The trustees said this week the centre ‘has faced financial pressures caused by legal aid cuts and increased operating costs.
‘To some degree this was relieved with generous support from our charitable funders, who have understood the need in the community and helped us address it.
‘However, ultimately the funding shortfall, together with issues with VAT calculations, have put the Law Centre in an impossible financial position.’
The law centre opened in Brixton, London in 1981 and covered debt, welfare benefits, community care, employment, discrimination, housing, immigration and public law as well as collaborating with other organisations to tackle poverty and disadvantage.
Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, head of policy and profile at the Law Centres Network (LCN), said Lambeth Law Centre ‘has had a proud record of service to south Londoners priced out of justice’ and the LCN had worked hard to help it avoid closure.