Iris Ferber , KC
Iris Ferber is an established Housing and Employment Law specialist, with a particular interest in discrimination law, including disability discrimination law. She is listed in both the UK Bar legal directories (The Legal 500 and Chambers UK), for both her Employment work and her Housing work.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2005
Year Taken Silk
- 2023
Experience
- Cobden House Chambers (2005 - 2012)
Membership
- Discrimination Law Association
- Employment Lawyers Association
- Employment Law Bar Association
- Social Housing Law Association
- Property Bar Association
- Chancery Bar Association
Qualifications
- Bar Vocational Course (2005)
- GDL (2004)
Education
- MPhil University of Cambridge (2002)
3 Contributions by Iris Ferber
PRACTICE NOTES
Allocation Eligibility under Housing Act 1996 Part VI: Immigration, Habitual Residence and Unacceptable Behaviour (England and Wales)
This Practice Note considers who can be offered housing accommodation by local housing authorities (LHAs) in England and Wales. It explains when an applicant is not entitled to social housing—
in England, ineligibility arises solely from immigration status;
in Wales, there is an additional ground based on unacceptable behaviour, which can exclude an applicant.
The Note concentrates on eligibility for allocations by LHAs under Part VI of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). Every application must be looked at; however, only an eligible person can actually receive an allocation. See Practice Note: Allocation of housing.
What does eligibility for allocation of housing mean?
Eligibility is mainly determined by immigration status. In Wales, there is also a separate basis for ineligibility linked to unacceptable behaviour, discussed further below: Wales and unacceptable behaviour. The LHA is responsible for deciding whether an applicant is eligible to be allocated social housing...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Eligibility for Homelessness Assistance under HA 1996 Pt VII and H(W)A 2014 Pt 2: Immigration Status, Habitual Residence and Exemptions (England and Wales)
What does eligibility for housing assistance mean?
This Practice Note examines who qualifies for ‘housing assistance’, meaning help provided under the homelessness provisions in Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996) in England and Part 2 of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 (H(W)A 2014) in Wales. For details on eligibility for the allocation of housing, see Practice Note: Allocation—eligibility.
Eligibility for housing assistance is tied to immigration status. The local housing authority (LHA) is responsible for deciding if an applicant is eligible, and its decision can be challenged by the applicant through the review process—see Practice Note: Homelessness—the review and appeal procedures.
England and Wales each issue their own Homelessness Code of Guidance. In the Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities (English Code), eligibility is addressed in Chapter 7; in the Allocation of accommodation and homelessness: guidance for local authorities (Welsh Code), it is also found in Chapter 7, with cross-reference to Chapter 2 (Eligibility in relation to Allocation). On this subject, the two Codes are closely aligned.
Eligibility is among the most intricate aspects of homelessness law, drawing together elements of housing law, immigration law and the impact of the...
Local Government
PRACTICE NOTES
Social housing allocation in England: qualification under HA 1996 s 160ZA, local connection limits, protected cohorts (Armed Forces, Right to Move, domestic abuse victims, care leavers), and EqA 2010
This Practice Note explains the rules on qualification for the allocation of housing by a local housing authority (LHA) in England, brought in by the Localism Act 2011 (LA 2011) and inserted into the Housing Act 1996 (HA 1996). It is not relevant to Wales. It sets out the general allocation framework, issues affecting the armed forces, the right to move, and also how these elements interact. Through LA 2011, significant changes were made to HA 1996, Part VI, which governs the allocation of social housing. A key change, applying in England only and not in Wales, was the creation of a concept of ‘qualification’ for allocation, alongside ‘eligibility’. Accordingly, in England, a person who meets eligibility criteria for an allocation (broadly, by holding the requisite immigration status—see Practice Note: Allocation—eligibility) but is not a qualifying person cannot be offered housing accommodation by an LHA. This Practice Note considers what amounts to a qualifying person, identifies the different categories of qualifying persons, and explores how that concept interacts with the principle of reasonable preference addressed in Practice Note: Allocation preference.
What is a qualifying person?...
Local Government
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