Case law

The Court of Appeal for England & Wales has found that a local authority failed to comply with its Public Sector Equality Duty and erred in its decision that an applicant for homelessness assistance was not homeless because it was reasonable to expect her to remain in her home. Victoria Taylor, a recent Queen's University Graduate who is currently undertaking an LLM in Human Rights and Criminal Justice and volunteering with Housing Rights, discusses the case. 

The UK Upper Tribunal has found that a First Tier Tribunal erred in law by deciding that a person who sold his former home and rented it back could not receive Housing Benefit. In an important decision, the court ruled that the test of whether someone could continue to occupy their home without relinquishing ownership is one of practical compulsion, rather than legal compulsion and does not necessitate that the lender has started legal action to recover possession of the property.

A recent English High Court has provided some interesting observations in respect of the circumstances as to when a homeless decision can be revisited. Although the English position has variances to the law in Northern Ireland (NI), it does provide some useful guidance, and allows us the opportunity to look at aspects of the law in NI that are of relevance.