Homelessness case successfully settled for elderly disabled lady

Muna Adam

Ms X, whose details are anonymised to protect her privacy, had been living in a privately rented one-bedroom flat for over ten years. Her landlord passed away and the property was to be sold.

Over the years, Ms X’s health had sadly deteriorated and she suffered from multiple physical and mental health conditions. Ms X could only walk a short distance on double crutches and relied on adaptations within her home, such as grab rails. She could not manage any stairs at all. She was also reliant on her local support network for daily activities such as buying groceries.

Ms X was served a possession order and directly made a homelessness application to her local authority in June 2022. The local authority accepted an initial duty to take steps to help relieve her homelessness and provided her with a Personalised Housing Plan. Ms X carried out all the steps on her housing plan.

Ms X approached us in September 2022, after she had made numerous attempts to contact her local housing authority about her homelessness application, without success.

We wrote two letters, with detailed information and supporting evidence of her medical needs, to the local housing authority. We requested that it make a final decision on Ms X’s homelessness application and accept a main housing duty to her. A main housing duty is a duty to provide suitable non-temporary accommodation.

In November 2022, the local housing authority advised that Ms X’s original housing officer had left the local housing authority. Nobody had previously told Ms X this or reallocated her case to a different housing officer. Her case was reallocated and a main housing duty was accepted.

In mid-November 2022, Ms X was served a Notice of Eviction requiring her to leave her home in the first week of December 2022. We wrote directly to the local housing authority advising that they urgently needed to provide level or lifted-access accommodation for Ms X, within borough and again referred to all the evidence of her needs. Over the next week or so, Ms X had a telephone assessment and was asked to fill in a detailed medical assessment form, which she did. Numerous housing officers were now involved in her case, none of whom had previously been involved.

Approximately two weeks before her eviction date, Ms X was offered temporary accommodation. The housing officer who made the offer could not tell Ms X whether there were any stairs up to the property and said she had not seen any of the medical evidence Ms X had previously provided. The rent was also more than the local housing allowance rate, meaning it was unaffordable for Ms X.

We wrote urgently to the local housing authority asking it to withdraw its offer and urgently find accommodation for Ms X that was suitable for all her needs. Over the next week we sent several letters and had numerous phone calls with the legal department as well as taking steps, such as instructing a barrister, to issue an urgent claim for judicial review.

Less than a week before her eviction date, the local housing authority finally made a suitable offer to Ms X – a one-bedroom flat in a new-build block of flats, with a lift, within borough. Her landlord would be a social housing association, meaning that she could stay there for life. Ms X happily accepted the offer. The local housing authority provided assistance with the move. One particular highlight for Ms X is that the building has a roof garden, and she can now independently and freely access fresh air.