Upon release from prison, our vulnerable client applied as homeless with his local authority and was deemed not homeless due to the fact he has a secure tenancy with the same local authority. However, we had argued that it was not reasonable for him to continue to occupy the property in light of a restraining order and his mental health conditions. We requested a review of the decision and accommodation to be provided pending review. The local authority refused to exercise their discretion to accommodate our client pending review, whilst being aware our client was rough sleeping and suffering from severe mental health conditions.

We issued an urgent claim for Judicial Review and applied for interim relief, with the assistance of counsel Marie Paris of Doughty Street Chambers. The High Court allowed the local authority to provide a response to the interim relief sought, and within a few days the High Court granted our client interim relief and ordered the local authority to accommodate our client pending review of the homelessness decision.

Following consideration of our claim and the local authority’s response, the Court was satisfied that (a) our client had a strong prima facie case that the local authority’s failure to exercise its discretion to provide our client with accommodation pending review under section 188(3) of the Housing Act 1996 was unlawful and (b) the balance of convenience lay in favour of granting interim relief.

The conducting solicitor was Claire Wiles, Joint-Head of the Housing Department, assisted by Trainee Solicitor Clémence Coignard.