Local Authority Housing Law Round-Up
Release Date: 16 June 2010
The following three cases have been decided recently.
EA v GA and Westminster County Council – Duty to house
Two children (aged 8 and 6) were born in Ireland and were Irish Nationals. In March 2010 their mother removed them from Ireland and brought them to the UK. The mother had no right to remain in the UK, she had no entitlement to benefits and applied to Salford Council for help. Salford Council housed her for 4 weeks but then funded travel costs to London on condition that her trip was one way. The childrens’ father applied in the Family Courts for the children to return. A Judge gave directions for a hearing of the application but meanwhile directed Westminster Council to house the mother and children, exercising the power in Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985, Section 5. Westminster sought an order that Salford bear the cost of accommodating. The Court of Appeal held that the Act did enable an order to be made requiring a Council to accommodate the family. The Court of Appeal stated that the application should be made on notice to the Council and any issue to which the Council was to accommodate or pay could be decided by the Family Court Judge.
Croydon LBC v Crawford – Appeal of Making of SPO
The Defendant was a secure tenant of Croydon. Croydon sought an outright possession order on the grounds of anti-social behaviour – which involved drug dealing from the premises by the tenants son and another male. After the trial, the Judge made a conditional suspended possession order lasting 3 years. The Defendant sought permission to appeal on the grounds that (a) it was not reasonable for any order to be made, or (b) that the order should have been postponed rather than suspended, or (c) that the order should have been for a shorter duration. The Court of Appeal refused permission to appeal. The Court of Appeal stated that no real prospects of success had been established.
Brent LBC v Stokes - Travellers
Stokes occupied, without permission, a pitch on an official Council gypsy caravan site. When Stokes declined to move to an alternative pitch to enable the site office to be built on the occupied pitch, Brent LBC sought possession. Stokes asserted that the decision to evict her had been taken in breach of public law principles and relied on an “Article 8 Gateway B” challenge to that decision (that the decision was on that no reasonable person would consider to be justified). The County Court Judge granted a possession order and the High Court dismissed an appeal. The Court of Appeal refused permission to bring a second appeal. The Court of Appeal held that Brent was under no statutory obligation to give further reasons for, or otherwise explain, its decision to evict a trespasser. In the absence of any positive evidence that the Council has failed to take account of relevant considerations, the Defence was not seriously arguable.
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