C v Oldham Council. (2024) EWCC 1 (Judgment can be found here) Hynek v LB Islington. Central London County Court 24 May 2024 (copy of judgment) These are two s.204 appeals which address the effect of the Withdrawal Agreement (The Agreement of the Withdrawal...
Suitability, enquiries, gender reassignment and the public sector equality duty.
Biden v Waverley Borough Council (2022) EWCA Civ 442 An interesting Court of Appeal decision on the sufficiency of enquiries to establish suitability of accommodation offered in discharge of section 189B Housing Act 1986 duty where the homeless person has...
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...
Relevance and homelessness
Safi v Sandwell BC (2018) EWCA Civ 2876 can be regarded as a footnote of some significance in the factors which are relevant in determining whether a household is homeless for the purposes of s. 175, Housing Act 1996. (And, as a footnote to that footnote, a...
I don’t like reg.8, no no… I love it
Mohamoud v Birmingham CC [2014] EWCA Civ 227 As all of our readers doubtless know, the way that decision making in homelessness cases works is something like this: a first decision is made by someone on behalf of a local housing authority; if that is in the...
You win some, you lose some
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...
You gotta have an opinion
Hounslow v Powell; Leeds v Hall; Birmingham v Frisby [2011] UKSC 8 [This is probably a work in progress. There may be further additions and comments as people get a chance/have a brainwave. We've also ended up writing this as something of a tag team. Chief...
Tis the season for giving (2)
As you all know, we six merry souls write NL because, well, we love housing / landlord and tenant law. Our fearless leader has even been described as a "nut"* for the subject. We're glad that we can produce something that people find useful but, even that is...
Gatekeeping and an absence of records
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...
Don’t answer the phone…
[Update 03/04/2011 - the Court of Appeal decision on the further appeal in this case is here.] Makisi v Birmingham City Council (Birmingham County Court Appeal Ref: BM9 0166A, 6 Jan 2010) This was the County Court hearing of a s.204 Housing Act 1996 appeal...
Physical violence only
Yemshaw v Hounslow LBC (2009) CA (Civ Div) 15/12/2009 [only as Lawtel note so far] This was an appeal to the Court of Appeal from a s.202 appeal on the issue of what 'violence' in s.177(1) Housing Act 1996 meant. S.177(1) provides that it is not reasonable...
Rumours of gatekeeping
News reaches us here at NL of a decision of the High Court (Birmingham District Registry) by the name of Mehari, Kelly and JI v Birmingham City Council (9 and 10 November 2009) given by Hickenbottom J. Details are sketchy and, as ever, we'd be grateful for...