A female tenant endured six years of misery caused by cockroaches, described as a quite appalling infestation for which she was in no way responsible. Held: The court was not satisfied that the dismissal of the tenant’s claim was the right result which the law ought to reach and that the tenant ought to have … Continue reading Habinteg Housing Association v Jones: CA 1995
Insurers had rejected a claim under the policy, saying that the proposal form had included a basis of insurance declaration warranted by the proposer, and that since it had named a main contractor different to the one named, there was no liability under the contract. Held: The mistake had been innocent, but the ‘basis’ clause … Continue reading Genesis Housing Association Ltd v Liberty Syndicate Management Ltd: TCC 8 Nov 2012
A Local Authority found guilty of a statutory nuisance is not thereby liable for a civil damages suit. Citations: Times 26-Nov-1996, [1996] EWCA Civ 998, [1997] 1 WLR 956, (1997) 29 HLR 640, [1997] Env LR 157 Links: Bailii Statutes: Public Health Act 1936 Part II (Nuisance etc) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – … Continue reading Issa (Suing By her Next Friend and Father Issa) and Issa (Suing By her Next Friend and Father Issa) v Mayor and Burgesses of London Borough of Hackney: CA 19 Nov 1996
Each tenant had become unintentionally homeless, and was granted a non-secure tenancy of accommodation under section 193. Complaints of nuisance were received from neighbours. Possession orders were obtained and now challenged under the Human Rights Act. The service of the original notice to quit, engaged the Human Rights Act, but the action taken was lawful … Continue reading Smart v Sheffield City Council: Central Sunderland Housing Company Limited v Wilson: CA 25 Jan 2002
After deliberately losing her tenancy, the authority had provided the appliant with temporary accomodation in a guest house, but after her housing benefits were halved she lost that accomodation also. Held: The authority had a duty to house her. The change in the level of housing benefits had operated to break the chain of causation, … Continue reading Regina v London Borough of Harrow ex parte Fahia: 1996
The claimant sought to challenge a refusal of the Housing Authority to pay housing benefit. The Secretary of State had made the relevant Regulations determining eligibility for benefits. If the challenge were successful, the Secretary of State would be affected financially by reason of his obligation to pay sums to the Authority. Held: The Secretary … Continue reading Regina v Liverpool City Council Ex Parte Muldoon; Regina v Same Ex Parte Kelly: HL 11 Jul 1996
The housing association was to develop an estate of social housing, supported by an insurance guarantee. The insurance proposal contained a clause stating that the information in the proposal was to form the basis of the policy, and that the policy would be void if any fact warranted in the proposal was wrong. The form … Continue reading Genesis Housing Association Ltd v Liberty Syndicate Management Ltd: CA 4 Oct 2013
Same Sex Paartner to Inherit as Family Member The claimant had lived with the original tenant in a stable and long standing homosexual relationship at the deceased’s flat. After the tenant’s death he sought a statutory tenancy as a spouse of the deceased. The Act had been extended to include as a spouse someone living … Continue reading Fitzpatrick v Sterling Housing Association Ltd: HL 28 Oct 1999
The Board considered a banking transaction and the application of a chargeback by the bank, under which a loan was made only after a deposit by a third party against which it was secured, and particularly in the context of the insolvency of the bank itself. Held: Lord Mustill discussed the need to construe a … Continue reading Tam Wing Chuen v Bank of Credit and Commerce Hong Kong Ltd: PC 1996
The defendant had made misrepresentations, inducing the claimant to enter into share transactions which he would not otherwise have entered into, and which lost money.
Held: A deceitful wrongdoer is properly liable for all actual damage . .
1267 – 1278 – 1285 – 1297 – 1361 – 1449 – 1491 – 1533 – 1677 – 1688 – 1689 – 1700 – 1706 – 1710 – 1730 – 1737 – 1738 – 1751 – 1774 – 1792 – 1793 – 1804 – 1814 – 1819 – 1824 – 1828 – 1831 – 1832 … Continue reading Acts
The tenant sought accomodation. The council offered him some but he refused it. The council wrote to explain the effect of a refusal. He now complained that since he could not speak English, the Council had not correctly informed him of the consequences. Held: The section distinguished between the acts of informing and of notification. … Continue reading Ali v Birmingham City Council: CA 14 Oct 2009
Applications for accommodation under homelessness provisions Judges: Mrs Justice Steyn Citations: [2021] EWHC 1024 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193(2) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 01 December 2022; Ref: scu.662320
The claimant said the authority had not discharged its duty to him in considering his application for housing. It had written to him saying ‘this is your one and final offer’, and that the council was satisfied that the accommodation was suitable for the needs of Mr Omar and his family and that it would … Continue reading Omar v Birmingham City Council: CA 7 Jun 2007
Appeal from possession order against applicant granted assistance under homelessness provsions. Judges: Eady J Citations: [2011] EWHC 2857 (QB) Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193 Housing Updated: 26 September 2022; Ref: scu.448159
Judges: Tuckey, Rix LJJ, Wilson J Citations: [2005] EWCA Civ 796 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 02 September 2022; Ref: scu.228791
Judges: Lord Justice Moore-Bick Citations: [2010] EWCA Civ 222 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 14 August 2022; Ref: scu.418424
The Claimant challenges the failure of the Defendant to provide her with suitable accommodation under the duty in section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 Judges: Mrs Justice Hill DBE Citations: [2022] EWHC 2008 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193(2) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 06 August 2022; Ref: scu.679741
The Court considered the duties imposed on housing authorities under Part VII of the 1996 Act. Held: Article 6.1 did apply, but in any event the procedure applied under the Act conformed to its requirements. Judges: Guido Raimondi, P Citations: 40378/10 (Judgment (Merits and Just Satisfaction) : Court (Fourth Section)), [2015] ECHR 924, [2015] HLR … Continue reading Fazia Ali v The United Kingdom: ECHR 20 Oct 2015
The applicant was heavily pregnant when she was offered a first floor one bedroomed flat. She rejected it. Held: When a housing authority reviewed its decision on the applicant’s decision not to accept the accommodation offered, that review had two stages. Was the accommodation offered suitable, and, secondly, was the applicant’s rejection of the offer … Continue reading Slater v London Borough of Lewisham: CA 12 Apr 2006
The court was asked whether the section 193 duty to provide housing was lost after the applicant had refused alternative temporary accommodation. The applicant had been granted temporary accommodation, but her family grew and it became too small. She was offered an alternative but preferred to stay where she was. Held: The Authority’s appeal succeeded. … Continue reading Muse v London Borough of Brent: CA 19 Dec 2008
The applicant had been agreed to be homeless with priority need, and had been provided with an assured shorthold tenancy. Held: The Legislation now allowed broadly three classes of accomodation as suitable: (1) accommodation owned by the local authority; (2) accommodation in the hands of registered social landlords; and (3) private rented accommodation. The tenant … Continue reading Griffiths v St Helens Council: CA 7 Mar 2006
The applicant’s partner had left the matrimonial home, tenanted in joint names with the applicant of the authority, and went to the authority saying she had been beaten. Before the authority would agree to treat her as homeless they required her to terminate the joint tenancy thus leaving the applicant homeless. Held: It was to … Continue reading Hammia, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Wandsworth: Admn 17 May 2005
The applicant sought housing as a homeless person. Temporary accommodation was provided, and an offer of permanent accommodation was made but rejected. The council then sought possession of the temporary accommodation. The applicant responded that she had not been given notice as required of the authority’s decision as to the consequences of her refusal. The … Continue reading The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets v Rahanara Begum: CA 11 Feb 2005
Where a claim was made that a housing authority had failed to carry out its duty to provide appropriate accommodation, the claimant should exhaust the statutory review and appeal procedures before applying for judicial review. A delay in finding accommodation might be inevitable where the claimant’s needs were particular. Citations: Times 09-Jun-1999, [1999] EWHC Admin … Continue reading Regina v London Borough of Merton, ex parte Sembi: Admn 25 May 1999
The claimant complained that the defendant authority had failed to provide her and her family with suitable accommodation pursuant to its duty under section 193. Breach of duty was conceded. The relief sought by the claimant included damages for breach of Article 8. Held: ‘Absent special circumstances which interfere with private or family life, a … Continue reading Morris v London Borough of Newham: Admn 2002
Judges: Lady Justice Asplin Citations: [2020] EWCA Civ 1586 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 193(7) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.656370
A person offered temporary housing, on being acknowledged to be homeless, could not accept the offer and then claim it was unsuitable. The duty was satisfied when the offer was accepted. However the authority must make this clear to the applicant when confirming the offer. The applicant would then face an uncomfortable choice of accepting … Continue reading Alghile v Westminster City Council: CA 2 Mar 2001
Implications of the refusal by the respondent of an offer of accommodation made by the appellant, the London Borough of Bromley. The Council notified Miss Broderick that it regarded the duty which it had owed her under section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 (‘the 1996 Act’) as having ceased as a result of the … Continue reading London Borough of Bromley v Broderick: CA 16 Nov 2020
Appeal against dismissal of the appeal the claimant from a decision of the Borough that its duty under the 1996 Act to secure that accommodation was available for him and his family had ceased by virtue of section 193(5) of the Act. Carnwath, Rimer, Munby LJJ [2010] EWCA Civ 1278, [2011] HLR 11 Bailii Housing … Continue reading Vilvarasa v London Borough of Harrow: CA 16 Nov 2010
Local authorities have a legal duty to provide accommodation which was suitable for homeless applicants, and suitability included affordability. Geraldine Andrews QC HHJ [2009] EWHC 608 (Admin) Bailii Housing Act 1996 193 England and Wales Cited by: Cited – SG and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions … Continue reading Best, Regina (on The Application of) v Oxford City Council: Admn 25 Mar 2009
The applicant sought housing as a homeless person. Held: Moses LJ said: ‘The statutory questions are clear; was the action or omission in question deliberate? The answer to that question cannot differ [according to] whether the local authority takes into account the duty under section 11 of the Children’s [sic] Act or not.’ Moses, Beatson, … Continue reading Huzrat v London Borough of Hounslow: CA 21 Nov 2013
The court was asked as to the obligations of a local housing authority under section 193 of the 1996 Act 1996 when deciding whether its duty to secure accommodation is available for occupation by a homeless person has been discharged because the homeless person has refused a final offer of accommodation by the authority. Rafferty, … Continue reading Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council v Khan: CA 28 Jan 2014
Sir Anthony May President of the Queen’s Bench Division [2010] EWCA Civ 909, [2010] HLR 46 Bailii Housing Act 1996 193 England and Wales Housing, Immigration Updated: 23 November 2021; Ref: scu.421111
Conditions for Anonymity Orders The claimant sought judicial review of the Defendant’s failure to provide suitable accommodation under its duty under section 193(2) of the 1996 Act. The Defendant admitted breach of its statutory duty because the accommodation that it was providing was not suitable. The parties now disputed the relief: she contended that a … Continue reading Imam, Regina (on The Application of) v The London Borough of Croydon: Admn 26 Mar 2021
‘The question in this case is whether the appellant falls within the scope of section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 as amended, which applies, by virtue of subsection (1), where the local housing authority are satisfied that ‘an applicant is homeless, eligible for assistance and has a priority need, and are not satisfied that … Continue reading Haile v London Borough of Waltham Forest: SC 20 May 2015
The appellant asked whether the statutory review of a housing authority’s decision on whether he was intentionally homeless was a determination of a civil right, and if so whether the review was of the appropriate standard. The claimant said that she had not received a letter informing her of the consequences of not accepting an … Continue reading Tomlinson and Others v Birmingham City Council: SC 17 Feb 2010
Homelessness Status Requires LA Action The House considered appeals challenging whether local authorities who gave unacceptable housing to the homeless had satisfied their obligations to them as homeless people. What was meant by the phrase ‘accommodation which it would be reasonable for him to continue to occupy’? In the Birmingham cases large families had been … Continue reading Birmingham City Council v Ali and Others; Moran v Manchester City Council: HL 1 Jul 2009
The claimant appealed against an order confirming a review of the decision that the local authority owed no futher duty to her under section 193. She had rejected the house offered as unsuitable for medical reasons. Held: The tenant’s appeal succeeded. The offer being of a permanent home, ‘Unless bound by authority to reach a … Continue reading Ravichandran and Another v London Borough of Lewisham: CA 2 Jul 2010
The appellants refused the authority’s offer of accommodation under Part VI of the 1996 Act, saying it was not suitable. After the authority had informed them that if they did not accept the offer, the authority’s duty to house them would cease, requested a review under section 202(1)(b) of the authority’s decision that its duty … Continue reading Warsame and Warsame v London Borough of Hounslow: CA 25 Jun 1999
Citations: [2008] EWCA Civ 140, [2008] BLGR 628, [2008] ACD 193 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 167 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Appeal from – Ahmad, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Newham HL 4-Mar-2009 The claimant wished to be rehoused by the defendant authority. He complained that their allocations … Continue reading Ahmad, Regina (on the Application Of) v London Borough of Newham: CA 29 Feb 2008
The appellants challenged the refusal to grant them injunctions to prevent Roma parking caravans on land they had purchased. Held: Parliament had given to local authorities exclusive jurisdiction on matters of planning policy, but when an authority sought assistance in enforcement by requesting an injunction, the role of the court was not merely supervisory, but … Continue reading Wrexham County Borough Council v Berry; South Buckinghamshire District Council v Porter and another; Chichester District Council v Searle and others: HL 22 May 2003
If accommodation is not reasonable for a person to occupy, it is not suitable for him. Arden LJ said: ‘homelessness is a large social problem directly and substantially affecting the lives of many people in the UK, and those who depend on them, including young children. The causes are no doubt manifold: they include not … Continue reading Birmingham City Council v Aweys and others: CA 7 Feb 2008
Judges: Arden LJ Citations: [2007] EWCA Civ 843, [2008] HLR 6 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 204 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Ravichandran and Another v London Borough of Lewisham CA 2-Jul-2010 The claimant appealed against an order confirming a review of the decision that the local authority owed no futher … Continue reading Ahmed v Leicester City Council: CA 27 Jun 2007
The claimant sought damages after the planning authority allowed the first defendant to conduct a manufacturing business in the course of which spraying activities took place which caused them personal injuries and loss of business. Held: The planning system is a regulatory system as envisaged in X (Minors), such that there should be no private … Continue reading Regina v Lam and Others (T/a ‘Namesakes of Torbay’) and Borough of Torbay: CA 30 Jul 1997
The applicant and her husband surrendered their tenancy of a house in Camden and moved to Colombia, where they obtained accommodation. On arrival in Colombia, the applicant was deserted by her husband. With no prospect of employment in Colombia, and no entitlement to social security benefits, she returned to Camden and applied for housing. Camden … Continue reading Regina v London Borough of Camden ex parte Aranda: CA 21 Mar 1997
The applicant had been found to have deliberately procured her own eviction from her tenanted accommodation in Harrow. She was given temporary accommodation in a guest house, where she stayed for over a year. Her housing benefit was then reduced by half, on the basis that her rent was too high. The landlord then told … Continue reading Regina v London Borough of Harrow ex parte Fahia: CA 7 Mar 1997
Application for judicial review in which the claimant alleged that the defendant housing authority is in breach of its duty, under section 193(2) Housing Act 1996 (‘the 1996 Act’), to secure that suitable accommodation is available for him to occupy. Citations: [2020] EWHC 327 (Admin), [2020] WLR(D) 101 Links: Bailii, WLRD Jurisdiction: England and Wales … Continue reading M, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Newham: Admn 19 Feb 2020
Miss Dyson gave up her flat in Huntingdon and went to live in Cornwall. But the only accommodation which she had arranged for herself was a three month winter let of a cottage in Helston. She knew that the tenancy was not protected and that she would have to leave. When she was finally evicted, … Continue reading Dyson v Kerrier District Council: CA 1980
Estoppel Cannot Oust Statutory Discretion The plaintiff had been refused planning permission for a factory. The refusals were followed by the issue of Enforcement Notices and Stop Notices. The plaintiff said that they had been given re-assurances upon which they had relied. Held: The appeal failed. The court tried to reconcile invocations of estoppel with … Continue reading Western Fish Products Ltd v Penwith District Council and Another: CA 22 May 1978
Tower Hamlets, having determined the applicant to be homeless, in priority need and not intentionally homeless. After she occupied temporary accomodation she was offered an alternative being told it was the council’s policy only to make one such offer. Having rejected it as unsuitable, she was given notice to quit the temporary accomodation. She then … Continue reading Regina (on the application of) Awua v Brent London Borough Council: HL 6 Jul 1995
Appeal from an order in the County Court dismissing the appeal of the Appellant from a review decision of Birmingham City Council, pursuant to sections 202 and 203 of the Act, that the Respondent had discharged its duty to secure accommodation for the Appellant under section 193(2) of the Act. The reason given in the … Continue reading Akhtar v Birmingham City Council: CA 12 Apr 2011
Citations: [2003] EWCA Civ 1967 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 202 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 11 September 2022; Ref: scu.193647
Twins were conjoined (Siamese). Medically, both could not survive, and one was dependent upon the vital organs of the other. Doctors applied for permission to separate the twins which would be followed by the inevitable death of one of them. The parents, devout Roman Catholics, resisted. Held: The parents’ views were subject to the overriding … Continue reading In Re A (Minors) (Conjoined Twins: Medical Treatment); aka In re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation): CA 22 Sep 2000
The Court considered the procedures when a prisoner is kept in solitary confinement, otherwise described as ‘segregation’ or ‘removal from association’, and principally whether decisions to keep the appellants in segregation for substantial periods were taken lawfully. Held: The segregation was not authorised by the applicable legislation: ‘rule 45 . . (1) enables the governor … Continue reading Bourgass and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice: SC 29 Jul 2015
Compensation for non-economic loss brought about by the manner of an unfair dismissal is, on authority and on principle, recoverable. The award of such compensation by the employment tribunal in the present case was not excessive and was adequately explained. The court could look to parliamentary reports to identify the mischief sought to be rectified, … Continue reading Dunnachie v Kingston Upon Hull City Council: CA 11 Feb 2004
The two applicants had occupied a women’s refuge. They appealed against a refusal to consider them as homeless when they acted in such a way as to be evicted from the refuge, saying that the refuge did not constitute ‘accommodation . . which it would have been reasonable for [them] to continue to occupy’. It … Continue reading Manchester City Council v Moran and Another; Richards v Ipswich Borough Council: CA 17 Apr 2008
This appeal gives rise to important questions about the obligations of a local authority under the Children Act 1989 to provide accommodation and financial support for a child in need in its area when the mother herself is not entitled to housing for the homeless under the Housing Act 1996 nor to housing benefit nor … Continue reading G, Re Application for Judicial Review: CA 11 Apr 2001
The claimant had sought to bring proceedings against the respondent, but as a mental patient subject to the 1983 Act, had been obliged by the section first to obtain consent. The parties disputed whether the failure was a procedural or substantial failing and whether it made the proceedings a nullity. Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. … Continue reading Seal v Chief Constable of South Wales Police: HL 4 Jul 2007
What is reasonable provision for daughter? The deceased had left her estate in her will to several animal charities. The claimant, her daughter, had been estranged from her mother for many years, and sought reasonable provision from her estate under the 1975 Act. The district judge had rejected her claim. Held: The appeal by the … Continue reading Ilott v The Blue Cross and Others: SC 15 Mar 2017
Neuberger LJ said: ‘ I turn to the text of the letter of 25 January 2002. It referred to the Council ‘making a reasonable and suitable offer of permanent accommodation’, but it made no reference to the opinion that it was or would be reasonable for the respondent to accept the accommodation On a fair … Continue reading Tower Hamlets v Begum (Rikha): CA 23 Mar 2005
The defendant had repudiated the building contract in 2002. The claimant now resisted a request for arbitration, saying the request was an abuse of process after such delay. Held: The defendant’s appeal succeeded. The Arbitration Act explicitly allowed a reference at any time, and there was nothing in the Act to indicate any restrictive interpretation … Continue reading Connex South Eastern Ltd v M J Building Services Group Plc: CA 1 Mar 2005
The defendant entered into an agreement for lease, incurring substantial obligations. When it could not meet them it sought assistance from the claimant, who now claimed to have an interest in a joint venture. The draft documentation originally suggested a loan, but then changed. Disagreements persisted after completion. Held: There was insufficient agreement to constitute … Continue reading Kilcarne Holdings Ltd v Targetfollow (Birmingham) Ltd, Targetfollow Group Ltd: ChD 9 Nov 2004
The local authority said that the claimant, having been sentenced to a term of five years imprisonment for drugs offences, had made himself intentionally homeless within the section. While in prison, he was evicted from the flat for non-payment of rent. He had arranged with his sister that the rent should continue to be paid … Continue reading Stewart v London Borough of Lambeth: CA 26 Apr 2002
Parliament’s Approval if statute rights affected In a referendum, the people had voted to leave the European Union. That would require a notice to the Union under Article 50 TEU. The Secretary of State appealed against an order requiring Parliamentary approval before issuing the notice, he saying that the notice could be given under the … Continue reading Miller and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Exiting The European Union: SC 24 Jan 2017
A claim was made under the TUPE regulations. The company replied that the part of the business transferred was not a discrete economic entity. Held: The regulations did not require that in order to be governed by the regulations, a business transferred had to be a discrete entity. Judges: Lord Justice May Lord Justice Mummery … Continue reading Fairhurst Ward Abbotts Limited v Botes Building Limited and others: CA 13 Feb 2004
The appellants had applied for emergency housing as homeless persons, anticipating loss of their secure accomodation after falling into arrears. The Council reject their application, but a County Court quashed that decision. The Court of Appeal re-instated it, and the applicants now appealed again. The applicants had first sought advice from the council and had … Continue reading Din (Taj) v Wandsworth London Borough Council: HL 26 Nov 1981
Mrs M came to England in 1994 living first in Ealing and then Hammersmith. Mr M came later and lived elsewhere in Hammersmith. Hammersmith gave them jointly temporary accommodation, first in a hotel and then in a flat. They then applied under section 193. The authority told Mrs M that they accepted a duty to … Continue reading Mohamed v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council: HL 1 Nov 2001
The Court considered the nature of the duty owed by local housing authorities to homeless persons under section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1966 (‘the 1996 Act’). That section provides that a local housing authority ‘shall secure that accommodation is available for occupation by the applicant’. Steyn J (‘the Judge’) held that the duty imposed … Continue reading Elkundi, Regina (on The Application of) v Birmingham City Council: CA 4 May 2022
The claimant Union claimed that the defendant should recognise the game of bridge as a sport. The defendant had adopted a definition from Europe which required physical activity, and the Union said that this was a misconstruction of its Royal Charter. The result would substantiallyy affect support for the game. Held: The request for review … Continue reading English Bridge Union Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v The English Sports Council and Others: Admn 15 Oct 2015
The claimant applied to be housed as a homeless person. The authority sought to refer him to a different authority under s198. As an asylum seeker, he had been given assistance both in Portsmouth and Southampton before coming to Ipswich. He said that he had not gone to Southampton freely, but had been placed there … Continue reading Ozbek v Ispwich Borough Council: CA 4 May 2006
The term ‘Accommodation’ in the Act was to be read to include short term lettings, and was not to be restricted to secure accommodation, and the loss of such accommodation can be counted as intentional homelessness. If a person who had been provided with accommodation in accordance with section 65(2) of the 1985 Act was … Continue reading Regina v Brent London Borough Council Ex Parte Awua: HL 6 Jul 1995
Citations: (1988) 20 HLR 205 Cited by: Cited – Haile v London Borough of Waltham Forest SC 20-May-2015 ‘The question in this case is whether the appellant falls within the scope of section 193 of the Housing Act 1996 as amended, which applies, by virtue of subsection (1), where the local housing authority are satisfied … Continue reading Regina v Hillingdon London Borough Council, Ex parte Tinn: 1988
The housing applicant had given up the tenancy of a house in Basingstoke when she and her husband decided to emigrate to Canada. They moved to Canada, but their application to stay permanently was refused, and they had to return to England, where they lived in temporary accommodation in Bramley. The marriage then broke down … Continue reading Regina v Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Ex parte Bassett: 1983
The applicants were members of six homeless families who had occupied accommodation in Northern Ireland. The council concluded that members of each household except one had been guilty of criminal and anti-social behaviour, as a result of which the IRA had threatened that they would all be killed unless they left Northern Ireland within 72 … Continue reading Regina v London Borough of Hammersmith, ex parte P: QBD 1989
Ms A had left settled accommodation in Nigeria to come to the United Kingdom, where she lived in overcrowded short-term accommodation. She was given notice to leave after she became pregnant. She challenged the authority’s decision that she had become homeless intentionally as a result of having left the accommodation in Nigeria, and argued that … Continue reading Regina v Hackney London Borough Council, Ex parte Ajayi: 1997
Land had been used as a park for many years. The council land owner refused to register it as a common, saying that by maintaining the park it had indicated that the use was by consent and licence, and that prescription did not apply. Held: Qualifying user having been found, there was nothing in the … Continue reading Regina v City of Sunderland ex parte Beresford: HL 13 Nov 2003
When setting out to establish that a piece of land has become a village green with rights of common, the tests are similar to those used in the law of prescription and adverse possession. Accordingly, there is no need to establish a belief in those using the rights asserted beyond that the use is as … Continue reading Regina v Oxfordshire County Council and Another, Ex Parte Sunningwell Parish Council: HL 25 Jun 1999
The house was asked whether it might be correct to stay criminal proceedings as an abuse where for delay. The defendants were prisoners in a prison riot in 1998. The case only came on for trial in 2001, when they submitted that the delay was an abuse. Held: The defendants had a right to a … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No 2 of 2001): HL 11 Dec 2003
Administrative Discretion to be Used Reasonably The applicant challenged the manner of decision making as to the conditions which had been attached to its licence to open the cinema on Sundays. It had not been allowed to admit children under 15 years of age. The statute provided no appeal procedure, and the applicant sought a … Continue reading Associated Provincial Picture Houses Ltd v Wednesbury Corporation: CA 10 Nov 1947
Claim to recover money and property said to have been transferred by the claimant to the defendants or one or more of them. The money concerned came from a bank account belonging to the claimant. The property concerned consisted of two dwelling-houses, one which the claimant had inherited from her parents, and in which she … Continue reading Scott v Bridge and Others: ChD 25 Nov 2020
Citations: [2018] EWCA Civ 1595 Links: Bailii Statutes: Housing Act 1996 202 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Housing Updated: 25 April 2022; Ref: scu.619393
Limitation of Loss from Negligent Mis-statement The plaintiffs sought damages from accountants for negligence. They had acquired shares in a target company and, relying upon the published and audited accounts which overstated the company’s earnings, they purchased further shares. Held: The duties of an auditor are founded in contract and the extent of the duties … Continue reading Caparo Industries Plc v Dickman and others: HL 8 Feb 1990
The prisoner challenged the decision to place him in segregation under Prison Rule 43. Under rule 43(1) the initial power to segregate was given to ‘the governor’. The case arose from the fact that the governor of one prison had purported to authorise the segregation of a prisoner on his arrival at another prison to … Continue reading Regina v Deputy Governor of Parkhurst Prison, Ex parte Hague, Weldon v Home Office: HL 24 Jul 1991
Banker’s Liability for Negligent Reference The appellants were advertising agents. They were liable themselves for advertising space taken for a client, and had sought a financial reference from the defendant bankers to the client. The reference was negligent, but the bankers denied any assumption of a duty of care to a third party when purely … Continue reading Hedley Byrne and Co Ltd v Heller and Partners Ltd: HL 28 May 1963
The tenant had given notice to the landlord’s agent that a sash-cord in the only window of a bedroom had broken. No repair was effected and about two months later the second sash-cord broke injuring the tenant. The House was asked whether there was a breach by the landlords of the implied undertaking in the … Continue reading Summers v Salford Corporation: HL 1943
The claimant sought damages in defamation in respect of statements made on internet bulletin boards. He pursued the operators of the bulletin boards, and the court now considered the liability of the Internet Service Providers whose systems had inevitably carried the traffic from the bulletin boards to their own customers. Held: The claims were struck … Continue reading Bunt v Tilley and others: QBD 10 Mar 2006
In each case the local authority sought to recover possession of its own land. In the Lambeth case, they asserted this right as against an overstaying former tenant, and in the Leeds case as against gypsies. In each case the occupiers said that the recovery of possession interfered with their right respect for their family … Continue reading Kay and Another v London Borough of Lambeth and others; Leeds City Council v Price and others and others: HL 8 Mar 2006
The claimant sought to challenge the validity of the 2009 Act by judicial review. The Act would make their insured and themselves liable to very substantial unanticipated claims for damages for pleural plaques which would not previousl or otherwise have amounted to personal injury. Pleural plaques are physical changes in the pleura, detectable radiologically as … Continue reading AXA General Insurance Ltd and Others v Lord Advocate and Others: SCS 8 Jan 2010
The Council’s power unders section 160ZA(7) allowing it to set the criteria for qualifying to be allocated housing did not displace its duties under section 166A(3) to give priority to the identified classes of housing applicants. That included those to whom a duty was owed y virtue of section 193(2). Richards, Tomlinson, Bean LJJ [2015] … Continue reading Jakimaviciute, Regina (on The Application of) v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council: CA 6 Nov 2014
Use of the private rented sector by local housing authorities in causing their duty under s. 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 to cease. [2021] EWCA Civ 1688 Bailii England and Wales Housing Updated: 22 December 2021; Ref: scu.669790
Minor Irregularity in Break Notice Not Fatal Leases contained clauses allowing the tenant to break the lease by serving not less than six months notice to expire on the third anniversary of the commencement date of the term of the lease. The tenant gave notice to determine the leases on 12th January 1995, although the … Continue reading Mannai Investment Co Ltd v Eagle Star Assurance: HL 21 May 1997
Former HL decision in Siebe Gorman overruled The company had become insolvent. The bank had a debenture and claimed that its charge over the book debts had become a fixed charge. The preferential creditors said that the charge was a floating charge and that they took priority. Held: The appeal was allowed. The debenture, although … Continue reading National Westminster Bank plc v Spectrum Plus Limited and others: HL 30 Jun 2005
Land had been registered in part as a common. The council appealed. Held: The rights pre-existing the Act had not been lost. The presumption against retrospectively disapplying vested rights applied, and the application had properly been made. The claimant was entitled to register part only of the area of land original included. An application was … Continue reading Oxfordshire County Council v Oxford City Council, Catherine Mary Robinson: ChD 22 Jan 2004
The claimant challenged the defendant’s decision that she was intentionally homeless. Jackson, Fulford, Christopher Clarke LJJ [2014] EWCA Civ 792 Bailii England and Wales Cited by: Appeal from – Haile v London Borough of Waltham Forest SC 20-May-2015 ‘The question in this case is whether the appellant falls within the scope of section 193 of … Continue reading Haile v London Borough of Waltham Forest: CA 13 Jun 2014
The company had undertaken substantial building works and sought associated tax relief. The court was asked whether, following a change in the company’s memorandum and articles of association, the company, a registered social landlord, remained a charitable organisation. The articles allowed some tenants to become members of the company, and would allow pursuance of objects … Continue reading Helena Partnerships Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs: CA 9 May 2012
Identifying ‘maandatory’ and ‘regulatory’ The appellants had sought a Certificate of Alternative Development. The certificate provided was defective in that it did not notify the appellants, as required, of their right to appeal. Their appeal out of time was refused. Held: The House considered the consequences of a failure to comply with a procedural requirement, … Continue reading London and Clydeside Estates v Aberdeen District Council: HL 8 Nov 1979
The applicants had been made subject of anti-social behaviour orders. They challenged the basis upon which the orders had been made. Held: The orders had no identifiable consequences which would make the process a criminal one. Civil standards of evidence therefore applied, and hearsay evidence was admissible. Nevertheless, the test as to whether it was … Continue reading Clingham (formerly C (a minor)) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; Regina v Crown Court at Manchester Ex parte McCann and Others: HL 17 Oct 2002
The land-owner had planning permission to erect a barn, conditional on its use for agricultural purposes. He built inside it a house and lived there from 2002. In 2006. He then applied for a certificate of lawful use. The inspector allowed it, and the Council appealed. The Council now also argued that parliament could not … Continue reading Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Another v Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council: SC 6 Apr 2011
The appellant had sought housing assistance. She had been offered accomodation but refused it as unreasonable. The authority declined further assistance. She now appealed against the refusal of the county court judge to set aside the decision against her on review. Held: Her appeal failed. The task of the county court judge was to see … Continue reading Bubb v London Borough of Wandsworth: CA 9 Nov 2011
