Connor primarily practises in housing, homelessness, community care, asylum support and public law. He is committed to legal aid work and to representing the interests of vulnerable clients and those who are homeless or at risk of losing their home.
He was appointed to the EHRC panel of preferred counsel in 2019.
Connor currently writes regularly for the Garden Court Chambers Social Welfare Updates Blog.
Housing Law
Connor has a busy practice, which includes advising and representing tenants, occupiers and homeless persons in relation to:
- the allocation of social housing under Part VI Housing Act 1996
- homelessness appeals under Part VII Housing Act 1996
- homelessness related judicial review
- possession proceedings and related appeals
- disrepair
- unlawful eviction
- tenancy deposits
- anti-social behaviour injunctions and committal proceedings
Connor is regularly instructed in homelessness appeals and homelessness-related judicial review proceedings. As the co-author of Housing Allocation and Homelessness: Law and Practice (Lexis, 5th edition 2018) he is regarded as a specialist in this area. He was instructed on behalf of the interveners, Shelter and the Child Poverty Action Group, in the Supreme Court case of Samuels v Birmingham City Council [2019] UKSC 28, the leading case on affordability and intentional homelessness. He also acted for Shelter in the case of Al-Ahmed v Tower Hamlets LBC [2020] EWCA Civ 51, the leading case on late homelessness appeals.
Connor has a keen interest in the crossover between housing and public law and is frequently instructed to act in possession proceedings raising public law, human rights and discrimination issues. He is regularly instructed, on behalf of the Official Solicitor, to represent clients who lack capacity, particularly in cases which have a community care element. He was appointed to the EHRC panel of preferred counsel in 2019.
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Community Care Law
Connor advises and acts in judicial review proceedings relating to:
- the provision of accommodation and support to children and care leavers under the Children Act 1989;
- the provision of accommodation and support to vulnerable adults under the Care Act 2014.
- the provision of asylum support under Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 and support for those on immigration bail under Immigration Act 2016.
Connor often works on behalf of migrant families who are not eligible for mainstream support. He has represented trafficking victims and understands the challenges victims face when trying to obtain accommodation and support.
He has been instructed in a number of cases, on behalf of the Official Solicitor, to represent clients who lack capacity, particularly in cases which involve concurrent possession proceedings.
Connor has been a volunteer advocate at the First Tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) with the Asylum Support Appeals Project for a number of years, representing applicants who have been refused support under s4 or s95 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. He accepts instructions in related matters including judicial review challenges to delays in the provision of accommodation by the Home Office. In 2019, he was instructed on behalf of the Claimant MSM, a homeless Syrian asylum-seeker, in a challenge to the absence of any adequate policy or application process to allow destitute migrants to access support under Immigration Act 2016 Sch 10. The Home Office published new guidance catering for those in MSM's position in April 2019, shortly before the High Court was due to hear the challenge.
Connor has a particular interest in cases that involve the interplay between community care, housing, homelessness and asylum support. He is currently co-authoring the forthcoming Migrant Support Handbook for LAG, together with Shu Shin Luh and a number of other contributors from Garden Court and Garden Court North. Publication is expected later in 2020.
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Administrative and Public Law
Connor's public law practice underpins and complements his other practice areas. As well as judicial review proceedings relating to homelessness, the allocation of social housing, asylum support and community care, he has a keen interest in any public law challenge on behalf of persons who find themselves without adequate accommodation or support. He acted on behalf of the intervener, Shelter, in the Supreme Court challenge to the legality of the benefit cap, in R (DA and other) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2019] UKSC 21. Shelter's intervention focused on the difficulty faced by families, affected by the cap, in accessing affordable accommodation.
