Asylum seeker battles for compensation over 'poor quality' housing
09 Mar 2010
An asylum seeker who claims that he was put into damp, unsuitable
accommodation while he waited for his application to come through
is seeking compensation for his ordeal.
Haval Mohammed, 19, came to the UK from Syria in 2007 and moved to
Kirklees, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.
He applied for asylum and the local council put him up in a house
on Thomas Street in Heckmondwike.
The teenager argues that this temporary accommodation had a leaky
roof and was damp, with mould growing in the bathroom.
Although Kirklees Council accepted that Mr Mohammed was in priority
need and granted him a new home in Dewsbury, the organisation went
back on its agreement just after the teenager was handed the keys
and he was forced to move back to Thomas Street for a further six
months.
Mr Mohammed argues that this caused him "distress, anxiety and
mental anguish" and said he believes that the council should pay
him damages.
A judge at Dewsbury County Court awarded him £650 in compensation
for breach of contract last year, but Mr Mohammed and his lawyers
believe this is not enough.
He is now to appear at London's Court of Appeal in a bid to
increase the compensation from the council.
According to Shelter, councils have a legal responsibility to
provide good-quality temporary accommodation to certain groups of
people, but their needs will be assessed by individual
organisations.
However, the Home Builders Federation reports that the UK's housing
shortage is approaching one million properties, with five million
people on waiting lists and 1.6 million children living in
overcrowded, temporary or run-down accommodation.
Anyone affected by housing issues should seek the advice of a
solicitor specialising in the field.
Satvir Sahota, a housing solicitor at Hodge Jones & Allen
LLP comments on this article.
"Mr Mohammed’s claim for compensation is not simply a claim for
‘poor quality’ housing. In his case, Kirklees Council accepted they
had a duty in law to house him. They provided him with temporary
accommodation until they found him somewhere more permanent. Once
Kirklees Council had found Mr Mohammed a more permanent home, they
signed a contract with him allowing him to live there.
"When Kirklees Council went back on their word and did not allow
him to move in until 6 months after the start of the contract, they
had broken their contract with Mr Mohammed.
"Once a contract is broken by one party, if the other party has
suffered some kind of loss, they should be able to claim
compensation for their loss. A person’s immigration status is
irrelevant as to whether they have a claim in law for compensation.
The aim of compensation for a breach of contract is to place the
person who has suffered the loss, in so far as money can, in the
position they would have been had the contract not been
broken.
"The Judge that heard Mr Mohammed’s case felt £650 in compensation
was sufficient for the breach of contract. Mr Mohammed is now
rightly claiming he is entitled to a higher sum. In addition to Mr
Mohammed’s claim for compensation for Kirklees breach of contract,
Mr Mohammed has a potential claim for trespass to land.
Compensation of £650 cannot adequately reflect the loss suffered by
Mr Mohammed due to the breach of contract and trespass. The payment
of £650 is equal to £25 for each week Mr Mohammed was not allowed
to live in his home.
"There is no doubt that Mr Mohammed is a vulnerable individual. The
Council accepted his priority need for housing. The biggest loss Mr
Mohammed suffered was deprivation of the home he was expecting to
move into for a period of 6 months. Although Mr Mohammed was not on
the streets while he “waited” for his home, it appears that
Kirklees were not fulfilling their duty to provide him with
suitable accommodation as there was disrepair at the temporary
accommodation. In normal circumstances, this in itself would give
rise to a claim for compensation.
"Had Kirklees allowed Mr Mohammed to move into his home and then
told him to hand back the keys and move out, he would have had a
claim for unlawful eviction for which compensation can be claimed.
Awards of compensation for unlawful eviction are usually very high
in comparison to the number of days the person has been denied
access to their home. This is to reflect the fact that denying
someone of their home without following the correct legal procedure
is a fundamental wrong. In an unlawful eviction case heard in
Preston County Court in 2008 (Addison v Croft) the judge awarded
general damages of £3,000 which took into account the fact the
tenant was deprived of his home for 20 days. The judge also awarded
£1000 for exemplary damages and £1000 for aggravated damages.
"In fact local authorities themselves have the power to prosecute
landlords for actions amounting to unlawful eviction. Although
these prosecutions are rare, they could result in a guilty landlord
paying a substantial fine and or a prison sentence.
"I expect Mr Mohammed (if he has not done so already) may argue
that he is entitled to exemplary and aggravated damages for the
trespass in addition to the general damages for the breach of
contract. Awards of exemplary and aggravated damages are by their
nature very high. Given the facts of Mr Mohammed’s case, if
his appeal for a higher sum of compensation is successful, it is
likely that his award will be in the thousands.
"Other newspaper articles on Mr Mohammed’s case have commented that
any increase of Mr Mohammed’s compensation is “likely to be dwarfed
by the legal costs of the case.” This is probably true but had
Kirklees not gone back on their agreement it would not have been
necessary for Mr Mohammed to bring this case.
"Mr Mohammed has suffered and he is entitled to be compensated for
his loss. To Kirklees, their change of mind on Mr Mohammed’s
contract probably involved a few administrative tasks but to Mr
Mohammed, the impact of their change of mind was great. Hopefully
this case will ensure that Kirklees do not break contracts with
other tenants and that they allow them to move into their homes on
the date promised."
