European Court of Human Rights backs policy of Orthodox housing group in London

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected a challenge to the right of a London housing association to restrict places to members of the Orthodox Jewish community.

The case was originally brought in the UK by a single mother of four in Hackney who was seeking social housing for her family.

But because she was not a member of the Orthodox Jewish community, the local council did not forward her application to the Agudas Israel Housing Association, which primarily serves the Charedi population in the area.

Her claim of discrimination went all the way to the Supreme Court, which in 2020 upheld earlier judgments in favour of the housing association.

Now the ECHR has concluded the policy of Hackney Council and the AIHA was justified and the application to challenge it “manifestly ill-founded”.

Chaya Spitz, chief executive of AIHA, said, “We welcome this decision by the European Court of Human Rights which confirms that making targeted provision to meet the needs of minority groups is protected by the law.

“For 40 years, AIHA has successfully addressed the specific needs of the Orthodox Jewish community in the UK, giving families suitable and affordable housing. We are proud of the essential service that we provide and, through this case, to have established an important principle which affects many different communities across the UK.”