12-month social housing bar "unlawful"

A central London borough unlawfully prevented a family made homeless by the housing benefit cap from registering for social housing, the High Court has held.

Ruling in Alemi v Westminster City Council [2015] EWHC 1765 (Admin), Judge Blair QC held the council’s policy of suspending homeless people from bidding for social housing in the borough for 12 months was unlawful as it breached the duty imposed by s 166A(3) of the Housing Act 1996.

Under s 166A(3), certain people have a “reasonable preference” under housing allocation schemes, including people who are “homeless” or owed a housing duty.

Ms A, who lived with her employed husband and three children was made homeless from private rented accommodation as a result of the Local Housing Allowance cap. She applied to the local authority, Westminster City Council, for help and accepted its offer of temporary accommodation in Enfield.

However, the council prevented her from bidding for social housing for 12 months, in keeping with its stated policy.

The council contended that it was legitimate to temporarily suspend the bidding rights of a “reasonable preference” group that had been securing a greater tranche of available properties than planned, so as to allow another reasonable preference group to catch up.

Delivering his judgment, however, Blair J said Part VI of the 1996 Act “does not permit the removal of a whole sub-group from a group which s 166A(3) requires be given reasonable preference in the allocation of social housing, when that sub-group is not defined by reference to differentiating features related to the allocation of housing, but applies a simple time bar to all who otherwise qualify. It is unlawful.”

Jayesh Kunwardia, partner at Hodge Jones & Allen, who acted for Ms A, says: “This landmark ruling makes it abundantly clear that homeless people have the right to bid for social housing from the time they secure a full housing duty from a local authority rather than being suspended for one year. 

“Westminster’s subtle way of registering the homeless, saying they will have points but denying them the right to bid for 12 months is now deemed unlawful.”