Category: homelessness

From ‘pillar to post’ – Nearly Legal

Posted April 20th, 2015 in benefits, children, homelessness, housing, judges, judgments, local government, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In a judgment of undisguised anger, Cobb J described the conduct of LB Tower Hamlets and LB Havering as “shameful” in the way in which they treated AM and his family. I haven’t come across Cobb J before but his judgment in AM v Tower Hamlets LBC and Havering LBC [2015] EWHC 1004 (Admin) is just about as good a judgment as I’ve read in a long time. The question was which authority should have “picked up” AM and his household, with children who were almost certainly in need under s.17, Children Act 1989.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 17th April 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Nzolameso v Westminster City Council (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted April 8th, 2015 in appeals, children, education, families, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government, statutory duty, Supreme Court by sally

Nzolameso v Westminster City Council (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another intervening) [2015] UKSC 22; [2015] WLR (D) 165

‘A local housing authority, in carrying out its duties under the Housing Act 1996, was obliged to accommodate a homeless person in suitable accommodation within its district if it was reasonably practicable to do so. The authority was to determine the suitability of the proposed accommodation by reference to the needs of the individual homeless person and each member of her household and to its location. Where accommodation was offered outside the authority’s district, the placement was to be as close as possible to where the members of the household had previously lived. In reaching its decision, the authority was required to take account of the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 (SI 2012/2601) and the guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. It was also required, by section 11(2) of the Children Act 2004, to have regard to the need to safeguard and to promote the welfare of the children concerned.’

WLR Daily, 2nd April 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

On the Road Again – Nearly Legal

Posted April 7th, 2015 in appeals, care orders, children, health, homelessness, housing, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘With remarkable speed, the Supreme Court has handed down its judgement in Nzolameso v Westminster City Council , having announced immediately after the hearing on 17/3/2015 that the appeal would be allowed, with reasons to follow.’

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Nearly Legal, 3rd April 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Care orders and accommodation pending appeal – Nearly Legal

Posted April 7th, 2015 in appeals, care orders, homelessness, housing, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Our post on Nzolameso v City of Westminster [2015] UKSC 22 is here, but behind the headlines of the judgment (and it is a good judgment) is a whole history, even between the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court hearings.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 3rd April 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Tenant wins battle to stop Westminster council moving her out of London – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2015 in appeals, homelessness, housing, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘A single mother of five children has won a protracted legal battle and prevented Westminster council from removing her family to Milton Keynes.’

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The Guardian, 2nd April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Supreme Court quashes council decision over offer of housing 50 miles away – Local government Lawyer

Posted March 20th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, homelessness, housing, local government, news, Supreme Court by tracey

‘The Supreme Court has unanimously upheld an appeal by a homeless mother of five over a London borough’s offer of accommodation 50 miles away near Milton Keynes.
The Court heard oral submissions in Nzolameso v City of Westminster earlier this month (17 March). It has now quashed Westminster City Council’s decision that it had properly discharged its duty to secure accommodation available for occupation by the appellant.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 19th March 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme court to decide whether UK benefits cap is unlawful – The Guardian

Posted March 18th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, domestic violence, EC law, families, homelessness, housing, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme court will decide on Wednesday if a cornerstone of the coalition government’s benefits policy is unlawful.’

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The Guardian, 18th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Legal aid, young people and the review that never happened – LegalVoice

Posted March 11th, 2015 in asylum, children, homelessness, immigration, legal aid, mental health, news, poverty, young persons by tracey

‘The Ministry of Justice has in the last few weeks quietly backed down on the promise of a full review on the effects of legal aid cuts on children and young people.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 10th March 2015

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Hundreds of convicted sex offenders are missing, new figures show – The Guardian

Posted March 10th, 2015 in freedom of information, homelessness, news, police, sexual offences, statistics by tracey

‘A total of 396 registered sex offenders – who are supposed to be monitored by police and inform authorities if they change address – are missing across the UK, with some out of contact with police for more than a decade, according to freedom of information responses to the Press Association.’

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The Guardian, 10th March 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Expectations are not existing facts – Nearly Legal

Posted March 9th, 2015 in appeals, consent, homelessness, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rent, repossession by tracey

‘Enfield LBC v Najim (2015) CA (Civ Div) 04/03/2015. This was Enfield’s appeal from a s.204 appeal quashing Enfield’s decision and review decision that Ms N was intentionally homeless.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 5th March 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Blow for MoJ as regulations on judicial review and legal aid ruled unlawful – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 5th, 2015 in homelessness, judicial review, law firms, legal aid, Ministry of Justice, news, regulations by tracey

‘The Government’s introduction through regulations of a “no permission, no fee” arrangement for making a legally aided application for judicial review was unlawful, the Divisional Court has ruled.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th March 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The judicial review of regulations on funding judicial review – NearlyLegal

Posted March 4th, 2015 in barristers, homelessness, housing, judicial review, legal aid, news, regulations, solicitors by sally

‘The legal aid funding regulations for judicial reviews, in effect from April 2014, were the subject of this judicial review. To cut to the chase, the Lord Chancellor lost, but no remedy decided yet. (Disclaimer, I submitted a witness statement in support of the Claimants in this case, on the impact on homeless judicial reviews in particular. So you are warned of any possible partiality.)’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 3rd March 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Southwark gatekeeping: All of the wrong – NearlyLegal

Posted February 23rd, 2015 in homelessness, housing, judicial review, local government, news, public interest by sally

‘Courtesy of Hansen Palomares Solicitors comes news of this settled Judicial Review of LB Southwark’s gatekeeping practices on homeless applications. It appears, to put it mildly, that Southwark have had a range of what should have been obviously unlawful policies on homeless applications, and even put them into leaflets and their website.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 22nd February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Zambrano carers and social assistance – NearlyLegal

Posted February 16th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, carers, citizenship, EC law, equality, homelessness, housing, human rights, news by sally

‘There must be times when Court of Appeal judges think that they have bit parts in an ongoing drama – they have a walk on role. And that must be how the Court felt in Sanneh v SSWP and others [2015] EWCA Civ 49, which concerns the eligibility rules for Zambrano carers of a raft of social assistance benefits. Leading QCs and junior barristers appeared on all sides in a right ding dong that is bound to end up at the Supreme Court, which almost certainly will refer the issues to the CJEU. It also provides a glimpse of how the recent, potentially contradictory, judgments of the CJEU in Brey and Dano are, or might be, treated (although it looks like the UKSC will have the next bite of those rather earlier, in the Mirga and Samin appeals in March) and the question of the ambit of “social assistance”, which in itself is not uninteresting, is also raised, but parked by the CA, in these appeals ([84] – note: this is an important point for the future).’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 12th February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Supreme Court to hear appeal over offer of accommodation 50 miles away – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 5th, 2015 in appeals, homelessness, housing, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has given a homeless mother of five permission to appeal a ruling that upheld a London borough’s offer of accommodation near Milton Keynes.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th February 2015

Source: www.localgovernment.co.uk

Babes out of the Forest – NearlyLegal

Posted February 4th, 2015 in carers, children, employment, families, homelessness, housing, local government, medical treatment, mental health, news, school children by sally

‘The out of borough temporary accommodation position continues to get worse, with increasing numbers of homeless shipped out of borough (and for London councils, often out of London). London Councils (pace Nzolameso v Westminster CC ) have put the DCLG ‘Supplementary Guidance on the homelessness changes in the Localism Act 2011 and on the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012‘ at naught.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 2nd February 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Hussain v Waltham Forest London Borough Council – WLR Daily

Posted January 27th, 2015 in appeals, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government, London, psychiatric damage by sally

Hussain v Waltham Forest London Borough Council [2015] EWCA Civ 14; [2015] WLR (D) 21

‘The phrase “other violence” in section 177(1) of the Housing Act 1996 covered not only physical violence (actual or threatened) but other threatening or intimidating behaviour or abuse, if of such seriousness that it might give rise to psychological harm.’

WLR Daily, 20th January 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court homeless appeals – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 18th, 2014 in appeals, disabled persons, homelessness, housing, learning difficulties, mental health, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘Three landmark appeals being heard this week should clarify who is ‘vulnerable’ and entitled to priority rehousing by local authorities.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 16th December 2014

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Housing: Homeless Persons and Review of Accommodation Needs – No. 5 Chambers

Posted December 11th, 2014 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

‘This paper considers some selected topics in the broad (and full of case law) topic of homeless persons, together with a brief mention of the duty of local housing authorities to carry out a review of accommodation needs.’

Full story (PDF)

No. 5 Chambers, 9th December 2014

Source: www.no5.com

Supreme Court to hear challenge to key test on homelessness and vulnerability – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 11th, 2014 in appeals, disabled persons, drug abuse, homelessness, learning difficulties, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court will next week hear three cases where homeless applicants for housing assistance are seeking to challenge the Pereira test of vulnerability.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 11th December 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk