A mother who obtained a council house by deception can be classed as ‘intentionally homeless’, judges have ruled.
The decision follows an appeal by Wolverhampton City Council and overturns an earlier ruling which had raised wider questions for social housing landlords in England and Wales.
Emilia Munemo was given a three-bedroom council property in Wolverhampton in 2020 after stating she had never previously been a council tenant. It later emerged she already held a secure tenancy in Birmingham.
The council discovered the false information in 2021 and later secured a possession order. Ms Munemo was evicted in March 2023.
The case centred on whether she could be considered intentionally homeless under housing law. A county court judge had previously ruled in her favour, drawing on an earlier case which suggested that a home obtained through deception could not be seen as reasonable to continue to occupy.
However, appeal judges said the earlier case did not apply in the same way. They found that Ms Munemo had held a secure tenancy, and that the council had not needed to show she was ineligible for housing assistance.
The judges also said a person could not rely on their own dishonesty to argue that a home was unsuitable.
Lord Justice Stuart-Smith said accepting that argument would mean ‘any person who induces the grant of a tenancy of suitable and satisfactory accommodation by deception will not be intentionally homeless’ – a result that would ’emasculate section 191 and prevent it from achieving its statutory purpose.’
The ruling restores the council’s original decision and is expected to provide clearer guidance for local authorities dealing with cases involving housing fraud.
Image: BEN ELLIOTT/UnSplash
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