We stopped the eviction and won permanent social housing!

Our campaign has won our demand that Optivo/Southern Housing stop their eviction and that our member is re-housed in local social housing. Last month our member moved into his new permanent home in his local neighbourhood. He explained how he has settled into his new home:

I’m happy now because I’m living in my own home, it’s good for me, I’m happy. I’m relaxed now because I was in pain, I was stressed when I was facing eviction, but now I have my own house, I’m relaxed now.

The group is important for me, in all of my problems they helped me, they are like my family. Not just for me, for everyone, it’s important. Thank you, thank you for everyone who helped me. I’m happy for the group, what they did in my life.

We want to send a huge thank you to everyone who has supported our member and our campaign over the last year. Almost 300 letters were sent to Optivo/Southern’s CEOs calling on them to stop the eviction. Social Housing Action Campaign featured an article on the case and pledged their support. HASL members and supporters also sent hundreds of tweets to Optivo/Southern and provided vital court support to stop the possession order back in February this year.

Since March 2022 our member had been living with the threat of eviction and homelessness after Optivo /Southern housing served him with a section 21 eviction notice saying that the property where he had lived for the last 7 years “is no longer used for the Eritrean Community”. Our group and others, including people in London’s Eritrean communities, raised concerns that our member was being subjected to racist treatment by the social landlord.

Alongside campaigning on his case, our member instructed lawyers from GT Stewart solicitors to help him to defend the eviction proceedings. With his lawyers, he defended the possession proceedings on the basis that the section 21 notice amounted to direct discrimination as the cover letter showed that he was being evicted because he was Eritrean. They also argued that the eviction notice amounted to harassment under the Equality Act 2010.

After the defence and counterclaim was filed Optivo/Southern housing entered into settlement negotiations. They did not admit any discrimination but they did agree to re-house our member into local social housing.

It should not have taken a campaign and legal challenge for Optivo /Southern Housing to do the right thing. But when they eventually did, the staff we engaged with were very helpful and supportive showing what housing associations should be about and that the option of re-housing (and not evictions) is best for everyone.

Press release: SIGNIFICANT VICTORY against Southwark Council.

Cross posted from the Public Interest Law Unit. The original post can be found here.

“Further to a successful legal challenge by the Public Interest Law Unit (PILU) and Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth (HASL), it has become apparent that Southwark Council have been incorrectly applying the ‘space standard’ test for statutory overcrowding as contained in s.326 of the Housing Act 1985.

Had Southwark applied the law correctly, it would have been recognised that the family in question were living in statutorily overcrowded conditions, and that in accordance with their allocation scheme they should have been placed in Band 1 and given an additional ‘Priority Star’ to reflect that status.

The evidence provided by HASL and as a result of a Freedom of Information Request suggests that the error in fact forms part of a wider unlawful practice.

Since December 2017, HASL have come across five cases where households have reported to Southwark that they are overcrowded according to the space standard for the number of people in the property and the number of rooms, that in each of these cases Southwark has proceeded to measure the size of the rooms and that in only one of the cases has the household been placed in Band 1 on Southwark’s allocation scheme.

The Council’s response to a Freedom of Information request showed that since February 2018, 46 banding decision had been made which had involved assessing whether a household was statutorily overcrowded, all of these cases had been assessed with reference to the space standard set out in s326 Housing Act 1985, and all had been assessed solely with reference to floor area as opposed to the number of rooms. 13 of those cases had been found not to be statutorily overcrowded.

Southwark Council have now admitted that the test for statutory overcrowding had been incorrectly applied the case in question, and while the Council have been reviewing previous decisions made on this basis, it is unclear whether everybody affected will notified and awarded the additional priority that they are entitled to.

Helen Mowatt, solicitor from PILU said:

Southwark Council has formally adopted the measure of overcrowding contained in Part 10 of the Housing Act 1985 within its allocation scheme and is required to properly apply this when allocating social housing. A failure to do so is a breach of the Housing Act and amounts to an unlawful failure to follow a published policy.

Southwark have been erroneously applying the space standard contained in s326(3) Housing Act 1985, by assessing overcrowding solely with reference to floor area and not also with reference to the number of rooms, as required.

The error in our client’s case is material. Had Southwark correctly applied the space standard, his household would have been deemed statutorily overcrowded months ago, they would have been placed in Band 1 of the allocation scheme and awarded an additional priority star.

This was also not an isolated error on the part of the Council. The evidence we have obtained from HASL and as a result of our Freedom of Information Request shows that Southwark have been consistently misapplying the law in every case. It is therefore likely that many households have wrongly been assessed as not being statutorily overcrowded and placed in the incorrect housing Band.

We know that there may have been as many as 13 cases since February 2018 which must now be reviewed, but we are unclear as to how many households may have been affected before this date. We will be seeking assurances from the Council that they will review all relevant cases, but if anyone thinks they may have been affected, please contact HASL and/or seek legal advice.

Elizabeth Wyatt from HASL has said:

Overcrowded housing in the private rented sector, but also in Southwark’s own council housing, is one of the main problems we come across in our group and is one of the more invisible sides of the housing crisis. We know many families forced to live in single rooms, studio flats and one bed flats because of discrimination and extortionate rents in the private rented sector. We know first hand the devastating impact that overcrowded housing has on people’s lives particularly their mental and physical health. We have been raising the problem of overcrowding with Southwark council for years but the council have failed to engage and take meaningful action.

Southwark council should be supporting their residents to access their housing rights and the secure council homes they need, instead it took a legal challenge before the council would accept that it had been wrongly denying that our families were statutorily overcrowded. Together with PILU, we will be making sure that the council goes back to review all previous decisions and applies the law correctly for all future cases. 

Southwark residents and all Londoners desperately need good quality, secure, 3, 4, 5 bed council homes in our communities. We welcome anyone struggling or worried about housing problems to get involved in our group to support each other and take collective action for good housing for everyone.” [ENDS]

For more information please contact Helen Mowatt at hmowatt@lambethlawcentre.org or Elizabeth Wyatt at elizabethwyatt1988@gmail.com