Single Mother Wins in High Court Homelessness Challenge

William Ford

Claim for judicial review against Redbridge Council

This case involved a claim in the High Court for judicial review against Redbridge Council for failure to comply with its duties under the Housing Act 1996, the Children Act 2004, and the Council’s own policies. William Ford and Sarika Singh of the Housing and Social Department were instructed in this matter.

The events that occurred between June and August 2023

Our client is a homeless single mother with three young children. She had previously successfully challenged Redbridge Council in the High Court over its assessment of her housing needs and a decision to terminate its duty to house her following a refusal of accommodation in Peterborough.

Following the conclusion of that case in June 2023, Redbridge Council accommodated our client in suitable accommodation in its borough. Our client has to juggle employment, ensuring her children are able to get their schools, and her own studies. She was just about able to manage this whilst accommodated in the borough of Redbridge, within a reasonable travelling distance of school, college and her employment.

Then, further to the order of the High Court, Redbridge Council carried out a further assessment of her housing needs in August 2023. This concluded that whilst it was “highly desirable” for our client to be accommodated in the borough of Redbridge or a neighbouring borough, it was not “essential”.

Following significant concerns, a claim for judicial review was commenced in October 2023

We had significant concerns regarding the impact this could have on our client’s ability to juggle her work, her children’s education, and her studies if she were to be accommodated outside of Redbridge or neighbouring boroughs. We therefore commenced a claim for judicial review in the High Court in October 2023 challenging the revised housing needs assessment.

Our client had little choice but to accept accommodation outside her borough, while seeking a review

After the issue of the claim, our concerns regarding the housing needs assessment, developed into practical implications when Redbridge Council relied upon the assessment to offer accommodation outside of Redbridge and the neighbouring boroughs. Due to the risks of refusing an offer of accommodation our client had little choice but to accept the offer, whilst simultaneously seeking to review the suitability of the offer.

This meant that there was a concurrent process of a review of the suitability of the new accommodation, and a High Court challenge to the housing needs assessment. Permission was granted by the High Court in November 2023 in relation to the judicial review claim.

The review confirmed the suitability of the new accommodation

Then, in April 2024, Redbridge Council reached a review decision on the suitability of the new accommodation, concluding that it was suitable. The review decision also upheld the August 2023 housing needs assessment.

The High Court ordered that the challenge to the suitability of the new accommodation needs to be heard

Following this the High Court ordered that the challenge to the suitability of the new accommodation (which would normally have been pursued by way of an appeal to the County Court) should be heard at the same time by the High Court as the challenge to the housing needs assessment. This was due to the overlap of issues.

The hearing took place over 5 and 6 June 2024 and judgment was handed down on 30 July 2024.

The Court held that the August 2023 housing needs assessment was in breach of s11 of the Children Act 2004, the homelessness code of guidance, and Redbridge Council’s own temporary accommodation placement policy. There was a failure to consider the needs of our client and her family holistically, in particular, the demands placed on our client as a single parent.

The Court also held that the review of the housing needs assessment that was completed as part of the April 2024 review decision was unlawful. This suffered from the same errors as the August 2023 assessment. The Court noted that undue weight had been placed on the fact that our client’s children were not undergoing “critical” examinations, such as GCSEs or A-levels, and had elevated this part of its policy into an “unnecessarily rigid rule”, to the exclusion of consideration of the wider circumstances of the family. The Court also expressed concern over the failure of Redbridge Council to heed the previous findings of the High Court in the previous judicial review claim.

The High Court finally found that the new accommodation provided to our client was unlawful

Finally, the High Court found that the new accommodation provided to our client and her family outside of Redbridge and its neighbouring boroughs was unlawful. The suitability decision was undermined by the lack of a lawful housing needs assessment. However, there were also insufficient inquiries and, again, a failure to apply a holistic approach to the particular circumstances of our client and her family.

The claim therefore succeeded on all grounds.

You can read the judgement in full here.

How can we help?

Osbornes Law are experienced in advising on judicial review matters including challenges to central and local government decision making, and issues relating to policies. If you have been treated unfairly by a public body and would like advice on whether judicial review is the appropriate remedy, you can contact us for specialist advice on 020 4502 7391.