Muzzafer Cifci v London Borough of Sutton

Intentional homelessness under the Housing Act 1996 requires a two-stage inquiry: whether deliberate conduct caused the applicant to cease occupying accommodation that was available and reasonable to continue occupying, and whether that conduct caused the current homelessness. Causation is assessed practically and in common sense terms, not by a bare but-for test. A later independent event may interrupt the causal chain, but hypothetical events do not displace an actual cause. Where several operative causes exist, one deliberate act or omission is sufficient. Reasonableness is assessed disregarding the deliberate conduct that led to departure. A review decision should be read benevolently and realistically, while still showing that relevant statutory matters were considered.

Mr Cifci had been provided with temporary accommodation by Bromley. After the landlord served notice concerning 22 Church Road, Bromley offered him alternative accommodation at 357 Brighton Road. He refused that offer, after which Bromley discharged its main housing duty and provided short-term accommodation elsewhere. Mr Cifci later applied to Sutton, which found him intentionally homeless. The review officer upheld that decision, and the County Court at Central London dismissed his appeal under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996 on 2 December 2024. The appeal concerned whether refusal of the Brighton Road offer caused Mr Cifci to cease occupying 22 Church Road, and whether that accommodation remained available and reasonable for him to occupy under section 191(1).

1. Appeal dismissed. The Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the review decision and the County Court’s dismissal of the appeal.
2. Sections 191(1) and 193(1) of the Housing Act 1996 require a two-stage inquiry. The first question is whether the applicant deliberately did or failed to do something in consequence of which he ceased to occupy accommodation that was available and reasonable to continue occupying. The second is whether the applicant’s current homelessness was caused by that intentional conduct. The inquiry may concern earlier accommodation, not only the accommodation occupied immediately before current homelessness.
3. Causation is a practical, common-sense inquiry into the real or effective cause and is more than a but-for test. A later independent and more proximate event may interrupt the causal chain. Conversely, a hypothetical event which might have caused homelessness later does not displace the actual cause. If there is more than one operative cause, it is sufficient that one is the applicant’s deliberate act or omission.
4. The refusal of 357 Brighton Road could properly be treated as an operative cause of the cessation of occupation of 22 Church Road. Mr Cifci was not evicted and no possession proceedings were brought. He left only after Bromley offered 226A High Street, and that offer was made because he had refused the Brighton Road offer while declining to vacate. The landlord’s notice could also have been a cause, but it was sufficient that the refusal was one deliberate operative cause. The reasoning in Godson was relevant but the present case differed because there had been no eviction.
5. For the reasonableness limb, the deliberate conduct leading to departure must be disregarded. Accommodation need not be reasonable to occupy indefinitely or for any fixed period. On that basis, it was reasonable for Mr Cifci to continue occupying 22 Church Road until the acceptance deadline, or until there had been time to move following acceptance. The review decision was also entitled to a benevolent and realistic interpretation, provided it showed proper consideration of the statutory requirements. Both grounds therefore failed.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division). In [2025] EWCA Civ 1480, the appeal was dismissed.
• County Court at Central London. His Honour Judge Holmes dismissed Mr Cifci’s appeal under section 204 of the Housing Act 1996 on 2 December 2024.
• Review decision. Sutton’s review officer upheld the finding that Mr Cifci had become homeless intentionally.