The Mayor and Burgesses of The London Borough of Wandsworth v Jerome Young

Section 184 of the Housing Act 1996 governs initial inquiries into homelessness. It does not impose additional notification or review-notice requirements when an already accepted main housing duty later ceases. The specific requirements in section 193 apply instead. Acceptance of a Part VI offer ends the main duty under section 193(6)(c), without further notice under section 184. Even if a further review should have been mentioned, a possession court should not reconsider the issue where statutory review and appeal routes were available and were not used in time, absent exceptional circumstances.

Mr Young was provided with interim accommodation after the Council accepted that it owed him the main housing duty. He signed a tenancy agreement following a Part VI offer of accommodation and requested a suitability review. The reviewing officer found the accommodation suitable and concluded that the main duty had been discharged, but did not inform Mr Young of any right to request a further review of that conclusion.

Mr Young remained in the interim accommodation. The Council brought possession proceedings. District Judge Daley ordered possession, and His Honour Judge Saggerson dismissed Mr Young’s appeal on 27 January 2025. The Court of Appeal considered whether the main housing duty had continued and whether Mr Young could raise that issue in the possession proceedings rather than through the review and appeal procedures under the Housing Act 1996.

Appeal dismissed. Lord Justice Newey gave the leading judgment, with Lady Justice Elisabeth Laing and Lord Justice Cobb agreeing.

1. Mr Young did not challenge the finding that he had accepted the offer of accommodation at 25 Diprose Lodge. Section 193(6)(c) of the Housing Act 1996 states in unqualified terms that the authority ceases to owe the main housing duty when the applicant accepts an offer under Part VI. The duty therefore ceased on the accepted facts.
2. Section 184 concerns the inquiries made when an authority has reason to believe that an applicant may be homeless or threatened with homelessness. Section 193, by contrast, deals with duties owed after the applicant has been found to be homeless and specifies the conditions governing cessation. Sections 193(5), (7), (7AA) and (7AB) contain express requirements concerning information, review rights and, in some cases, notification. It would be inconsistent with that scheme to impose further requirements through section 184.
3. Section 202(3) makes notification relevant to the commencement of the 21-day review period, but does not itself require notification of a decision or of a right to seek review. The observations in Ravichandran v Lewisham LBC that an applicant should be informed of a right to review a decision discharging the duty were obiter and did not establish such a legal obligation. R (Bano) v Waltham Forest LBC supported the conclusion that the legislation specifies when information about review rights is required.
4. Although a public law challenge may in appropriate circumstances be raised in possession proceedings, Part VII issues should generally be pursued through the statutory review and appeal procedures. Following Tower Hamlets LBC v Rahanara Begum and Godson v Enfield LBC, it would ordinarily be wrong to permit a much later challenge where the applicant knew of the decision and failed to use the available procedures. No exceptional circumstances existed. Mr Young knew that the Council considered the duty discharged and had ample time to seek a review or extension.
5. A pending appeal, or a timely stated intention to appeal, might justify an adjournment. It would not entitle the possession court to determine the statutory issue itself. The appeal was dismissed.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division) — Appeal dismissed: [2025] EWCA Civ 1336.
• County Court at Central London — His Honour Judge Saggerson dismissed Mr Young’s appeal on 27 January 2025.
• County Court at Wandsworth — District Judge Daley ordered Mr Young to give vacant possession on 21 September 2023.