‘Abdikadir v London Borough of Ealing (2022) EWCA Civ 979. Where an offer of out of borough accommodation had been made and refused, and a discharge of duty upheld on review, did the council’s failure to notify the other council under section 208(2) Housing Act 1996 mean that the review was invalidated?’
Nearly Legal, 31st July 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Baptie v The Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames (2022) EWCA Civ 888. This was a second appeal, brought by RBKT from a s.204 appeal that had overturned their decision that Ms Baptie was intentionally homeless from a housing association property due to rent arrears. The Council review officer had found “that the rent due to the Housing Association had been affordable for Ms Baptie, but she had failed to claim tax credits to which she was entitled and spent an unreasonable amount on living expenses. On the second point, the officer relied in part on figures contained in guidance issued by the Association of Housing Advice Services (“AHAS”).” (The first decision maker had found intentionality because Ms B was alleged not to have applied for Discretionary Housing Payments. The review officer found on these other grounds.)’
Nearly Legal, 12th July 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘It was not unlawful for a Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames reviewing officer to conclude that an applicant was intentionally homeless because her previous rent had been affordable but had not been paid.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th July 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government has proposed replacing previously repealed legislation that makes begging and rough sleeping a criminal offence. The move comes after parliament scrapped the Vagrancy Act, a 200-year-old law that criminalised sleeping rough and begging in England and Wales. The Act was repealed through an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (PCSCA) in April.’
Each Other, 7th July 2022
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘Steven Wood, Kelly Lloyd and Sumi Begum analyse the latest housing law judgments of interest to housing associations and local authorities.’
Local Government Lawyer, 6th June 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Two joined appeals on local authority duties to provide suitable accommodation under section 193 (2) Housing Act 1996 were before the Court of Appeal.’
Nearly Legal, 4th May 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘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 the protected characteristics of disability and gender reassignment.’
Nearly Legal, 3rd April 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal over the sufficiency of inquiries made by a borough council to determine the suitability of accommodation offered to a homeless applicant with ‘protected characteristics’ of disability and gender reassignment.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th April 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The government has announced it will repeal the Vagrancy Act, which allows police to arrest people for sleeping rough or begging in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 22nd February 2022
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘This was Mr Minott’s appeal from a judicial review that upheld Cambridge’s refusal to accept a second homeless application.’
Nearly Legal, 19th February 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘In this case, Fordham J scrutinised the nature of “Everyone In” and analysed whether it was a “policy”, such as to impose public law duties on the Secretary of State on its curtailment. The judgment (2022) EWHC 85 (Admin) contains a detailed discussion of the ingredients that make a policy, and a pithy take on when the need to consult stakeholders arises. The judge finds that Everyone In cannot properly be described as prescriptive policy guidance, but can safely be described as “an initiative”, so the Secretary of State was not bound by the constraints on changing policy. Judgment was given under the old Departmental name, since changed to the snappy Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. The two interested parties, Camden LB Council and Shelter, did not appear.’
Nearly Legal, 24th January 2022
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has dismissed a judicial review challenge over the Government’s to end the ‘Everyone In’ initiative that was launched to get rough sleepers off the streets during the pandemic.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th January 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The wife of a former soldier has been found guilty of the murder of her newborn baby by abandoning him in woodland after she discovered she was pregnant too late to have an abortion.’
The Independent, 30th November 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed a claim that a London borough made insufficient inquiries into the reason why an appellant was homeless.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th November 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A group of peers are urging the government to repeal the Vagrancy Act which makes it a criminal offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 25th November 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The London Borough of Newham is to pay more than £8,000 to a mother of four after failing to move her and her family from “overcrowded and hazardous” accommodation for almost two years, following an investigation by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.’
Local Government Lawyer, 23rd November 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘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 need decision, refused at s.184 and s.202 review, which features (once again) Now Medical reports done with no face to face assessment being preferred by the local authority decision makers over direct and specialist medical reports submitted by the applicant.’
Nearly Legal, 21st November 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘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 conditions set out in Article 3 of The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012 (that the property is in reasonable and legal condition and the landlord is a fit and proper person)? That was the question in these two joined appeals.’
Nearly Legal, 16th November 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Ms Bereket applied to LBWF for homelessness assistance. The authority accepted that it owed her a duty and offered her temporary accommodation in Luton. She rejected the offer as it was too far from her friends and family. The local authority explained why the property was suitable and gave a deadline for acceptance. Ms Bereket refused it again for the same reasons. The authority then decided that their duties had been discharged. She was told of her right to a review and, in a subsequent telephone call, was told the email address to use in order to request a review. She duly wrote to that address. Her email did not refer to any review but explained why the property was not suitable by reference to her need to stay in the local area (including, now, that her son had started school). The LA decided this was not a request for a review and she sought judicial review. The issue, therefore, was whether there had been a request for a review.’
Nearly Legal, 11th November 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘On the day residents of Dale Farm, then one of the largest unauthorised Traveller sites in Europe, were due to be evicted a decade ago, pupils at the nearby primary school were handed special stones they could squeeze as they walked into their morning assembly. The teachers wanted to remind everyone that the school remained a safe and welcoming place.’
The Guardian, 21st October 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
© Inner Temple Library 2025