Category: housing

Nzolameso v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily

Posted October 23rd, 2014 in appeals, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government by sally

Nzolameso v Westminster City Council [2014] EWCA Civ 1383; [2014] WLR (D) 437

‘For the purposes of section 208 of the Housing Act 1996, when deciding whether it was “reasonably practicable” to accommodate a particular homeless person within its own district, bearing in mind that the accommodation might be of no more than a temporary nature, a local housing authority was entitled to have regard to all the factors that had a bearing on its ability to provide accommodation to that person, including the demands made on its resources, whether of a financial or administrative nature.’

WLR Daily, 22nd October 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

A very unlawful eviction – NearlyLegal

Posted October 23rd, 2014 in damages, housing, local government, news, repossession by sally

‘This High Court judgment is remarkable in many ways, most of them worrying. It was the result of a six day hearing, with Southwark putting Kelvin Rutledge QC up against Mr AA in person and ended with findings against Southwark that were as bad as they could possibly be (and just perhaps even worse than the available evidence would support).’

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NearlyLegal, 22nd October 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Judge blasts Southwark Council for evicting Sudanese tenant and destroying all of his possessions – The Independent

Posted October 16th, 2014 in damages, housing, local government, news, repossession by sally

‘Housing officers conspired to unlawfully evict a Sudanese refugee from his council flat and destroy his possessions, including memory sticks holding thousands of hours of work, before then covering up their wrongdoing, a judge has ruled.’

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The Independent, 16th October 2014

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Teather’s Tether – Will the Tenancies (Reform) Bill be a sticker? – Zenith Chambers

Posted September 24th, 2014 in bills, housing, landlord & tenant, news, utilities by sally

‘Aided by a campaign from Shelter to put an end to “retaliatory eviction” in the private rented sector, Sarah Teather MP introduced a private members bill on 3rd July 2014. This is to address the situation where a tenant, making a legitimate complaint that rented premises are in a state of disrepair, is immediately met with a s. 21 notice and the accelerated procedure for possession. Rather than face up to their responsibilities, or risk a challenge in rent possession proceedings by way of defence and counterclaim for damages for disrepair, unscrupulous landlords choose simply to evict the tenant using the swift and final “no fault” route to possession.’

Full story (PDF)

Zenith Chambers, 12th September 2014

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

Children being denied justice by legal cuts, says children’s commissioner – The Guardian

Posted September 24th, 2014 in budgets, children, HM Courts Service, housing, legal aid, news, young persons by sally

‘Vulnerable teenagers are being deprived of justice because cuts to legal aid are preventing them from getting representation, a report by the children’s commissioner said on Wednesday.”

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The Guardian, 24th September 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

DCLG opens technical consultation on house building standards – OUT- LAW.com

Posted September 17th, 2014 in building law, construction industry, disabled persons, elderly, housing, local government, news, standards by sally

‘The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) opened a consultation last week on a series of proposed changes to the existing system of housing standards, which seek to reduce and simplify the rules house builders must comply with.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th September 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Retaliatory Eviction and Law Reform – NearlyLegal

Posted September 15th, 2014 in bills, complaints, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘The government (through its Minister for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams) today announced its backing to Sarah Teather’s private members bill, whose aim is to prevent landlords from evicting tenants who have complained about disrepair in their home or where health and safety hazards are found to exist at the premises, using the accelerated possession procedure. Statistics provided by Shelter show that 200,000 tenants faced possession proceedings in the last 12 months in response to complaints about the condition of their home.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 11th September 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Victims’ Rights, the EU Charter, and Passport Confiscation – the Human Rights Roundup – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted September 15th, 2014 in appeals, disabled persons, EC law, elections, employment, equality, extradition, freedom of expression, homosexuality, housing, human rights, interpretation, local government, news, passports, prisons, race discrimination, Supreme Court, terrorism, torture, victims by sally

‘In recent news, the government outlines proposals for increased rights for the victims of crime, as well as for the revocation and confiscation of passports for ISIS fighters returning to the UK. In other news, the legality of the EU Charter comes back to haunt Chris Grayling once again.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 15th September 2014

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

The public sector equality duty and priority need – NearlyLegal

Posted September 8th, 2014 in appeals, disability discrimination, equality, housing, inquiries, local government, mental health, news by sally

‘In Kanu v Southwark LBC [2014] EWCA Civ 1085, the Court of Appeal considered whether the public sector equality duty added an additional obligation on housing officers when they came to consider whether an applicant had a priority need. As you will all know the public sector equality is an obligation placed on public authorities by s.149, Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Broken down, when someone is disabled, the duty further requires an authority to have due regard to the need to take steps to take account of a person’s disability.’

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NearlyLegal, 7th September 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

You’ve got absoutely nothing out of this – NearlyLegal

Posted September 1st, 2014 in abuse of process, banking, contracts, costs, housing, indemnities, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

‘For most parties that enter into litigation (save for those on CFAs and some who are legally aided) a win isn’t really a win unless the other side is also ordered to pay your costs. I say most, because certain litigants enter into litigation knowing that come what May their costs will be paid on the indemnity basis. They have the foresight (or more accurately the power) to draft contracts which provide that, in the event of litigation, the other side (often a borrower or a long leaseholder) will indemnify them for all their legal costs irrespective of whether they win or lose.’

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NearlyLegal, 31st August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Housing experts call for clampdown on rogue landlords – BBC News

Posted September 1st, 2014 in housing, landlord & tenant, news, rent, standards by sally

‘Housing experts have called for minimum standards to be better enforced in the private rental market to stop landlords exploiting vulnerable tenants.’

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BBC News, 30th August 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court agrees to hear key case on intentional homelessness – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 29th, 2014 in appeals, homelessness, housing, local government, news, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has given an appellant permission to appeal a Court of Appeal ruling over the relevant time for a council to consider whether her homelessness was intentional.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th August 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Regina v Ali (Salah) – WLR Daily

Posted August 11th, 2014 in appeals, enforcement notices, housing, law reports, planning, proceeds of crime, rent, repossession, sentencing, time limits by sally

Regina v Ali (Salah) [2014] EWCA Crim 1658; [2014] WLR (D) 366

‘It was permissible for the statutory assumptions in section 10 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to be applied in a case where a defendant was either voluntarily or involuntarily absent through illness.’

WLR Daily, 31st August 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

The strike down of Superstrike: Where are we now with tenancy deposits? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘Most landlords of residential property take a deposit as security for their tenant’s liabilities. Since 1996 the vast majority of tenancies granted by private landlords and many tenancies granted by Registered Providers of housing have been assured shorthold tenancies (“ASTs”).’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 6th August 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Private landlords and article 8 – Are we there yet? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in benefits, housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

‘At the time of the decisions in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2011] 2 AC 104 and Hounslow v Powell [2011] 2 AC 186 it was thought that a seismic shock wave would be sent through the Courts requiring them in every claim for possession of residential premises by a public sector landlord to undertake a time consuming balancing exercise to assess the “proportionality” of making an order for possession. The Courts, it was thought, would be overwhelmed. This has in fact not proved to be the case. The County Court has become adept at weeding out the weak cases early on and even where the article 8 point is run to trial the Court has, by and large, been robust in its approach. The one issue which has remained unresolved for a surprisingly long time is the question of the extent to which the principles set out in Powell and Pinnock would apply in a possession claim where the land owner is a private individual and not part of the public sector.’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th August 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Damages for disrepair – Long leasehold properties – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in compensation, damages, housing, leases, news, repairs by sally

‘A leaseholder with a leaking roof or defective shared heating system faces two questions: Who is responsible for undertaking the necessary repairs to the building and internal repairs to their property and how will it be paid for?’

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Hardwicke Chambers, 4th July 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Dewsbury couple win spare bedroom housing benefit fight – BBC News

Posted August 7th, 2014 in benefits, disabled persons, housing, news by sally

‘A couple from West Yorkshire who went to court to challenge a cut to their housing benefit have won their case.’

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BBC News, 7th August 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Supreme Court agrees to hear case on eviction and disability discrimination – Local Government Lawyer

Posted August 6th, 2014 in appeals, civil procedure rules, disability discrimination, equality, housing, local government, news, proportionality, repossession, Supreme Court by sally

‘The Supreme Court has issued a last-minute order to prevent the eviction of a disabled social housing tenant.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th August 2014

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Arguably Serious – Aster Communities Ltd v Akerman-Livingstone – NearlyLegal

Posted August 6th, 2014 in appeals, civil procedure rules, disability discrimination, equality, housing, local government, news, proportionality, repossession, Supreme Court by sally

‘Aster Communities Ltd (formerly Flourish homes Ltd) v Akerman-Livingstone [2014] EWCA Civ 1081 (30 July 2014) is an extraordinary decision that will – if allowed to stand – have a significant impact on the day-to-day management of possession claims in the county court.’

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NearlyLegal, 5th August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Register your s.13 notices – NearlyLegal

Posted August 4th, 2014 in amendments, appeals, enfranchisement, housing, leases, news by sally

‘The recent decision in Regent Wealth Ltd and others v Wiggins [2014] EWCA Civ 1078 is a clear reminder to practitioners to register notices under s.13, Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.’

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NearlyLegal, 3rd August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk