Our statement on a recent management transfer court case

In February, we lost a high court case (TRX v Network Homes Limited) relating to one of our tenants who had requested a management transfer due to the risk of violence and abuse from their ex-partner. Colleagues within Network Homes had signposted the resident to suitable services but deemed that they didn’t meet the high threshold to grant priority for a management transfer, noting they already had a protective injunction in place. In the case the judge found that we had not fully followed our policy in providing full reasons for the decision and quashed our decision, directing that we need to remake the decision in line with our policies.

We appreciate this has been an extremely difficult process for the resident. Following their recent successful reapplication, we've subsequently increased the resident's priority status for a management transfer.  

While we were reassured that The High Court found that our policies were lawful and had not been applied in a discriminatory manner, we are undertaking a review of our relevant policies, as well as completing a review of our management transfer process, to ensure that they reflect the Judge’s comments and are as clear and effective as possible.

We remain committed to doing what we can to prevent domestic abuse and support survivors and victims. However, the fact remains that there is massive pressure on affordable housing and sadly we do not have provision to offer people emergency accommodation. In emergencies, our advice to residents is to contact the relevant local authority which has a statutory duty to assist in cases of domestic abuse. Local authorities also have access to emergency accommodation with a system in place to prioritise housing for those in greatest need.