Land owner wins Japanese knotweed blight fight in appeal court – The Independent

Posted February 3rd, 2023 in appeals, damages, housing, local government, news by michael

‘A land owner has won a damages fight after complaining about Japanese knotweed encroaching from neighbouring land.’

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The Independent, 3rd February 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk%20

Flat owners win battle to stop Tate Modern visitors peering into their homes – The Independent

Posted February 1st, 2023 in appeals, housing, injunctions, news, privacy, Supreme Court by sally

‘The owners of four flats overlooked by the Tate Modern in London have won a Supreme Court privacy bid over the use of the gallery’s viewing platform.’

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The Independent, 1st February 2023

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Gove admits ‘faulty’ guidance partly to blame for Grenfell fire – The Guardian

‘Michael Gove has admitted that “faulty and ambiguous” government guidance was partly responsible for the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The UK housing secretary said lax regulation allowed cladding firms to “put people in danger in order to make a profit”.’

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The Guardian, 29th January 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Supreme Court agrees to hear housing case over failure to provide suitable accommodation, mandatory relief and budgetary constraints – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 27th, 2023 in appeals, housing, local government, news, statutory duty, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has granted the London Borough of Croydon permission to appeal in a dispute over mandatory relief in cases where councils have failed to provide suitable accommodation for a person owed the main housing duty.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 26th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court bid to protect tenants from ‘ghost landlords’ – BBC News

‘Housing campaigners hope a Supreme Court ruling to legally define who should be deemed a landlord will help protect tenants in some of England’s worst rental properties.’

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BBC News, 26th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The CIL appeal in Braithwaite – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 20th, 2023 in appeals, housing, local government, news, notification, planning by sally

‘Christopher Cant sets out the lessons to be learned from an important Court of Appeal ruling on the effect of a “revised liability notice” for Community Infrastructure Levy upon an earlier liability notice relating to a housing and office development for which planning permission had been granted.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

London borough successfully defends judicial review claim as judge considers interaction between local authority obligations under Care Act 2014 and Housing Act 1996 – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 17th, 2023 in community care, disabled persons, housing, judicial review, local government, news by sally

‘A High Court judge has dismissed a judicial review claim over the London Borough of Ealing’s decision to withdraw its funding of the claimant’s temporary bed and breakfast accommodation. The application concerned the interaction between the local authority’s obligations under the Care Act 2014 and its obligations under the Housing Act 1996.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government to review damp and mould guidance following death of Awaab Ishak – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 17th, 2023 in children, coroners, health & safety, housing, inquests, news, reports by sally

‘The Government has announced plans to review guidance to landlords on damp and mould, after a coroner asked the government to take action to prevent future deaths.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Rogue landlord fined £12,000 for exploiting Bristol tenants – BBC News

Posted January 13th, 2023 in consumer protection, deposits, fines, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘A rogue landlord who created fake identities and letting agents to keep deposit money in an “elaborate web of misinformation” has been fined.’

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BBC News, 13th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Insurance premiums and commissions – Nearly Legal

Posted January 9th, 2023 in housing, insurance, leases, news by sally

‘Canary RIverside Estate LON/00BG/LSC/2019/0277 (copy decision here via Leasehold Knowledge Partnership). This was the FTT’s decision on an application by the residential leaseholders of the Canary Riverside Estate challenging the insurance premiums they had had to pay over the 10 years since 2010/11.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th January 2023

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Judge quashes decision letter over discriminatory impact of housing allocations policy on domestic abuse survivor – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 6th, 2023 in domestic violence, equality, housing, judicial review, local government, news by sally

“A High Court judge has ruled that a local authority’s housing allocations policy and its application to a domestic abuse survivor amounted to indirect discrimination.”

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Accommodating asylum seekers: legal issues arising from the use of hotel accommodation – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Home Office’s policy of placing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels has given rise to a number of legal issues for local authorities. Dean Underwood and Jack Barber detail the areas of concern.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th December 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Ombudsman’s decisions and housing conditions claims – Nearly Legal

Posted December 15th, 2022 in complaints, damages, health & safety, housing, news, ombudsmen, repairs by sally

‘Plunkett v Clarion HA. County Court at Central London. Ms Plunkett was an assured tenant of Clarion, on the Eastfields Estate. She began a claim for disrepair and unfitness for human habitation while in temporary accommodation in a hotel. The defects complained of were primarily leaks to the interior of the flat and outside the front door causing interior damp, significant mould growth, leaks from above, non-functioning ventilation to kitchen and bathroom, and infestation of mice, for periods of two to four years. The existing issues and unfitness for human habitation were confirmed in an independent expert report. Clarion had refused to agree a single joint expert.’

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Nearly Legal, 13th December 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Awaab Ishak: Widespread failings at mould death housing group – BBC News

Posted December 15th, 2022 in children, complaints, health & safety, housing, news by sally

‘A government regulator has found “widespread failings” at the housing association that rented out a mouldy flat to the family of Awaab Ishak.’

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BBC News, 15th December 2022

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Research Briefing: Mobile (park) homes – House of Commons Library

Posted December 2nd, 2022 in government departments, housing, news, parliament by sally

‘This paper provides an overview of the rights of residents who live year-round on mobile (park) home sites and proposals to improve protections for residents in England.’

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House of Commons Library , 1st December 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Awaab Ishak’s death shed light on a social housing scandal. Now we have a brief chance to fix it – The Guardian

‘A two-year-old died after exposure to mould in his house in Rochdale. We must ensure no other family suffers like this.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Awaab Ishak: The Right To An Adequate Standard Of Living Should Prevent Such Deaths – Each Other

‘Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home, an inquest has heard. The right to an adequate standard of living – which includes decent housing conditions – ought to protect people in the UK from living in a home which causes them harm.’

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Each Other, 21st November 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Assessment of housing needs and cascading unlawfulness – Nearly Legal

‘YR, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Lambeth (2022) EWHC 2813 (Admin). Ms YR had applied to Lambeth as homeless. Her household consisted of her three children and four of her sister’s children, A, her youngest child, is 6 months old; R is 4; Y is 7; B is 9; H is 12; J is 12; and S is 16. Ms YR is a Spanish national with pre-settled status, and Spanish speaking. After becoming homeless in December 2021, she had been staying with a friend, but this could not continue. Following an approach to Lambeth, she was given temporary accommodation in a two bedroom flat in the borough, and the children were enrolled in schools in Lambeth. The accommodation was obviously overcrowded. A formal homelessness application was made in July 2021, with a request for suitable accommodation, together with a request for assessment of the children as in need under section 17 Children Act 1989.’

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Nearly Legal, 20th November 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Hillside Parks – common sense is not that common (but the law is not an ass) – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 21st, 2022 in appeals, housing, local government, news, planning, Supreme Court, Wales by sally

‘The Supreme Court judgment in Hillside Parks shows that common sense helps operate the planning system in a practical and fair way, Roy Pinnock writes.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 18th November 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Racial inequality hard-wired into housing system in England, study finds – The Guardian

‘One in three black people who have experienced homelessness have also faced racial discrimination from a landlord, six times more than the general population of those who had struggled for shelter, a study reveals.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com