‘A judicial review where the relevant parts played out in the early stages of the pandemic lockdown, and where the central question was whether self contained accommodation provided without a fridge, cooker and bed, was suitable within the meaning of section 206 Housing Act 1996, such that interim relief could be ordered.’
Nearly Legal, 28th June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Where a local authority has an initial s.188 Housing Act 1996 duty to provide interim accommodation, but then makes a s.184 decision that the applicant is not in priority need, is that sufficient to bring the s.188 duty to an end? In this judicial review, the answer turns out to be no, at least not if the s.189B duty is continuing and notice of no further duty has not been served.’
Nearly Legal, 16th June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘More than 1,000 prisoners were released into homelessness at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in England and Wales, figures show, prompting the government to increase funding for accommodation for prison leavers.’
The Guardian, 15th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘This case determines, definitively, that a thorough vulnerability assessment with an acknowledgement of a consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty (‘PSED’) can satisfy the statutory duty pursuant to section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. No further assessment is automatically required.’
St Ives Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘In this judgment on the Home Secretary’s “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) policy, the Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division has confirmed that it does, citing authority going back to the time of the poor laws.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd June 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A man who plied homeless men with drugs and alcohol to make them do gruelling work has been ordered to pay back the £275,000 he made through his crimes.’
BBC News, 1st June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A boy who was “butchered” in a drugs turf war after being groomed by drug dealers had been arrested in a crack den months earlier but police did not contact child exploitation staff, a report has found.’
BBC News, 26th May 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Undocumented migrants are being forced to sleep rough during the coronavirus pandemic amid an increase in illegal evictions and a lack of government guidance, lawyers have warned.’
Each Other, 13th May 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘A judge has questioned the Crown Prosecution Service’s decision to charge a man who said he was homeless with allegedly breaching coronavirus regulations by leaving “the place where he was living”.’
The Guardian, 12th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘An eight-year-old British boy and his migrant mum were unlawfully made street homeless by a Home Office policy which denied them social security payments, a court has ruled.’
Each Other, 8th May 2020
Source: eachother.org.uk
‘Though there is little firm evidence of the extent of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the homeless population or the effectiveness of measures adopted by the government to mitigate that impact, it is clear that the crisis poses unique and urgent risks to this part of society. The Housing, Communities, and Local Government Committee has launched an inquiry into this issue which will meet for the first time next week, and it is more than likely that we will see more changes to this fast-developing area in the weeks and months to come.’
4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 6th May 2020
Source: www.4-5.co.uk
‘This article focusses on the approach that reviewing officers should take when deciding whether someone has made themselves intentionally homeless following the Court of Appeal’s decision in LB v London Borough of Tower Hamlets [2020] EWCA Civ 439.’
St Ives Chambers, 29th April 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘The conditions in which many statutorily homeless people live are frequently sub-optimal. Everyone has an anecdotal story of a family of five provided with temporary accommodation in a studio flat above a nightclub which is accessed via a dark alleyway, which the local authority insist is suitable. A frequent source of controversy is the use of hostels to discharge duties, where potentially highly vulnerable people are required to live with and share facilities with those who they do not know.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 1st May 2020
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘The onset of Covid-19 gave rise to a massive effort to provide health care services and accommodation for homeless persons. This includes not just those people who are rough sleeping, but also those otherwise at risk without a home, such as those living in hostels and B&B accommodation. A range of organisations have assisted in this process, from medical health professionals to local authorities, who have procured empty hotels and other spaces for homeless persons to self-isolate as well as acted on the government’s guidance to keep temporary accommodation open.’
Doughty Street Chambers, 17th April 2020
Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk
‘A second appeal on a homelessness review, where a finding of intentional homelessness had been upheld, raising an important point on whether events or factors post-dating the decision or action that led to eviction need to be considered on review.’
Nearly Legal, 19th April 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has upheld the decisions of two councils where reviewing officers had considered the Public Sector Equality Duty without making clear findings as to whether the applicant in each case was disabled, and concluded that those applicants were not vulnerable. Michael Paget, Zoë Whittington, Catherine Rowlands and Rowan Clapp report.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th April 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Today [2 April] the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in James v Hertsmere Borough Council [2020] EWCA Civ 489. The judgment answered a question that has been troubling homelessness lawyers for several years now: does the County Court have jurisdiction, when hearing homelessness appeals, to consider challenges to councils’ ‘contracting-out’ processes?’
Garden Court Chambers, 2nd April 2020
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
‘We saw the approach of the Court of Appeal to the operation of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) in possession proceedings in Luton Community Housing v Durdana. Now, in these joined appeals, the Court of Appeal turns its attention to PSED in homeless decisions and reviews.’
Nearly Legal, 12th April 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Serco is a private company that was contracted by the UK Home Office between 2012 and 2019 to provide accommodation to asylum seekers living in Glasgow. In July 2018, Serco began to implement the “move on protocol” – a new policy of changing locks and evicting asylum seekers without a court order if they were no longer eligible for asylum support. This put around 300 asylum seekers – who had no right to work or who had no right to homeless assistance – at risk of eviction and homelessness in Glasgow without any court process.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 8th April 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Ms Durdana was a tenant of LCH. She faced possession proceedings under ground 17 Sch 2 Housing Act 1988 – that the landlord was induced to grant the tenancy by a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by the tenant or someone acting at the tenant’s instigation.’
Nearly Legal, 6th April 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
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