Westminster City Council have failed in their High Court bid to refer a housing application back to Southwark London Borough Council, which had referred the matter to Westminster in the first place.
Southwark were satisfied that the claimant was both unintentionally homeless and in priority need of housing, but decided that since he did not have any connections with Southwark, the matter should be referred to Westminster, where they believed that he did have connections.
Westminster attempted to refer the matter back to Southwark on the basis of an insufficient local connection, but the High Court has now allowed the applicant’s challenge to Westminster’s stance.
Wilson J was told that a letter from the applicant’s landlord indicated that Southwark were correct in their approach to the matter, and ruled that, in those circumstances, the applicant’s challenge to Westminster’s referral bid should succeed. He said that Westminster had acted unlawfully in failing to accept responsibility for the claimant.
The judge also criticised Westminster’s moves to join Southwark in the action. He said that Westminster had merely been attempting to do by the back door what it could not do by the front door, namely obtaining judicial review of Southwark’s decision in the matter.
Bantamagbari v Westminster City Council Queen’s Bench Division (Wilson J) 13 May 2003.
References: PLS News 15/05/03
