London borough takes key housing case to Supreme Court

The Supreme Court is to hear a case on whether accommodation offered to homeless persons must be a single unit of accommodation or can be split.

If the London Borough of Camden wins its appeal, it would give local authorities much greater latitude in managing their resources.

In the Court of Appeal case of Sharif v Camden London Borough Council [2011] EWCA Civ 463 Camden had argued that an offer of accommodation in two adjacent but self-contained flats was sufficient to discharge its duty under s. 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996.

The local authority had proposed the provision of one flat for occupation by the applicant and her younger sister and the other for occupation by her father, who she cared for. The two flats were on the same floor but there were no communal areas.

The applicant refused the offer on the basis that her father was unwell and they should be able to live in a single unit of accommodation.

Camden then notified her under s. 193(5) that it considered that it had discharged its duty.

The applicant’s appeal to the county court was dismissed. However, the Court of Appeal rejected the local authority’s position and found in the applicant’s favour.

Giving the judgment of the court, Lord Justice Etherton concluded that the offer must be of a single unit of accommodation.

He said that the applicant and her father could not be described as living “together with” one another under the arrangements proposed by the local authority, and as required by s. 176 of the Act.

The expression “together with” should be given its ordinary meaning, the judge added.

Lord Justice Etherton rejected – as amounting to a judicial modification of Parliament’s policy – Camden’s submission that it was up to the authority to decide, subject to the Wednesbury test, as to the suitability of split accommodation.

The Supreme Court granted permission to appeal last month.