More than 100 homeless people have taken legal action in the last year to force local authorities to accommodate them as councils struggle with a growing housing shortage, an investigation has found.

Councils have applied the eligibility rules more strictly in the last three years, refusing applications from people with severe psychological disorders such as PTSS or physical conditions, including cancer and HIV.

Investigative journalism bureau Investico studied 125 court cases brought by social advocates on behalf of homeless people against local councils who had refused to accommodate them. They include eight pregnant women and nearly 100 children, Trouw reported.

The current law, which dates from 2015, says local authorities are not responsible for housing people who are deemed to be self-sufficient. But as the supply of housing has tightened, so too have the criteria applied by councils.

“The conditions are drawn up so strictly that in practice it’s almost impossible to meet them,” lawyer Maico Hoefs said.

Abusive relationships

Some people who were turned away had resorted to selling themselves in exchange for a place to sleep, while others had ended up returning to abusive partners, Investico found.

“One pregnant client of mine was kicked out of the house by her father,” lawyer Else Weisenfeld said. “Yet she was turned down for accommodation.”

Council officers are often under pressure to make decisions quickly as the number of cases grows, sometimes within half an hour, which has encouraged them to use long questionnaires and rigid criteria to screen out candidates.

One woman was turned away because she was able to plan a route on Google Maps, while another was deemed too self-sufficient because she was able to discuss correspondence with her support worker.

Hoefs said: “People who are genuinely self-sufficient will find a place. They’re not the ones who knock on the door: nobody is keen to go into council care. It’s those who can’t manage who are the victims of these strict conditions.”