Homelessness Case Law Update

Hannah Gardiner

Barrister

45 Gray's Inn Sqaure

As we always strive to keep our members ahead of the game and 100% informed, here, Hannah Gardiner takes a deep dive into some recent cases in light of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, paying particular attention to:

General principles

The history of capacity to make a homelessness application

Distinction between capacity to understand specific offer and weighing general options

Case law

R (Uddin) v Southwark LBC [2019] EWHC 180 (Admin)

Godson v London Borough of Enfield (2019) EWCA Civ 486

Tower Hamlets LBC v Rahanara Begum [2005] EWCA Civ 116, [33]

Tower Hamlets LBC v Al Ahmed [2019] EWHC 749 (QB)

Birmingham City Council v Samuels [2019] UKSC 28

Adesotu v Lewisham London Borough Council [2019] EWCA Civ 1405

R (SH) v The London Borough of Waltham Forest (2019) EWHC 2618 (Admin)

Hannah became a member of 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square in October 2018. Hannah practices in all areas of housing law including possession matters, homelessness, allocations, anti-social behaviour, judicial review unlawful eviction, disrepair, succession and assignment. Hannah has recently completed a secondment to the housing litigation department of a large local authority, where she regularly advised on and appeared in cases involving disrepair, homelessness and a wide variety of possession claims.