Angharad Monk and Isaac Ricca-Richardson of the Garden Court Community Care & Public Law Teams acted for CPH, instructed by Emma Pein of Bindmans LLP.
A severely disabled man has secured a £20,000 settlement from the London Borough of Redbridge following legal action over accommodation so unsuitable that he was forced to drag himself across the floor to use the toilet and shower and access the only running water in his home.
Background
CPH, who is paralysed from the waist down, has only one functional arm and lives with other serious physical and mental health conditions, had previously been street homeless.
Redbridge accommodated him from at least 2020 and, from August 2023, its adult social care team accepted that he had eligible care and support needs. But the accommodation provided had no wheelchair-accessible toilet, kitchen or laundry facilities.
Unable to use the bathroom properly from his wheelchair, CPH had to drag himself across the floor to reach the toilet and shower. He struggled to use the shared, unadapted kitchen and could not do his own laundry.
When CPH later began receiving essential care from his partner, she was initially prevented from remaining with him outside visiting hours of 10am to 8pm. Faced with being left without essential care overnight, CPH began sleeping rough with his partner rather than staying alone in the accommodation.
Judicial Review Proceedings
CPH first brought judicial review proceedings in November 2024. Redbridge agreed to arrange an occupational therapy assessment and carry out the recommended works. However, rather than recommending a move to suitable accommodation, the assessment proposed that CPH stop using the bathroom altogether and instead use a “wheeled shower commode” to defecate and wash in his bedroom/kitchen area, assisted by his wife.
The legal team instructed an independent occupational therapist who subsequently concluded that CPH needed to move to accessible accommodation. After suitable accommodation was still not offered, CPH brought a second urgent judicial review in July 2025, alleging breaches of the Care Act 2014, Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the public sector equality duty (PSED) and disability discrimination.
That case was settled after Redbridge agreed to offer alternative accommodation and accepted that only fully adapted, wheelchair-accessible accommodation was suitable for CPH. He finally moved into alternative accommodation with an adapted wet room on 31 July 2025.
CPH’s remaining claim for damages under the Human Rights Act 1998 and Equality Act 2010 was transferred to the County Court and has now ended in a £20,000 settlement.
The case highlights the potentially serious consequences when local authorities fail to provide suitable accommodation and support to disabled people and the importance of considering claims for damages under human rights and equality legislation where those failures are sufficiently serious.
Press Coverage: The Standard, Inside Housing
