Asking for relief – NearlyLegal
‘This is a housing case, but the procedural issue in this decision is only tangentially related to that. Nonetheless, it is a matter worth noting.’
NearlyLegal, 10th January 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Category: housing
Hot, hot, hot – NearlyLegal
‘Here is an interesting First Tier Tribunal bedroom tax appeal decision from Bexleyheath. [Decision notice]. It is a decision made after the Fife Upper Tribunal decision, but upholds the tenant’s appeal on the basis, in part, that the room is inadequately sized to be a bedroom, as well as being just too damn hot.’
NearlyLegal, 11th January 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Disabled tenants to challenge bedroom tax in supreme court – The Guardian
‘A legal case to be heard at the supreme court will decide whether the government’s housing benefit regulations – the bedroom tax – discriminates unfairly against disabled adults. The ruling could have consequences for hundreds of thousands of people.’
The Guardian, 10th January 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Gypsies and Travellers: “A litmus test not of democracy but of civil society” – No. 5 Chambers
‘“[T]here is force in the observation attributed to Václav Havel, no doubt informed by the dire experience of central Europe: “The Gipsies are a litmus test not of democracy but of civil society”.” So said Lord Bingham of Cornhill in the House of Lords in South Buckinghamshire DC v Porter (No 1).’
No. 5 Chambers, 18th December 2014
Source: www.no5.com
Ng and another v Charalambous and another – WLR Daily
Ng and another v Charalambous and another [2014] EWCA Civ 1604; [2014] WLR (D) 540
‘Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004, as amended, which provided that any tenancy deposit paid to a person in connection with a shorthold tenancy in existence on 6 April 2012 had to be dealt with in accordance with an authorised scheme, was concerned not with the date at which the deposit was received but with the date on which the tenancy was in effect. Where such a deposit was not held in an authorised scheme, having been received before the relevant date, the sanctions for non-compliance in section 215(1) nevertheless applied so as to preclude the landlord from serving on the tenant a valid notice stating that possession was required under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.’
WLR Daily, 16th December 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Supreme Court homeless appeals – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Three landmark appeals being heard this week should clarify who is ‘vulnerable’ and entitled to priority rehousing by local authorities.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 16th December 2014
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Conscious Re-coupling and Succession – Nearly Legal
‘In R (Turley) v LB Wandsworth , the Claimant was the partner of the late Mr Doyle, who was the secure tenant of a property at Battersea Park Rd, London, SW8 from 1995 until his death on 17/3/2012. Mr D and Ms T had 4 children together and they lived at the property throughout, apart from a critically important period of separation between December 2010 and January 2012.
Ms T applied to succeed to the secure tenancy but the council decided that because she had not resided at the property for the 12 months immediately preceding Mr D’s death, she did not qualify to succeed. Ms T brought judicial review proceedings against that decision.’
Nearly Legal, 14th December 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
High Court judge quashes selective licensing scheme over consultation failings – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court has quashed a selective licensing scheme that Enfield Council was seeking to apply to the entire borough.’
Local Government Lawyer, 12th December 2014
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Housing: Homeless Persons and Review of Accommodation Needs – No. 5 Chambers
‘This paper considers some selected topics in the broad (and full of case law) topic of homeless persons, together with a brief mention of the duty of local housing authorities to carry out a review of accommodation needs.’
Full story (PDF)
No. 5 Chambers, 9th December 2014
Source: www.no5.com
Legal aid slashed with no thought for consequences, MoJ chief admits – The Independent
‘The legal aid bill is being slashed by £300m without research into the potential effect of the cuts, the most senior civil servant at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has admitted.’
The Independent, 5th Decemeber 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
The elephant in the bedroom – NearlyLegal
‘Finally, the long awaited Upper Tribunal decision on room size and the bedroom tax has been released.’
NearlyLegal, 7th December 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
How much?! Damages for unlawfully evicted secure tenants – NearlyLegal
‘So, if a local authority unlawfully evicts a secure tenant (and yes, it happens) what should the measure of damages be? Under s.27 and s.28 Housing Act 1988, damages fall to be assessed under a valuation exercise, governed – so far as is relevant to this case – by s.28(1).’
NearlyLegal, 4th December 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
The pitfalls of sale and rent back – New Square Chambers
‘The Supreme Court has confirmed the risks of sale and rent back arrangements in Southern Pacific Mortgages Ltd v Scott [2014] UKSC 52. Mrs Scott was the vendor in a sale and rent back. Against her knowledge the purchaser had obtained a mortgage to fund the purchase of her home and defaulted, causing it to be repossessed. She was unsuccessful in arguing that her lease took priority to the mortgage.’
New Square Chambers, 28th November 2014
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Loveridge (Appellant) v Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Lambeth (Respondent) – Supreme Court
Supreme Court, 3rd December 2014
Regina (C1 and another) v Hackney London Borough Council – WLR Daily
‘The system by which one local authority handling local government responsibilities could, under section 27 of the Children Act 1989 and with mandatory effect, request another authority to assist in relation to housing did not apply as between departments within the same local authority.’
WLR Daily, 7th November 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Legal aid cuts means free housing advice slashed despite rise in repossessions – The Independent
‘Legal help for thousands of families facing eviction from their home is being slashed by the Government despite soaring numbers of repossessions, an investigation for The Independent has found.’
The Independent, 26th November 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Stop Retaliating! – NearlyLegal
‘The Tenancies Reform Bill has now been formally published following its second reading. The Bill has changed substantially from the original version that was put forward by Sarah Teather MP and drafted by Shelter. We commented on the Bill before as we had seen the version produced at first reading. The Bill has now benefitted from the gentle caress of the Parliamentary Draftsman’s office so it looks entirely different.’
NearlyLegal, 27th November 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Southwark: Not appealing – NearlyLegal
‘It is not unknown for losing parties in a case to not be happy, indeed very upset. There are two basic options. To shut up and put up with it, or appeal. Rather unusually, faced with one of the most coruscating High Court judgments I can recall, in AA V LB Southwark [our report here], the senior officers of Southwark Council have chosen to do neither. Instead, Southwark’s Housing and Communities Strategic Director has chosen to publicly announce that the judgment was ‘unjust’ and ‘clearly wrong’, but that Southwark aren’t going to appeal it.’
NearlyLegal, 25th November 2014
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Panic room woman challenges bedroom tax – The Guardian
‘A woman whose council home has been fitted with a secure panic room to protect her from a violent ex-partner is going to court on Wednesday to challenge the government’s so-called bedroom tax.’
The Guardian, 18th November 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
