A gypsy applied for housing with the respondent authority, but did not wish to live in a house. They suggested that if the claimants had an aversion to accommodation in bricks and mortar then the offer of such accommodation could not amount to the offer of suitable alternative accommodation.
Held: The submission was rejected. An offer of bricks and mortar was capable of being suitable alternative accommodation; but the court acknowledged that the requirement to respect the applicant’s private and family life and home carried a positive obligation on the part of the public authority. The question therefore was whether the local authority had in fact given special consideration to the applicant as a gypsy and, if so, whether that consideration was lawful and adequate. The suggestion that the current English guidance that gypsies should be considered in the same way as any other applicant did not accord with the Strasbourg jurisprudence precisely because the local authority had to give special consideration to the applicant as a gypsy.
Judges:
Newman J
Citations:
[2003] EWCA 42 Admin
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Approved – Codona v Mid-Bedfordshire District Council CA 15-Jul-2004
A homeless gypsy caravan dweller applied for housing. The authority offered temporary bed and breakfast accomodation. She complained that she had an aversion to living in bricks and mortar.
Held: The authority had discharged its function. The . .
Cited – Lee v Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council CA 16-Jul-2008
The applicant, a gypsy had been living for some years on an illegal site with her children. The council closed the site down and she sought assistance as a homeless person. The council accepted her priority need, but she refused the property offered . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing
Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.276417
