Correct Procedure Means No Human Rights Act Claim

Social Housing providers will greet a recent decision of the Supreme Court with relief.

The Court upheld a local council’s decision that it had discharged its duty to secure accommodation for persons who were homeless by sending each of them a letter offering accommodation and then closing its file when the letters received no response.

The persons involved denied receiving the letters of offer and argued that they had been denied their right to ‘a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial tribunal established by law’ under the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA).

The Court could not agree that the HRA was engaged by the decision and dismissed the appeal.

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