Relief refused for disabled homeless woman (R (Imam) v Croydon)

Article summary

Local Government analysis: The High Court refused to grant mandatory relief requiring that the local authority (LA) provide suitable accommodation, pursuant to its duty under section 193(2) Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996), in circumstances where the LA had been in admitted breach of duty for approximately six years. The claimant was a wheelchair user whose accommodation had been accepted to be unsuitable, because the only toilet in the property was on the ground floor, accessed from the claimant’s bedroom by a through-floor lift. The defendant’s evidence was that it did not have any suitable wheelchair accessible accommodation available and was unable to procure any. Finding for the defendant, the Deputy High Court Judge found that purchasing, building, leasing or adapting a property specifically to meet an individual’s housing needs was not a solution open to the LA, a finding with very significant implications for LA homeless functions. More generally the court was entitled to take into account the resources of the...