More than 900 people affected by Grenfell Tower fire settle claims – The Guardian

Posted April 12th, 2023 in accidents, bereavement, compensation, damages, fire, health & safety, housing, inquiries, news by sally

‘More than 900 bereaved family members, survivors and local people who were affected by the devastating Grenfell Tower fire have agreed on a settlement of their civil claims arising from the blaze.’

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The Guardian, 11th April 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Asylum seeker barge plan would face legal challenge – BBC News

Posted April 4th, 2023 in asylum, hotels, housing, news, ships by sally

‘Ministers are facing the prospect of a legal challenge if they go ahead with plans to house asylum seekers on a barge off the Dorset coast.’

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BBC News, 4th April 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Judge grants permission to bring claim over alleged failure to treat as former relevant child – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 4th, 2023 in care orders, children, housing, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has granted permission for a judicial review challenge over the London Borough of Lambeth’s alleged failure to treat a vulnerable 17 year old as a “looked after” child, by providing accommodation under the Housing Act, rather than pursuant to the provisions of the Children Act.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Illegal eviction – attempted or accomplished? – Nearly Legal

Posted April 3rd, 2023 in appeals, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repossession by sally

‘Not something we see very often, an appeal from a conviction for illegal eviction (not that we see many convictions for illegal eviction in the first place).’

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Nearly Legal, 2nd April 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Council prosecution sees landlords fined £434k for housing offences – Local Government Lawyer

‘Eight landlords – five individuals and three companies – have been fined £434,000 for offences under the Housing Act 2004, including the operation of 14 unlicensed houses in multiple occupation (HMO) and a catalogue of breaches relating to fire safety, tenant information and maintenance of the properties, following a prosecution brought by West Northamptonshire Council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 3rd April 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council decision to extend conservation area to save department store building was unlawful, High Court rules – Local Government Lawyer

Posted April 3rd, 2023 in housing, local government, news, planning by sally

‘A High Court judge has found that Spelthorne Borough Council fell into a number of legal errors when extending a conservation area to include a former department store that developers were seeking to demolish.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 31st March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Party Walls – no notice, no Act! – Tanfield Chambers

Posted March 31st, 2023 in appeals, chambers articles, compensation, costs, housing, news, party walls, surveyors by sally

‘Katie Gray discusses the Court of Appeal decision in Power & Kyson v Shah [2023] EWCA Civ 239 and the impact it has on the Party Wall Act 1996.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 24th March 2023

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Judges allow appeal from residents in out-of-borough accommodation disputes – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 28th, 2023 in appeals, families, housing, local government, London, news by sally

‘Two residents have won cases in the Court of Appeal against decisions by London boroughs to move them to private rented accommodation outside the capital.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 27th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Awaab Ishak: Rochdale housing group dismissed residents – report – BBC News

Posted March 28th, 2023 in children, complaints, health & safety, housing, inquests, news, ombudsmen, repairs by sally

‘A housing association criticised over the death of a toddler treated its residents in “dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic ways”, a report says.’

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BBC News, 28th March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Time to respond to ‘minded to’ letters, and getting affordability right – Nearly Legal

Posted March 27th, 2023 in appeals, homelessness, housing, judicial review, local government, news by tracey

‘Our grateful thanks to Alice Irving of Doughty Street Chambers for this note of a section 204 appeal decision, which is interesting in the approach to representations in response to ‘minded to’ letters, to affordability assessments and on the timing and role of skeleton arguments in s.204 appeals.

Tapper v Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (unreported, 4 January 2022, County Court at Central London, HHJ Parfitt)’

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Nearly Legal, 26th March 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Council takes legal action to stop asylum seekers being sent to Essex airfield – The Guardian

‘An Essex council is seeking an urgent injunction against the Home Office to try to prevent plans to house asylum seekers on an airfield close to a small village.’

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The Guardian, 26th March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Council wins statutory review over original building and proportionality of additions – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 23rd, 2023 in housing, local government, news, planning, proportionality by tracey

‘A planning inspector’s decision has been quashed by the High Court in a dispute concerning Green Belt building and the unknown dimensions of a home that stood on the site before the present planning system took effect in 1948.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 23rd March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman issues special report on Catalyst Housing over ‘repeated failures’ indicative of wider service failure – Local Government Lawyer

Posted March 13th, 2023 in complaints, housing, landlord & tenant, maladministration, news, ombudsmen by tracey

‘The Housing Ombudsman has called for significant improvements at Catalyst Housing ahead of its merger with another major social landlord, Peabody, following an investigation that found it “routinely failed to recognise formal complaints” and that aspects of its service were “arbitrary, disjointed and concerning”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Council told to pay nearly £10k after woman forced to live in unsuitable accommodation for three years – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has found that Croydon Council placed a woman fleeing domestic violence in “unsuitable accommodation” for three years, as well as finding poor complaint handling.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ex-council tenant given suspended sentence, ordered to pay £10k after failing to inform London borough she had vacated property – Local Government Lawyer

‘A former council tenant who vacated the home to live at a property she had purchased elsewhere but failed to inform the local authority has received a £10,000 fine and suspended prison sentence.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 9th March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Research Briefing: The end of ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions – House of Commons Library

‘The Queen’s Speech 2022 committed to a Bill in the 2022-23 session to abolish ‘no-fault’ section 21 evictions in the private rented sector. This paper covers developments to date.’

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House of Commons Library, 7th March 2023

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

New judgment: Rakusen v Jepsen and others [2023] UKSC 9 – UKSC Blog

‘This appeal is about Rent Repayment Orders. These are orders that can be made against landlords that have committed certain housing-related offences. They require a landlord to repay an amount of rent paid by a tenant (or pay to a local housing authority an amount of universal credit paid in respect of rent). The question which arises is whether they can only be made against a tenant’s immediate landlord, or whether they can be made against a landlord higher up in a chain of tenancies (e.g. the landlord of the tenant’s immediate landlord) – referred to as a “superior landlord”.’

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UKSC Blog, 1st March 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Rent Repayment Orders – just the immediate landlord – Nearly Legal

‘The issue for the Supreme Court was whether the wording of section 40 and 41 Housing and Planning Act 2016 meant that a rent repayment order could be made against only a tenant’s immediate landlord, or also against a superior landlord (where the occupying tenant’s landlord themselves had a tenancy of the property) where that landlord had also committed a relevant offence.’

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Nearly Legal, 5th March 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Court bid to protect against ‘ghost landlords’ fails – BBC News

‘A legal bid to protect tenants from so called “ghost landlords” has failed, in a move that could have significant implications for people looking to claim their rent back if they live in bad conditions.’

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BBC News, 2nd March 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme court rules in favour of halting housebuilding in Shrewsbury park – The Guardian

‘Campaigners have won a supreme court appeal to stop houses being built on a park protected by a 100-year-old statutory trust in Shrewsbury, in a landmark ruling for the protection of green spaces.’

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The Guardian, 1st March 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com