Resident wins Court of Appeal battle over suitability of accommodation

The London Borough of Newham failed to properly assess whether accommodation was suitable for a resident with disabilities, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Lewison LJ said in Kannan v London Borough of Newham [2019] EWCA Civ 57 that Sivapragasam Kannan had been incorrectly assessed and so left in a flat that he and his doctors said was unsuitable for his needs.

Mr Kannan was accepted in 2016 as unintentionally homeless and in priority need and he and his family were housed in a first floor above a casino.

Access is via an external metal staircase of 14 steps. There is a bathroom, but no shower.

The court heard that Mr Kannan suffers from a number of medical conditions which have required extensive reconstructive surgery and which seriously affect his mobility.

When Mr Kannan sought to move somewhere more suitable the council mishandled his case, the court decided.

Lewison LJ said: “I consider that the reviewing officer did not conduct an adequate review. First, he appears to me to have misunderstood the thrust of [a] medical assessment, and the effect of Newham's own decision based upon it.

“Both the assessment and the decision entailed the conclusion that Mr Kannan's accommodation was ‘unsuitable’ on medical grounds [and] a ground floor flat (or a flat accessible by lift) was not a matter of convenience, but a housing need. That ought to have been the starting point for the review.”

The judge said the reviewing officer's treatment of Mr Kannan's disability “was also highly unsatisfactory” having without giving any clear reason downgraded Mr Kannan's description of “severe pain” after climbing the stairs to “uncomfortable and inconvenient”.

Mark Smulian