ABSTRACT
But while the position of the homeless, and the black homeless, in London is particularly acute, recent surveys of homelessness demonstrate that it now constitutes a national crisis (IoH, 1988).
employment with poverty (CRE, 1974, Townsend, 1979). The homeless are often portrayed as part of the
ACCOMMODATION
Although the Act defines when accommodation is available for occupation, it does not define 'accommodation' itself. Consequently no minimum standards of existing accommodation - whether by reference to provision of amenities, overcrowding, structural stability or general fitness for
habitation - have been set by which local authorities might judge whether an applicant who was not roofless was nevertheless homeless. Those occupying hostels, common lodging houses, resettlement units or squatters or those in accommodation lacking privacy, security of tenure or access to cooking facilities, or sharing basic sanitary arrangements or living in damp, cold or otherwise barely tolerable circumstances would not of necessity be considered by the relevant authority as homeless in terms of the Act. It is this and like avenues of discretion which have given rise to such a plethora of judicial law-making by way of application for judicial review.
