Akhtar v Birmingham City Council

Judgment

Lord Justice Etherton :

Introduction

This appeal concerns the homelessness provisions in Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 (“the Act”). It is an appeal from the order dated 7 June 2010 of HH Judge Worster in the Birmingham County Court dismissing the appeal of the Appellant, Naseem Akhtar, from a review decision of the Respondent, Birmingham City Council, pursuant to sections 202 and 203 of the Act, that the Respondent had discharged its duty to secure accommodation for the Appellant under section 193(2) of the Act. The reason given in the review decision letter was that the Respondent had discharged its duty by its offer to the Appellant of 45 Hartley Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham (“Hartley Road”). That offer was refused by the Appellant on the ground that Hartley Road was unsuitable.

The issues on the appeal are (1) whether the Respondent, when it notified the Appellant by letter dated 5 May 2009 that it had decided a review in favour of the Appellant in relation to an offer of 41 Twickenham Road, Kingstanding, Birmingham (“Twickenham Road”), should have stated the reason for that decision, and in particular that its decision had been made solely on the ground of the size of Twickenham Road, and not on the other grounds of objection by the Appellant, including location; and (2) whether the Respondent, when it subsequently made its offer to the Appellant of Hartley Road by letter dated 12 August 2009, should have stated why it considered that Hartley Road was suitable for the Appellant and her family and it would be reasonable for her to accept it, and in particular explaining why, by contrast, it had previously agreed with the Appellant on review that Twickenham Road had been unsuitable. The Appellant’s case is that, when she refused the offer of Hartley Road, she was under the mistaken impression that the Respondent had previously accepted Twickenham Road to be unsuitable because of, among other things, its location in Kingstanding, and that her objection to Hartley Road on the grounds of its location also in Kingstanding would be bound to be accepted as a valid objection.

Expressed in terms of principle, the issues on the appeal are whether, notwithstanding the absence of any express statutory requirement to do so, a local housing authority must, when it makes an offer of accommodation pursuant to its duty under section 193(2) of the Act, state its reasons for considering the property to be suitable and that it is reasonable for the applica