"A" and Lindsay v Lambeth LBC
Two applicants challenged Lambeth's housing allocation scheme. They both met the conditions entitling them to a "reasonable preference" over other applicants.

The scheme was divided into various lists organised on a "date-order" basis. Applicants could choose to wait in a longer queue for more desirable properties or wait in a shorter queue for worse housing.

The Appeal Court decided that the council's scheme was unlawful. First, open access and date-ordering could mean that a person not in a reasonable preference category was housed ahead of an applicant entitled to preference. That could not reflect the extra priority to which a person in a preference category was entitled. Allowing applicants to get priority by switching to shorter lists for unpopular homes could not cure that.

Second, the scheme could not cater for those entitled to "extra" reasonable preference or in several preference categories. A lawful scheme had to identify and prioritise those in greatest housing need.

Source

Housing Today

Reference

All housing authorities will be revising their schemes to be ready for the start of the Homelessness Act in January 2003. A full reading of this judgment will be a must for all involved in that process.