Isaac Ricca-Richardson of the Garden Court Community Care Law Team acted for the claimant, instructed by Emma Pein of Bindmans Solicitors.
Following the issue of urgent judicial review proceedings and an application for interim relief, a local authority agreed to provide suitable accommodation pursuant to its duties under the Care Act 2014 to a disabled wheelchair user with significant needs for care and support.
The Claimant, who is paraplegic and has only one functioning arm, had been left at risk of street homelessness following an eviction notice from his previous property, which was itself wholly inaccessible by wheelchair: he risked serious injury, as he was required to push his wheelchair across steps and unfixed ramps, and could only use his bathroom with physical assistance from his wife or, if that was unavailable, by dragging his body across the floor.
The property had also been made subject of a Prohibition Order following inspections by the London Fire Brigade and the local housing authority, which found that it created unacceptable risks to safety, increasing the urgency of the situation.
Isaac and his solicitor had initially challenged the Defendant local authority’s refusal to accept that the property was unsuitable to meet his needs, eventually resulting in an agreement in principle to relocate him. But the local authority then failed to take reasonable steps to actually source a suitable alternative address, despite the constant risks the Claimant faced and his increasingly hostile treatment by the private company managing his previous home.
As a result, the Claimant was left with no choice but to issue a claim for judicial review. After an urgent interim relief hearing was listed, the Defendant provided the Claimant with housing that is safe and accessible by wheelchair, resulting in the settlement of the claim. The Defendant also agreed in the consent order not to ask the Claimant to leave his new address unless it has already arranged and offered accommodation meeting the Claimant’s needs.
