‘The Supreme Court will this week hand down a key ruling on whether Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the right to a fair hearing, applies to decisions on entitlement under Part V of the Housing Act 1996.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th May 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This was the DWP’s appeal to the Upper Tribunal of the First Tier Tribunal’s decision on the Carmichael’s bedroom tax appeal.’
Nearly Legal, 27th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
‘In Octagon Overseas Ltd and Canary Riverside Management Ltd v Coates [2017] EWHC 877 (Ch), the First-tier Tribunal appointed Mr Coates as the manager of Canary Riverside (a development comprising, amongst other things, four blocks of residential apartments of which Octagon were the freehold owners) under s.24, Landlord and Tenant Act 1987. As part of its order it required that Canary Riverside Management Ltd must, amongst other things, provide copy documents (accounts, invoices, etc) to Mr Coates. Mr Coates contended that this order had not been complied with and brought a claim in the County Court for an injunction against Canary Riverside Management Ltd seeking to enforce the management order. The County Court made an injunction, with a penal notice attached, restraining Canary Riverside Management Ltd from
1. Changing any locks to the premises;
2. Removing any property from the premises;
3. Interfering with the manager’s exercise of his obligations under the management order.’
Nearly Legal, 26th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Rochdale BH is a social housing provider (of what was the council’s housing stock). The issue in this case – heard as a preliminary issue – was whether Rochdale BH was a water reseller under the terms of The Water Resale Order 2006 in that charges for water it made as a part of the rent.’
Nearly Legal, 23rd April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A woman who angered her neighbours by decorating her multimillion-pound townhouse with red and white stripes can ignore a planning order to repaint the property, the high court has ruled.’
The Guardian, 24th April 2017
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A judge has dismissed all seven grounds on which a developer sought to challenge the Community Secretary’s decision to reject a planning inspector’s recommendation.’
Local Government Lawyer, 20th April 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘First, a Southwark rent arrears possession case, demonstrating that the effects of Jones v London Borough of Southwark [2016] EWHC 457 (Ch) (our report) rumble on in Southwark, despite the Council agreeing to repay overcharged water rates for the period 2001-2013 to the tenants. (Our thanks to Serdar Celebi, Cambridge House Law Centre and Tim Baldwin, Garden Court Chambers for the note).’
Nearly Legal, 16th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Many of you, I suspect, will be like me – you hear from clients, prospective clients, tenants etc., on a very frequent basis that in making a housing decision, or indeed in not making it, the council or housing association has ‘breached its duty of care’ to them.’
Nearly Legal, 11th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A tribunal has overturned the listing of an allotment site in Lancashire as an asset of community value (ACV), on the grounds that nearby housing development makes it “highly unrealistic” that the site will ever be used as allotments again.’
OUT-LAW.com, 11th April 2017
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Ms Oliver was the long leaseholder in a block of flats on the Lansdowne Estate, which was owned by the Council. The Council carried out city wide major works, which included works on the Lansdown Estate. Some of the works were eligible for a contribution from a commercial energy company as part of the Community Energy Savings Programme (“CESP”). In total 15 of the 25 blocks on the Lansdowne Estate were eligible to receive CESP funding. The contribution to Ms Oliver’s block was £43,570.44. The Council decided not to pass the CESP directly to the leaseholders as a set off against their service charge contributions. Rather, the Council decided to attribute the money to the funding of works to its city-wide housing stock. The effect of this was that every leaseholder’s service charge was reduced irrespective of whether their block had been entitled to CESP funding.’
Nearly Legal, 10th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A couple of county court cases on Airbnb/short let use by leaseholders. One was reported in the newspapers, the other has not been reported anywhere before. Both show the potentially serious consequences of leaseholders letting out on short lets, where lease clauses arguably prevent it. We have seen the clause ‘use only as a private residence’ in the Upper Tribunal Nemcova, and subletting without consent, “otherwise than as a private residence for occupation by a single household” and carrying out a trade, business or profession from the Property in the FTT in LON/00AY/LBC/2015/0021. In both these cases, other lease clauses were involved, so there is an extension of the kind of clause catching Airbnb/short let use.’
Nearly Legal, 7th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘This was a judicial review of Southwark’s allocation policy as it applied to transfers. Specifically, the issue was whether Southwark’s policy, in awarding ‘priority stars’ for ‘community contribution’ discriminated against women and the disabled.’
Nearly Legal, 9th April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a decision that two joint tenants had lost security of tenure under the Housing Act 1985 because they no longer occupied the property as their only or principal home.’
Arden Chambers, 16th March 2017
Source: www.ardenchambers.com
‘In Sheffield City Council v Oliver (2007) EWCA Civ 225 the local authority was unsuccessful in its appeal from an Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) decision concerning the funding of major refurbishment works to several blocks of flats of which it is the freeholder.’
Local Government Law, 5th April 2017
‘The Court of Appeal has held that the difference in the residence requirements for statutory succession to secure tenancies between married couples (or civil partners) and unmarried couples living together as man and wife (or as civil partners) under the former s.87, Housing Act 1985, was not a breach of Art.14, European Convention of Human Rights, read with Art.8.’
Arden Chambers, 24th March 2017
Source: www.ardenchambers.com
‘The Court of Appeal has held that the words “costs … incurred” in the service charge provisions in a right to buy lease were to be given a natural and not a special meaning; accordingly, the Upper Tribunal had been wrong to hold that such costs were reduced by third-party energy-saving funding received by the landlord from an energy provider in relation to a major works programme; but the Court was required to determine for itself the “fair proportion” of the costs to which the leaseholder was required to contribute, and a deduction was to be made in relation to part of the funding received which was attributable to the leaseholder’s flat.’
Arden Chambers, 4th April 2017
Source: www.ardenchambers.com
‘Did the pre Localism Act 2011 succession rules for a secure tenancy amount to a breach of article 8 and 14 (private life and non-discrimination), and if so, should a declaration of incompatibility be made if the Housing Act 1985 could not be read compatibly? This was the issue in this appeal.’
Nearly Legal, 3rd April 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Local Government Ombudsman has issued a quite withering decision on a complaint about Barnet Council’s failure to make a formal decision on repeated homeless applications by a homeless woman.’
Nearly Legal, 30th March 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘This was an appeal against an order that Canal and River Trust could remove Mr Jones boat from a canal near Bradford on Avon, under its powers under s.8 of the British Waterways Act 1983 and s.13 of the British Waterways Act 1971. Mr J had advanced a defence of breach of article 8 European Convention on Human Rights.’
Nearly Legal, 26th March 2017
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A Cambridge-educated law lecturer has left his brother homeless – and facing a £200,000 legal bill – after winning a court battle to sell a £750,000 flat bought by the pair with money left to them by their mother.’
Daily Telegraph, 20th March 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
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