Documents

Text that can be adapted and inserted into a notification letter, when deciding a homeless applicant is:

• Not homeless, or
• Intentionally homeless,

or, on section 202 review, deciding that:

• Accommodation was suitable.

All these types of decision require the decision-maker to consider whether the accommodation is (or was) affordable.

This document provides a framework for setting out your reasons, in circumstances where there were facts (or arguments made) suggesting it may be unaffordable. In other words, where affordability was a live issue requiring you to show your reasons as to why in the circumstances you concluded the applicant could afford the accommodation.

The insert shows how written reasons might be structured, so as to help you demonstrate that:

• You are aware of the case of Samuels v Birmingham CC [2019] UKSC 28 and the principles derived from that leading case.
• You have considered both those factors that weigh for and against the accommodation being affordable.
• Regard to the statutory guidance.
• Consideration of additional or exceptional expenses arising in the specific applicant's case.
• Your reasons for concluding the accommodation is (or was) affordable, including any conclusion that particular items of expenditure could be reduced or done without.
• Regard to the need to safeguard the welfare of children.

Important notes:

1. This document is an example for illustrative purposes only. Reasons must be drafted so they address the particular matters arising in the specific case. A standardised passage of text is no substitute for drafting bespoke reasons dealing with the substantive issues that arise in the case at hand.
2. You may wish to abridge the text. For example, there is no obligation to confirm what 'affordable' means (Rother BC v Freeman-Roach [2018] EWCA Civ 368 by analogy). The main focus should be giving adequate reasons and avoiding any error of law.
3. Stating that you've applied the legal principles is not the same as doing so in practice.
4. It is assumed that a local authority may draw up and rely on its own schedule of sums required for reasonable living expenses for different types and sizes of household in its district. Homelessness managers may wish to obtain legal advice on whether this is permitted and the preferred methodology for doing so.