Leaseholders’ legal victory over offshore landlord – BBC News

Posted March 5th, 2025 in landlord & tenant, leases, loss of chance, news, sale of land by tracey

‘A group of leaseholders have won a legal battle to prove they were unlawfully deprived of the chance to take control of their own building when their landlord sold it to an offshore firm.’

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BBC News, 5th March 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Case notes in passing – adverse possession rules, sale and rent-back, and the evidential burden in service charge disputes – Nearly Legal

‘The Supreme Court considered para 5(4) to Schedule 6 Land Registration Act 2002 on the requirements for an application for registered title through adverse possession of land adjoining the applicant’s land.’

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Nearly Legal, 2nd March 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

The right to manage and equitable interests – Tanfield Chambers

Posted February 27th, 2025 in chambers articles, housing, land registration, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘Tenants of flats were given the right to have a manager appointed, to take over the landlord’s management of the building in which the flats were situated, in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 but only if they could prove fault on the part of the landlord or managing agents. In order to make it easier for the tenants to wrest control of the management of the building from their landlord, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (CLRA 2002) gave the tenants of flats the right to have the management of the building transferred to a company controlled by them as of right, without having to prove any default on the part of the landlord.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 24th January 2025

Source: tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Access Injunctions – a discussion of some recent issues – St Ives Chambers

Posted February 26th, 2025 in chambers articles, housing, injunctions, judges, jurisdiction, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘As housing practitioners, an application we see regularly is for an injunction for access for gas safety checks. Over the last 3 months, 4 issues have been raised with me so I thought it was a good time to write an article on the subject.’

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St Ives Chambers, 21st January 2025

Source: d23mtoo6rceerw.cloudfront.net

The Deregulation Act 2015: A decade on – St John’s Chambers

Posted February 26th, 2025 in appeals, chambers articles, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘In this article Brittany Pearce considers some of the difficulties still posed by the Deregulation Act 2015 for defaulting landlords and outlines the issues still outstanding following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 760.’

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St John's Chambers, 21st January 2025

Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk

Ombudsman sets out common failings of landlords when it comes to inspections following damp and mould complaints – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 26th, 2025 in complaints, health, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, ombudsmen by sally

‘The Housing Ombudsman has analysed four common failings of social landlords in a report on inspections and knowledge management within damp and mould complaints.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 25th February 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

If it’s not on the list… (unless it is blank) – Nearly Legal

Posted February 25th, 2025 in agreements, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, third parties by tracey

‘Uddin & Ors v Notting Hill Genesis (LANDLORD AND TENANT – SERVICE CHARGES – assured tenancies) (2025) UKUT 56 (LC). This was Notting Hill Genesis’ appeal from a FTT decision that service charges that it had been charged by the freeholder and in turn had sought to charge to its assured tenants were not payable under the tenancy agreements, and also were unreasonable in amount.’

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Nearly Legal, 24th February 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Section 21 and Gas Safety again, and tools for tenants. – Nearly legal

Posted February 25th, 2025 in health & safety, landlord & tenant, news, utilities by tracey

‘Section 21 and Gas Safety again, and tools for tenants.’

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Nearly Legal, 24th February 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Man fined for housing 18 people in three-bed house – BBC News

‘A landlord has been ordered by a court to pay £37,000 after 18 people were found living in a terraced house in north London.’

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BBC News, 19th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Key reforms in the Renters’ Rights Bill and their impact on tenants and landlords – Kingsley Napley Real Estate Law Blog

Posted February 12th, 2025 in bills, landlord & tenant, news, rent, repairs, repossession by sally

‘This Bill, which was originally introduced by the previous government as the Renters’ Reform Bill, seeks to level-up the perceived current imbalance between residential landlords and tenants by bestowing on tenants greater rights and security. But critics argue that the proposed reforms go too far in favour of tenants. So, what are the current key reforms affecting private residential tenancies?’

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Kingsley Napley Real Estate Law Blog, 11th February 2025

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Intentional homelessness and tenancy obtained by deception – Nearly Legal

Posted February 10th, 2025 in fraud, homelessness, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repossession by tracey

‘Munemo v City of Wolverhampton Council (2025) EWCC 4. This is quite the section 204 homelessness appeal of Wolverhampton’s review decision confirming the decision that Ms M was intentionally homeless.’

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Nearly Legal, 9th February 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Delay to ‘Awaab’s law’ risks lives of social housing tenants in England, Shelter says – The Guardian

‘The housing charity Shelter has criticised the government for putting lives at risk by delaying a law to make social landlords in England fix dangerous hazards quickly.’

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The Guardian, 6th February 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Law to make social landlords fix mould in force from October – BBC News

‘Landlords will be forced to investigate and fix damp and mould in social housing in England within strict timescales from October, the government has announced.’

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BBC News, 6th February 2025

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The need to plead a positive case in defence if you have a positive case in defence – Doughty Street Chambers

‘In Man v St George’s University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWHC 1304 (KB), the High Court exercised its case management powers to exclude witness evidence which put forward a positive case on an issue which had been neither admitted or denied in the defence on the basis that the matter was outside the Defendant’s knowledge. The Judge found that this was not permissible. This article considers how this issue arises in the housing disrepair context.’

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Doughty Street Chambers, 28th January 2025

Source: insights.doughtystreet.co.uk

Access injunctions: not as straightforward as they may seem… – Local Government Lawyer

‘Jane Talbot discusses how some of the issues faced by social landlords when it comes to obtaining access injunctions can be overcome.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

DWP program that automatically approves landlord benefit deduction requests ruled unlawful – The Guardian

‘A “computer says yes” program that automatically approves landlord requests to deduct hundreds of pounds from tenants’ universal credit benefits without requiring officials to check first with the claimant has been declared unlawful by the courts.’

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The Guardian, 26th January 2025

Source: www.theguardian.com

Service of documents – post and deemed service – Nearly Legal

‘D’Aubigny v Khan & Anor (2025) EWCA Civ 11. This is the Court of Appeal judgment. The central issue was whether service by post of a gas safety certificate, EPC and How to Rent Guide was deemed service under i) Section 7 Interpretation Act 1978, ii) the tenancy agreement, or iii) otherwise. The circumstances were that the tenant denied receipt of the documents, such that a subsequent section 21 notice, which was received, was invalid.’

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Nearly Legal, 19th January 2025

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

The importance of Jervis v Harris [1996] – a contractual self-help tool for landlords – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 15th, 2025 in enforcement, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repairs by tracey

‘James Mallery-Nelson analyses a 1996 High Court decision that established a key precedent, providing commercial landlords with a common law mechanism to enforce tenants’ repairing obligations under their leases.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th January 2025

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Take notice of these decisions – Gatehouse Chambers

‘The Supreme Court decision in A1 Properties (Sunderland) Ltd v Tudor Studios RTM Co Ltd [2024] UKSC 27 may be one of the most significant property law decisions of this year. In summary, the Supreme Court held that the failure to serve a claim notice on an intermediate landlord of communal areas did not invalidate an RTM claim in circumstances where that party could still present its arguments opposing the right to manage.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 6th December 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk

Switaj -v- McClenaghan [2024] EWCA Civ 1457 – Gatehouse Chambers

Posted January 10th, 2025 in appeals, chambers articles, fees, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘The Court of Appeal recently considered whether or not fees which were paid by a tenant before the enactment of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (“TFA”) could preclude a landlord from recovering possession under s.21 of the Housing Act 1988.’

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Gatehouse Chambers, 6th December 2024

Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk