 2QX - (2021) UKFTT LON_00AE_HMF_2020_0097 A First Tier Tribunal decision on an application for a rent repayment order in respect of an unlicensed HMO. The landlord, Mr Ali...
Too soon? Asserting a tenancy should not have been dismissed at interim injunction
Ibrahim v London Borough of Haringey & Anor (2021) EWHC 731 (QB) Something of an oddity, and I'm not going to comment on the substantive claim, which will now likely proceed to trial, but this was an appeal from a County Court judgment on an interim...