‘Chapters 1 and 2 of the 2004 Act establish a system for the assessment and enforcement of housing standards, by which local authorities are required or empowered to take action (including serving hazard awareness, improvement, or prohibition notices) where they identify category 1 and category 2 hazards in residential premises.’
Tanfield Chambers, 29th November 2023
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Saint Sepulchre, R (On the Application Of) v Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea (2023) EWHC 2913 (Admin). A judicial review of RBKC’s refusal to provide temporary accommodation pending section 202 review of the decision that Mr S was not homeless.’
Nearly Legal, 17th December 2023
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Robert Bowker and Pauline Lam (Russell Cooke) examine the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Adriatic Land 5 Limited v The Long Leaseholders at Hippersley Point [2023] UKUT 271 (LC).’
Tanfield Chambers, 16th November 2023
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘The Housing Ombudsman has launched special investigations into Camden Council, Hackney Council and Hyde Group after casework showed all three landlords struggle with damp and mould, repairs and complaint handling.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Brent Council has secured a £424,000 confiscation order against a landlord who rented out a large shed as five flats.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Poplar HARCA v Kerr. Central London County Court 26 July 2023. This was a county court appeal to a circuit judge on the issue of whether a pre-existing suspended possession order, made on a discretionary ground, could be varied on the application of the landlord to an outright order on a mandatory ground. As ever with County Court appeals, not binding precedent, but may be persuasive.’
Nearly Legal, 10th December 2023
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Housing Ombudsman has provided updated guidance on the “often contentious” area of service charges in its latest Insight report.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A tenant said she and her family were left feeling “really vulnerable” after being charged unlawful fees totalling more than £10,000.’
BBC News, 6th December 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The issue of gas safety certificates has been revisited again in Van-Herpen v Green & Green (2023) County Court at Hastings, 4 December 2023, in which I acted for the Defendants. This time, the questions for the court were whether a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate (“BRCC”) from the installation of a boiler or a Gas Safety Certificate (“GSC”) arising out of a plumber’s visit some two months later had to be served for the section 21 notice to be valid.’
Nearly Legal, 5th December 2023
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘An inquest into the death of a 39-year-old woman, who fell from the balcony of her third floor flat in west London after an epileptic seizure, has found that the failure of the local housing authority and a housing association to provide her with safe accommodation was a cause of her death.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Imam, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Croydon (2023) UKSC 45. This is the long awaited Supreme Court decision in Imam v Croydon on what conditions a court should have regard to in deciding whether to make a mandatory order that the local authority comply with its section 193(2) Housing Act 1996 duty to provide suitable accommodation. At first instance, Croydon have avoided a mandatory order, despite Ms Imam having been in what was acknowledged to be unsuitable accommodation for what was then 5 years, in part on the basis of a fairly general assertion that LB Croydon had no suitable houses and no money (our note here). This was reversed by the Court of Appeal (our note here), which held that a pleading of lack of resources would have to be demonstrated in detail, with evidence of steps taken, before a court would accept this as a reason not to make a mandatory order.’
Nearly Legal, 3rd December 2023
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A judge at Central London County Court has awarded a claimant more than £50,000 in damages after her council property was found to be unfit for human habitation.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘London Mayor Sadiq Khan‘s decision to reject planning permission for a huge Las Vegas-style entertainment venue is to be reviewed by ministers. The housing secretary Michael Gove has opted to use his powers to “call in” the rejection of the 21,000-capacity, 300ft-tall MSG sphere to decide whether it should stand.’
The Independent, 3rd December 2023
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has handed down its ruling in a test case on compulsory ADR. Elizabeth England analyses the judgment.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th November 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Archie Maddan explains what was involved in the first successful prosecution of a tower block owner for failure to remove flammable cladding.’
Local Government Lawyer, 30th November 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The UK government’s proposed ban on the sale of new leasehold houses has not been included in its bill to reform housing rights.’
BBC News, 30th November 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea acted unfairly in rejecting a request for accommodation by a man with mental health problems pending the outcome of his statutory review request of the defendant council’s earlier decision that he was not homeless, the High Court has found.’
Local Government Lawyer, 30th November 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The landlords of a dangerously overcrowded east London flat that suffered a deadly fire in March have pleaded guilty to a total of nine criminal charges.’
The Guardian, 28th November 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The central issue before the Supreme Court is R (Imam) v London Borough of Croydon (2023) UKSC 45, in which Judgment was given on 28 November 2023, was whether, and, if so, in what way, a local authority’s lack of financial or other resources should be taken into consideration when a Court is deciding whether to grant a Mandatory Order against the authority in order to enforce its undoubted statutory duty (paragraph 37) towards a homeless individual under Section 193(2) of the Housing Act 1996.’
Local Government Law, 29th November 2023
Source: local-government-law.11kbw.com
‘A developer who neglected a listed mansion has been found guilty of ignoring a listed building notice for five years following a prosecution brought by Liverpool City Council.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st November 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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