Article 8 success in the County Court – NearlyLegal
“This was a failed succession case where an article 8 proportionality defence was, at least in part successful.”
NearlyLegal, 17th January 2013
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
Category: housing
High Court upholds Secretary of State’s refusal of 1,000 Grantham homes – OUT- LAW.com
“A High Court judge has dismissed a challenge to the Secretary of State’s refusal of developer Larkfleet Limited’s plans to build a 1,000-home urban extension to the north of Grantham in South Kesteven.”
OUT-LAW.com, 20th December 2012
Source: www.out-law.com
Request for information – NearlyLegal
“There is a rather odd case note on Lawtel on a High Court appeal of a dismissed defence to possession following an apparently failed succession…
Evans v Brent London Borough Council QB (Ramsey J) 18/12/2012 [note of extempore judgment on Lawtel].”
NearlyLegal, 19th December 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
Crimes of the Benefit-Bashers – Garden Court Chambers Blog
“Liz Davies paints a bleak picture of what the government’s spending cuts and benefit caps mean to the least advantaged in society.”
Garden Court Chambers Blog, 18th December 2012
Source: www.gclaw.wordpress.com
Housing benefit changes challenged in high court – The Guardian
“The coalition’s decision to break the link between the cost of renting and housing benefit payments is being challenged in the high court.”
The Guardian, 17th December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
31 days later: Failure to comply with s 213 of the Housing Act 2004 – Hardwicke Chambers
“The Tenancy Deposit Scheme came into force on 6th April 2007. After the Court of Appeal handing down a number of controversial ‘landlord friendly’ judgments on the meaning of ss 213-215 of Housing Act 2004 (‘the Act’), Parliament amended these provisions by s 184 of the Localism Act 2011 (‘2011 Act’). The amendments came into force on 6 April 2012. Since this date, there is a tough new world out there for unorganised or inexperienced landlords. This article seeks to set out what is required by landlords and what happens when things go wrong.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 30th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Outright or suspended – The correct approach in discretionary residential possession cases – Hardwicke Chambers
“On 29 November 2012 the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Birmingham City Council v Mr Neil Ashton [2012] EWCA Civ 1557. Though the facts of the case were similar to many anti-social behaviour cases heard around the country it did throw up three particularly interesting areas of confirmation and clarification.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Squatters are not home stealers’ – The Guardian
“On 26 September, Alex Haigh became the first person to be jailed under section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act. His crime was one of which countless thousands of people could now be guilty: squatting. A 21-year-old from Plymouth, Haigh was arrested for living in a house in Pimlico that had been empty for over a year. He had come to London seeking work as a bricklayer; now he has a criminal record.”
The Guardian, 3rd December 2012
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Triumph of substance over form – Hardwicke Chambers
“In Pieretti v. LB Enfield [2011] 2 All ER 642 the Court of Appeal held that a local authority in exercising its powers under Part VII Housing Act 1996 (Homelessness) was carrying out a ‘function’ for the purposes of s.49A. It was therefore an obligation on the Local Authority to have ‘due regard’ to the factors set out in the section and, in the case of homelessness, in particular to have ‘due regard’ to ‘the need to take steps to take account of disabled persons’ disabilities’. Moreover, this duty arose irrespective of whether or not the applicant, or their advisers, had raised disability as an issue.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 30th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Housing and the CPR: A Factual and Speculative Account of Amendments Past and Present – Zenith Chambers
“The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2012 came into force on 1st October 2012. These Amendments cover many aspects of the CPR. This article only considers those amendments which a housing practitioner is likely to encounter.”
Full story (PDF)
Zenith Chambers, 27th November 2012
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
Prison mentors: ‘I’ve been in trouble almost all the time’ – BBC News
“The government wants to give more prisoners on sentences of less than 12 months a mentor – who may themselves be an ex-offender – to try to cut reoffending.”
BBC News, 26th November 2012
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Samin v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily
Samin v Westminster City Council: [2012] EWCA Civ 1468; [2012] WLR (D) 336
“A migrant worker from another EU member state who could not establish that he was temporarily unable to work as a result of illness or accident within regulation 6(2)(a) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 was not entitled to housing provision from a local authority as a homeless person under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996.”
WLR Daily, 21st November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Deja Vu All Over Again (and again) – NearlyLegal
“In Samin v Westminster CC [2012] EWCA Civ 1468, the Court of Appeal had to decide what was meant by someone being ‘temporarily unable to work’ so as to determine if Mr Samin retained his status as a ‘worker’ under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.”
NearlyLegal, 22nd November 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
Just because it looks like a Duck, walks like a Duck and sounds like a Duck, does not mean it is Duck –or a house? – Hardwicke Chambers
“Part I of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 was designed to alter the balance between freeholders and their residential tenants, by giving the leaseholders the right to an extended lease or to compulsory acquisition of the freehold.”
Hardwicke Chambers, 16th November 2012
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
JR, the rule of law, and administrative justice – NearlyLegal
“According to Cameron, there is a need to restrict the right to judicial review to ensure the country’s economic competitiveness. As he put it, judicial review should, therefore, cost more, have shorter deadlines, and fewer rights of appeal. This is so that ‘people think twice about time wasting’.”
NearlyLegal, 20th November 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Charles Terence Estates Ltd v Cornwall Council – WLR Daily
Charles Terence Estates Ltd v Cornwall Council: [2012] EWCA Civ 1439; [2012] WLR (D) 326
“It was not appropriate to circumscribe a local authority’s power to acquire houses in order to provide accommodation for unintentionally homeless in priority need by limiting the power to acquire at a reasonable price.”
WLR daily, 13th November 2012
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Housing: between a rock and a hard place – LegalVoice
“Desperation among local authority housing departments is running so high that homeless families are regularly told they can be given accommodation only if their children go into care, writes Elizabeth Davidson. This shocking response on the part of the authorities is clearly a fob-off given that this would not only breach their legal duties but would cost their social services departments a lot of money.”
LegalVoice, 13th November 2012
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Suitability: Of time and distance – NearlyLegal
“With perfect timing, a County Court section 204 appeal judgment reaches us, on the issue of suitability of temporary accommodation. With the context of out of borough placements and the post Localism Act situation, this seemed worth considering and quoting in detail.”
NearlyLegal, 12th November 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Homeless Legislation – a thing of the past?’ – NearlyLegal
“Now that the Guardian has the story, I feel able to quote a briefing paper by Andy Gale of the DCLG that had found its way to me. This is the briefing that Andy Gale has been giving to Council officers (not councillors, as far as I know) on what he gives as the DCLG view of the post-Localism Act world, how Councils should implement it, and how officers should sell this to Councillors.”
NearlyLegal, 10th November 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
The Article 8 Toys Go Back in the Box – NearlyLegal
“The Court of Appeal has handed down judgement in a case that will probably come to characterise the operation of Article 8 in the daily life of the County Courts.”
NearlyLegal, 9th November 2012
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
