Duty to provide interim accommodation for priority need applicants
93.By S.188(1), if the local housing authority has “reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need, they must secure that accommodation is available” for the applicant's occupation. This is over and above the Relief Duty. 94.This S.188(1) duty may arise at the same time as the acceptance of the Part 7 application or later. Chapter 15 of the Code provides inter alia that:“15.5: The threshold for triggering the section 188(1) duty is low as the housing authority only has to have a reason to believe (rather than being satisfied) that the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need.” 95.Once the housing authority is satisfied that there is “reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need,” the S.188(1) duty has been described as immediate, non-deferrable and must be offered upon the duty arising, see the judgment of Hickinbottom J in R (Edwards) v Birmingham City [2016] EWHC 173 (Admin) at paras. 40-41 and the reasoning of Lewis LJ in R (Elkundi and others) v Birmingham City Council; R (Imam) v London Borough of Croydon [2022] EWCA Civ 601; [2022] QB 604 which was a decision in relation to the s193(2) main duty.96.Before both of those cases, in R (Kelly) v Birmingham CC [2009] EWHC 3240 (Admin) (unreported) at para. 7, Hickinbottom J had summarised the low threshold test for providing interim accommodation under s188(1) as follows: “7(i) An application under Part 7 of the 1996 Act can be in any form, and need not be in writing…” “7(iii) In the meantime, if an authority has reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need, they are under aduty to provide that applicant with temporary accommodation…”.“7(iv) … In considering whether their duty under Section 188 is engaged, the authority's starting point is consequently the information provided by the applicant himself. If that gives rise to reason to believe that the applicant may be homeless, eligible for assistance and have a priority need, then the duty to provide interim accommodation arises. In addition to the phrase “reason to believe”, I emphasise the word “may”, which again underscores the low hurdle an applicant has to surmount to engage the Section 188 obligation…”“7(iv)… An authority cannot defeat the prompt engagement of Section 188 by introducing filters or delays, e.g. by making non-statutory enquiries …”97.I shall consider below whether this ruling prevents a housing authority from clarifying the application where they already have in their possession a considerable file which contains relevant decisions which contradict the foundation of the assertions in the application that the applicant makes to engage the S.188(1) duty.
- The Parties
- Bundles
- Summary
- The Issues
- Procedural Rigour and duty of candour
- CPR r.8.5(1) states:
- “Rule 54.16—Evidence
- Documents and evidence
- The background facts
- The history from the Ombudsman’s report
- Medical assessment result
- The Claimant’s medical records
- The Ombudsman’s decision
- Facts from the revised Grounds of Response
- The OT reports
- Current facts including the pleadings and chronology of the action
- The Medical Assessment form
- Consent to share form
- Income form
- Factual chronology continued
- The Claimant’s witness statements
- The grounds for the claim for judicial review
- Findings of fact
- Overview
- The homelessness application may trigger inquiries
- Accepting the application
- Definition of “homeless at home”
- Priority Need
- The Assessment
- Code of Guidance
- Notification of the decision
- The Main Duty to accommodate
- The “Relief Duty” to help to secure temporary accommodation
- Duty to provide interim accommodation for priority need applicants
- Discharge of Duty under s188(1)
- Applicants who refuse offers of suitable alternative interim accommodation
- Communication of decision on S.188(1) application/duty
- Public sector equality duty
- Case law
- from the time the authority has a reason to believe the relevant matters, until they determine the homeless application.”
- an immediate duty under s.188 to ensure that suitable accommodation is available for the applicant
- or to engage in inquiries outside the statutory scheme into whether the applicant is indeed homeless
- they cannot engage in non-statutory inquiries designed to (or which in fact) emasculate, dilute or “short-cut” the statutory requirements
- In the vast majority of cases, the making of the application will mean that it is difficult if not impossible for the council not to believe that the applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness.
- Equally, the authority is entitled to question a person who claims that he is homeless at home, to clarify whether, in fact, there is reason to believe that the accommodation occupied by that person is such that it may not be reasonable for him to continue to occupy it. It is simply not the case that every complaint about the condition of a property of which the Council, and no doubt other housing authorities, receive very many gives rise to such a reason to believe, despite the lowness of the threshold.
- what the applicant says together with the past history of the applicant as known to the authority
- Applying the law to the facts
- Clarification before accepting the duty under S.188(1)
- Factors
- Homeless at home after acceptance of the duty
- Suitability of the Park West Flat
- Notification
- Ground 1
- Ground 2.
- The offer
- The Claimant’s refusal
- Delay
- Did the Claimant actually request suitable alternative interim accommodation after 26.9.2022?
- Ground 3: PSED.
- Conclusions on the parties’ agreed list of issues
- The need for constant supervision.
- The expense of enforcement.
- The need for precision.
- Morris v. Redland Bricks Ltd. [1970] A.C. 652
- Unjust enrichment of the Claimant.
- R. v. Islington London Borough Council, ex p. B (1997) 30 H.L.R. 706, Q.B.D.
- Conclusions