The politics, law and practice of “intentional homelessness”: 2–Abandonment of existing housing

Abstract

Abstract The first part of this article examined the way in which three local authorities, Midland, Eastern, and Western, implement the intentional homelessness provisions (s.60) of the Housing Act 1985, with respect to applicants who lose their homes as a result of housing debt. It was observed that section 60′s legal structure reserves implementing authorities considerable discretion; this statutory flexibility accurately reflected the uneasy compromise reached between the legislation's supporters and opponents when the Bill was introduced to the Commons in 1977. It was also noted that judicial interpretation of section 60 has confirmed local authorities' power to apply section 60 in either an expansive or restrictive fashion. Data from the three fieldwork sites in respect to housing debt cases confirms that such variation is evident in practice. However, the data also suggested that some authorities are overstepping the very loosely cast constraints on their autonomy. In the second part of the article,...