When may a local housing authority in England refuse to entertain a second homelessness application which purports to be a fresh application? That was the question in Minolta v Cambridge City Council (2022) EWCA Civ 159. Answer: only when the new application is identical to the previous application, that is based on exactly the same facts, disregarding only fanciful allegations and trivial facts.
The authority’s enquiry falls into two stages. Stage One: is it, on the above basis, an application at all? Stage 2: If so, is the application well founded? At Stage 2, if it is reached, there is no short cut for the authority. It must carry out the enquiries referred to in Section 184 of the Housing Act 1996.