Homelessness - Ms V v Council
Housing Law case report: Homelessness
Ms W, aged 17 with 2 children, applied as Homeless to the Council.
The Council accepted a duty to house her and provided her with
temporary accommodation in a Council owned hostel.
Shortly after Ms W’s placement, the Hostel staff made allegations
of anti social behaviour against Ms W and evicted her from the
hostel. Ms W re-applied as Homeless to the Council. The Council
refused to accommodate Ms W arguing that they had discharged their
duty to her because they considered her to be Intentionally
Homeless due to the allegations of anti social behaviour at the
previous hostel accommodation. We submitted detailed
representations to the Council in support of Ms W’s review of the
Council’s decision, referring to the Council’s failures to
correctly apply the relevant legislation and guidance when deciding
that their duty to Ms W was discharged. We were successful in the
review of the Council’s decision and the Council are now in the
process of locating accommodation for Ms W.