‘A County Court decision on a landlord’s application which adds to the not uncomplicated history of decisions on when a tenancy deposit counts as returned to the tenant for the purposes of s.215(2A) Housing Act 2004. (Previous cases here, here, and here). As a County Court decision, this is not binding, of course.’
Nearly Legal, 2nd November 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Bedford v Paragon Asra Housing Ltd (LANDLORD AND TENANT – BREACH OF COVENANT – shared ownership lease) (2021) UKUT 266. An interesting Upper Tribunal appeal decision on whether the Tribunal can proceed to make a determination of breach of lease under section 168 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 where there has been a waiver of the breach by the applicant landlord.’
Nearly Legal, 31st October 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Gurusinghe & Ors v Drumlin Ltd (HOUSING – RENT REPAYMENT ORDER – Procedure) (2021) UKUT 268 (LC). Just a quick note on this one – an appeal to the Upper Tribunal on an FTT decision on an application to add a new respondent to an RRO application as the proper landlord.’
Nearly Legal, 31st October 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Housing Ombudsman has called on social landlords to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to damp and mould, saying it needs to be a higher priority.’
Local Government Lawyer, 26th October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Merton Council has successfully prosecuted a landlord and his associated property agency for letting unsafe properties and operating in an unlicensed manner.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Clare Hartley and Chloe Postlethwaite analyse the latest favourable ruling for landlords in relation to commercial rent recovery during Covid-19, a judgment that confirms landlords can currently still rely on the court route notwithstanding the UK Government’s plans for arbitration next year.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A disabled woman is to challenge the Department for Work and Pensions in court over what she calls its “immoral” policy of allowing landlords and utilities companies to automatically make deductions from monthly benefits payments without the claimant’s consent.’
The Guardian, 15th October 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The RRO application was by the six former tenants of an unlicensed HMO. Conditions at the property had also meant they asked the local authority EHO to inspect, which resulted in (a) the tenants being informed the property was not licensed, (b) a “Preliminary Improvement Notice” listing a number of defects to be remedied, including two category 1 HHSRS hazards (fire safety and excessive cold), and Cc) a finding that one of the bedrooms was too small for the licensing scheme. (The landlord, self described as a “professional landlord” with a “modest portfolio” of properties, did apply for a licence in February 2020, shortly before the tenants left in March 2020, but the application was rejected on the room size and the lack of remedial works).’
Nearly Legal, 11th October 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Solicitors often warn clients that the views of the judge can make a difference to the outcome of their case, especially at first instance. Two county court judgments on the issue of whether a commercial lease renewed under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 should contain a ‘Covid clause’ are the perfect illustration of this.’
Law Society's Gazette, 11th October 2021
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Hockley & Anor (2019) EWCA Civ 1080. A quick note because I somehow missed this at the time. The Court of Appeal overturned the Upper Tribunal decision on whether assessment of entitlement to bedrooms for the bedroom tax was connected to the actual occupiers and their actual or potential use of the rooms. (Here there were two children and two bedrooms, neither of which could accommodate two children.)’
Nearly Legal, 3rd October 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘From the beginning of this month, there has been yet more change on the possession front. Suzanne Gregson examines the latest position.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Sarah Salmon reports on how a social landlord successfully defended a private prosecution brought by an occupier of one of its properties under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Social landlords who do not challenge costs are potentially overpaying by tens of thousands of pounds in some of these matters. Alex Bagnall explains how they can secure significant reductions.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th September 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The London Borough of Sutton has lost a case in the Upper Tribunal over whether a tenancy arrangement was a sham to increase housing benefit.’
Local Government Lawyer, 16th September 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Mahandru v Nielson (2021) EWHC 2297 (QB). An appeal of a County Court decision to refuse an interim injunction for re-entry in a claim for illegal eviction.’
Nearly Legal, 12th September 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Axnoller Events Ltd v Brake & Anor (mental health crisis moratorium) (2021) EWHC 2308 (Ch). I’m not going into any detail on the background to this judgment. It forms part of what has been by any measure truly epic litigation, which has yet to culminate in a possession trial on one property and an eviction trial on another property (with the parties’ roles reversed). If you have several days to spare, the many and varied previous judgments are worth a read, not least as offering intermittent lessons in how not to litigate. However, this is the first judgment dealing with debt moratoria and applications (or claims) to cancel a moratorium under the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 so it is of considerable interest.’
Nearly Legal, 12th September 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A private landlord will have her appeal of a £7,000 penalty for failure to license a house in multiple occupation (HMO) decided by a different judge after it was initially refused by the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) because her solicitor failed to pay the hearing fee on time, the Upper Tribunal has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 7th September 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This was a second appeal to the Court of Appeal from the Upper Tribunal on two issues arising from long running litigation between the freeholder, West India Quay and the head lessee, East Tower Apartments (ETAL) on the arrangements for and charging for utilities for the residential parts of the building (a 33 storey tower, including a hotel). The initial proceedings brought by ETAL had gone through the FTT and the Upper Tribunal and had resulted in a significant reduction in charges. For our purposes, the relevant part of these decisions where that ‘Switch 2) – the utility provider – had levied “standing charges” (actually costs for reading meters and preparing bills) from 2008 onwards. The freeholder had included these charges in the utility charge to the lessee. The FTT had found that they were not recoverable, as there had never been “a contractually valid demand for them as service charges, and it was not open to the Landlord to “re-allocate” them as general service charge.”’
Nearly Legal, 5th September 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘An interesting, though non-binding, county court decision on the issue of costs of a disrepair claim that settled pre-allocation.’
Nearly Legal, 30th August 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A cautionary tale of a Tribunal appointed manager behaving badly and a reminder that the appointed manager’s duty is to carry out what is in the order appointing them, and that they answer to the Tribunal as an officer of the Tribunal.’
Nearly Legal, 30th August 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
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