LAUSR

The Supreme Court has handed down the long-awaited decision in Samuels v Birmingham City Council [2019] UKSC 28; the latest in a swathe of judgments concerning the duties of local housing authorities in England to those who present to them as homeless under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). When Ms Samuels presented as homeless to Birmingham City Council she was assessed under the main housing duty to secure accommodation. This is owed if the applicant is homeless, eligible for local authority assistance, was not homeless intentionally, and is in priority need (s.193 HA 1996). Samuels considered a key question that arises in the context of intentional homelessness: how should a local authority assess affordability when considering whether it was reasonable to have expected an applicant to stay in their accommodation? In seeking to answer this question with an objective assessment, the UKSC’s decision will have significant implications for assessments of ‘affordability’ elsewhere in the discharge of homelessness duties by Local Authorities.