CA-2024-002348 - [2025] EWCA Civ 1390

Part VI of the 1996 Act deals with the allocation of housing accommodation provided by the local authority or by those providing social housing. Section 166A requires every local housing authority in England to adopt a scheme for determining priorities in the allocation of housing and provides that housing shall not be allocated except in accordance with that scheme. Section 166A contains detailed provisions governing the content of a scheme but, so far as material, provides:

“(1)

Every local housing authority in England must have a scheme (their “allocation scheme”) for determining priorities, and as to the procedure to be followed, in allocating housing accommodation. For this purpose “procedure” includes all aspects of the allocation process, including the persons or descriptions of persons by whom decisions are taken.

(2)

The scheme must include a statement of the authority's policy on offering people who are to be allocated housing accommodation—

(a)

a choice of housing accommodation; or

(b)

the opportunity to express preferences about the housing accommodation to be allocated to them.

(3)

As regards priorities, the scheme shall, subject to subsection (4), be framed so as to secure that reasonable preference is given to—

(a)

people who are homeless (within the meaning of Part 7);

(b)

people who are owed a duty by any local housing authority under section 190(2), 193(2) or 195(2) (or under section 65(2) or 68(2) of the Housing Act 1985) or who are occupying accommodation secured by any such authority under section 192(3);

(c)

people occupying insanitary or overcrowded housing or otherwise living in unsatisfactory housing conditions;

(d)

people who need to move on medical or welfare grounds (including any grounds relating to a disability); and

(e)

people who need to move to a particular locality in the district of the authority, where failure to meet that need would cause hardship (to themselves or to others).

(4)

The scheme may also be framed so as to give additional preference to particular descriptions of people within one or more of paragraphs (a) to (e) (being descriptions of people with urgent housing needs)…

…..

(6)

Subject to subsection (3), the scheme may contain provision about the allocation of particular housing accommodation—

(a)

to a person who makes a specific application for that accommodation;

(b)

to persons of a particular description (whether or not they are within subsection (3)).

…..

(14)

A local housing authority in England shall not allocate housing accommodation except in accordance with their allocation scheme.”

Part VII of the 1996 Act deals with homelessness. Different duties are imposed on local housing authorities in respect of particular categories of persons found to be homeless or threatened with homelessness. For present purposes, it is necessary only to note the duty in section 193(2) (sometimes referred to as the “main” or the “full” housing duty) which is owed to a person who is homeless, eligible for assistance, has a priority need as defined by the 1996 Act and who has not become homeless intentionally. In such circumstances, section 193(2) provides that:

“(2)

Unless the authority refer the application to another local housing authority (see section 198), they shall secure that accommodation is available for occupation by the applicant.”

The accommodation must be suitable (section 206) and available for occupation by the applicant together with any other person who normally resides with him as a member of his family (section 176(1)). An individual who is dissatisfied with a decision of a local authority, including a decision as to whether accommodation is suitable, may seek a review of the decision by the authority and, if still dissatisfied, may appeal to the county court: see sections 202 and 204 of the 1996 Act. As Lord Sales observed in R (Imam) v London Borough of Croydon [2023] UKSC 45; [2025] AC 335:

“21.

Parts VI and VII of the Act deal with different topics and it has been observed that the duty to secure that accommodation is available for a homeless family under section 193(2) is “quite separate from” the allocation of council housing under Part VI : Birmingham City Council v Ali[2009] 1 WLR 1506 (“Ali”), paras 14 and 47, per Baroness Hale of Richmond. But they interact. So, for example, a person owed the main housing duty under Part VII is included within the priority groups specified in Part VI and, if that results in an allocation, the main duty ceases: section 193(6)(c) and section 166A(3)(b). An allocation under Part VI is by way of the grant of a secure tenancy, but such a tenancy may not be granted when the local housing authority allocates accommodation in fulfilment of its duty under section 193(2): paragraph 4 of Schedule 1 to the Housing Act 1985.”