The applicant had been the victim of domestic violence. She applied to be rehoused, but the authority considered her to be intentionally homeless, since she could have applied to court for an injunction excluding the violent partner.
Held: That approach was incorrect. Although remedies might be available, these could be uncertain, and difficult for some people to achieve, and particularly so where there were children, and the courts would otherwise encourage attempts by the parties to avoid bitterness so as to encourage contact. There is still no presumption that contact with a violent parent was wrong.
Judges:
Lady Justice Hale and Mr Justice David Steel
Citations:
Times 23-Nov-2001, Gazette 06-Dec-2001, [2001] EWCA Civ 1544, [2002] 1 FCR 566, [2002] HLR 6
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow SC 26-Jan-2011
The appellant sought housing after leaving her home to escape domestic violence. The violence was short of physical violence, and the authority had denied a duty to rehouse her. She said that the term ‘domestic violence’ in the Act was not intended . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Children, Housing, Family
Updated: 03 July 2022; Ref: scu.166859
