Summary
Mr Gibbons was an assured shorthold tenant in rent arrears. His landlords gave two months' notice seeking possession. Mr Gibbons completed an application form for council housing in which he stated that he could not afford his rent, had to move out of his home 15 days later, and would then become homeless. He left the tenancy when the notice expired and later applied for homelessness assistance. The council decided that he had become homeless intentionally. The first issue in the Court of Appeal was whether the first application for council housing had triggered the council's duties to assist those applicants who were threatened with homelessness. Lord Justice Jackson said: "When the Council received that application form, the Council clearly had reason to believe that Mr Gibbons and his daughter were threatened with homelessness. That, in my view, is sufficient to trigger the obligations of the Council under Part 7 of the 1996 Act." For the full judgment
Law Reports
Articles About The Case
Nearly Legal - ‘Minded to’ letters and oral representations'