The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal challenging when a local authority’s main housing duty comes to an end, ruling that the obligation ends at the moment an applicant refuses a compliant private rented sector offer.
Judgment clarifies when duty ends
In Bano, R. (on the application of) v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2026] UKSC 22, the court considered whether the duty owed under section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996 is terminated automatically when an applicant accepts or rejects an offer of accommodation, or whether the local authority must first make and communicate a formal decision that the duty has ended.
The Supreme Court held that the housing duty ends at the point the applicant refuses the compliant offer. In the words recorded in the judgment:
"the duty came to an end at the point of Mrs Bano rejecting the offer."
Background of the dispute
Waltham Forest had accepted that it owed the main housing duty to Mrs Bano and offered private rented sector accommodation in Derby. The authority arranged for the applicant to meet an agent at the property in 2020, but she did not attend the appointment. The council treated that non-attendance as a rejection and considered its duty to have ended.
The applicant pursued judicial review after the council took that course of action. She argued that the offer letter was not a decision amenable to review under section 202 of the Housing Act, and that a local authority was required to make a formal decision and communicate it in order to end the duty. The High Court initially sided with the applicant, but that view was overturned on appeal and ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court.
Legal and practical consequences
The ruling confirms that where a local authority relies on a compliant offer of private rented sector accommodation, the statutory framework in section 193(7AA) results in the main duty ending automatically when the applicant accepts or refuses that offer. Challenges to the suitability of the accommodation, or to the authority’s reliance on it, should be pursued through the statutory review route in section 202, which gives applicants 21 days to seek a review.
For residents and advisers in Waltham Forest, the judgment emphasises the importance of acting quickly if they wish to contest an offer. Judicial review is likely to be unavailable where an applicant has an alternative statutory remedy that they did not use.
- What ends the duty: automatic upon acceptance or refusal of a compliant private rented sector offer.
- Statutory remedy: applicants have 21 days to seek a review under section 202 of the Housing Act 1996.
- Implication: judicial review is limited where a statutory review route exists.
Timeline of key events
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2020 | Offer of private rented accommodation in Derby made; applicant failed to meet agent. |
| High Court | Found duty did not end automatically and local authority must make a formal decision to end it. |
| Court of Appeal & Supreme Court | Both accepted that the duty ends upon the applicant accepting or refusing a compliant offer. |
The judgment will be of particular significance to housing officers, legal advisers and anyone facing or making offers of accommodation under the main housing duty. Local residents seeking to challenge the suitability of offers must ensure they use the statutory review process within the 21-day window, rather than risking the loss of that remedy.
Waltham Forest Borough Council and local housing advice charities have not been quoted in the judgment text provided. Council officers will now need to review local procedures to ensure correspondence around offers and refusals is clear and that applicants are informed of their right to a review within the statutory timeframe.
