A WOMAN from Manchester has won a landmark legal victory that will force councils to find new homes for domestic violence victims.

The House of Lords has ruled that women staying in temporary refuges after fleeing abusive partners will now be considered homeless and have rights to a permanent home.

The decision comes after homeless charity Shelter and barristers at Kings Chambers in Manchester fought the case of a mother of two, who stayed in a city refuge after she and her children fled home.

When she left the refuge she applied to the city council as homeless, but after spending three weeks in temporary accommodation, her application was refused.

Adam Fullwood, a member of the public law team at Kings Chambers, acted for the woman throughout her case which started in the county court.

He said: "The decision has clarified the law and overturned the previous ruling from the Court of Appeal which said only women who register with a local authority are deemed homeless and that women who stay in refuges first after fleeing abusive partners are looked upon as being 'adequately housed'.

Victims

"This is a just decision for victims of domestic violence and vital for the refuge movement as a whole.

"This woman was extremely vulnerable and her case is illustrative of the extreme difficulties that women have to face fleeing from an abusive partner."

Campaigners fighting for the change say women are often referred to a refuge by police or a hospital and have no say in the matter.

They are then caught in a trap where if they want to leave the refuge they are said to have made themselves 'intentionally homeless' and aren't eligible for council help.

Shelter solicitor Helen Jackson, who acted on behalf of the woman, said: "Many already vulnerable women who have turned to local authorities for help after fleeing violent partners have been told they are not homeless or have made themselves homeless.

"Today's ruling means that in most cases a local authority can no longer refuse a homelessness application because she is staying in a refuge. Local authorities must now offer women housing to help them rebuild their shattered lives."