A domestic violence survivor, (who cannot be named publicly, due to court-ordered reporting restrictions), is suing Tipperary County Council over its housing policy. The female claims she was denied social housing after leaving her home and has now been granted leave to bring judicial review proceedings against Tipperary County Council.
The woman was forced to leave her former local authority home, before entered a domestic violence refuge. She now remains homeless, residing in emergency Bed and breakfast accommodation. Having sought social housing under her own name and having explained her situation, the council required her to surrender her joint tenancy, before it would consider her new application for housing supports.
The applicant claims to have complied with Tipperary Co. Councils instructions, but was excluded from consideration for social housing for one year, on the grounds that she had voluntarily surrendered her tenancy.
The woman’s legal team argue that the surrender in this case was not voluntary and that the council’s decision now breaches administrative and human rights law, which in turn amounts to an unlawful fettering of its discretion, through the application of an inflexible policy to all victims of domestic violence.
The legal team, representing the woman in the High Court on Tuesday morning last (November 26th, 2024) sought and were granted leave for a judicial review by High Court Justice Mr Garrett Simons, who stated that the applicant appeared to have been placed in a ‘Catch-22’ situation.
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