You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Jewish housing association facing court battle over allocations policy
A north London housing association set up to house Orthodox Jews is facing a court battle after two families claimed its allocations policy was discriminatory.
The claimants, who are not Jewish, have launched a judicial review against Agudas Israel Housing Association (AIHA) and Hackney Council over a policy to only allocate housing to Orthodox families.
Ita Symons, chief executive of AIHA, said that the association, which manages around 500 homes, would fight the case, which she claimed was being brought by people already living in secure accommodation. She told Inside Housing that she believed the case was “politically motivated”.
The families had wanted to rent homes in AIHA’s new Aviv development in Stamford Hill, but were not given the chance to bid.
Ms Symons said AIHA was justified in letting homes only to the Orthodox community as many families required specialist housing. She said there were up to 1,000 Orthodox families waiting for appropriate accommodation.
“This community has special needs and needs a special type of housing,” she said. “They need to be within walking distance from synagogues, from kosher shops and schools.”
The judicial review is expected to be heard in October.
READ MORE
Nick Billingham, a partner at Devonshires who is representing AIHA, said that there were special exemptions for charities in the 2010 Equality Act, arguing that the association’s policy was an example of “positive discrimination”.
“It’s very difficult to provide a housing service [for Jewish people] that does not recognise the religious aspect,” he added.
Hackney Council has been contacted for comment.
