‘Solicitors costs of and incidental to the preparation of a counter notice were recoverable under s. 60 LRHUDA 1993. There ought to be some reduction in costs where a landlord was dealing with multiple claims involving the same building.’
Tanfield Chambers, 1st November 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘The interplay between tenants’ rent obligations and their ability to break the term of their leases has for a number of years been a topic which has been of considerable interest to practitioners advising both either landlords or tenants. Two cases in particular will have been high on the radar in advising clients both before and after the exercise of a break clause.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th October 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘Airbnb seems like a wonderful idea. You can rent out your flat whenever convenient without having to become a full-time landlord or hotelier. It’s an easy way to earn a little extra cash with the added bonus of a world-wide network of other people’s spare rooms available for that well-deserved weekend break. Airbnb now has 60m users, 640,000 “hosts”, 2m listings and 500,000 stays per night. It’s big!’
Tanfield Chambers, 22nd October 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘In Holley v Hillingdon LBC [2016] EWCA Civ 1052, Mr Holley was seeking to challenge the council’s decision to evict him and his brother from a three bedroom property that could sleep up to six persons, in which Mr Holley had lived for 32 years of his life and where he was suffering from a range of mental health problems, including anxiety, panic attacks and depression following his grandmother’s death in 2009. There had already been a statutory succession to Mr Holley’s grandfather, so Mr Holley was, “in the rather antiquated private law jargon”, a trespasser. The judge made a possession order on the basis that there were no seriously arguable defences under Articles 8 and 14.’
Nearly Legal, 1st November 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘This is a cautionary tale for DJs and DDJs hearing Equality Act defences. In Birmingham CC v Stephenson [2016] EWCA Civ 1029 (not on Bailii yet, but we have seen a transcript), the Court of Appeal considered whether a possession order granted in respect of an introductory tenancy was wrongly granted where an Akerman-Livingstone Equality Act style defence was raised (alongside an Article 8 defence). Mr Stephenson had been responsible for noise nuisance from his (uncarpeted) flat. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, the symptoms of which are alleviated but not completely cured by medication.’
Nearly Legal, 1st November 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A new minimum bedroom size and the extension of licensing to thousands more properties are to form part of a government crackdown on rogue landlords who cram tenants into overcrowded homes.’
The Guardian, 18th October 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘A ‘notice to quit’ served on a tenant farmer by the new owner of the land was invalid, as the new owner had given notice before its ownership was properly registered with the Land Registry, the High Court has ruled.’
OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘Ms K had a weekly tenancy of a flat (initially her daughter’s flat but assigned to her in 2014 by mutual exchange). The tenancy agreement provided for the payment of rent and also a weekly payment for service charge, originally £14.60. In 2015 the service charge was raised to £16.22. The tenancy agreement specified payment of the service charge but the space for the services to be provided was left blank.’
Nearly Legal, 10th October 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A landlord guilty of breaching a planning enforcement notice has been ordered to pay a record fine and costs to the London Borough of Barnet, after the largest planning enforcement and confiscation investigation the borough has seen.’
Local Government Lawyer, 6th October 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 have (finally) been made to come into force on 30 October 2016. These sort out the anomaly highlighted in Romans v Southwark LBC and SSDCLG and Alabi v SSDCLG about those with leave to remain granted under Appendix FM. Their eligibility for housing and homeless assistance is confirmed. A number of appeals have been stayed pending the regulations, which should now be resolved.’
Nearly Legal, 3rd October 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Tenants and landlords are “being let down by local authorities who are failing to use powers to tackle criminal landlords”, the Residential Landlords Association has claimed.’
Local Government Lawyer, 28th September 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A former inmate has told the BBC many women feel “safer in prison” due to a lack of suitable housing for female ex-offenders.’
BBC News, 22nd September 2016
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Every now and again there is a reminder of the problems of a contractual tenancy. In this case, the difficulties involved a deposit of £52,000 and a weekly rent of £6,500.’
Nearly Legal, 5th September 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Fiona McDonald was a private sector tenant. The landlords were her parents who had purchased the property by obtaining a secured loan from a private company. They fell into arrears of the monthly payments, and the company sought possession pursuant to a s.21(4) Housing Act 1988 (‘HA 1988’) notice. The arrears were not substantial, but they had persisted for some time.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 25th August 2016
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Rule 13(1) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(Property Chamber) Rules 2013 (SI 2013/1169) provides that the Property Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) may order costs(other than fees) in several limited circumstances. Of most interest to landlords, managing agents and others involved in FTT cases is r 13(1)(b), which provides for costs orders (in agricultural land and drainage, residential property or leasehold cases) “if a person has acted unreasonably in bringing, defending, or conducting proceedings”.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 5th August 2016
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
‘In this article Catherine Casserley and Tom Gillie consider race discrimination in housing and, in particular, the obligations that landlords have not to discriminate themselves and to take action when their tenants are experiencing discrimination and harassment by other tenants.’
Cloisters, 22nd August 2016
Source: www.cloisters.com
‘The last few years have seen short term property letting sites such as Airbnb become the go-to way of booking holiday accommodation in Europe’s most popular cities. Millennial tourists are rejecting stuffy, expensive hotels, preferring instead the flexibility of their own apartment right in the middle of town where, in the words of Airbnb, they can “feel at home anywhere in the world”. In response, those who are lucky enough to own or occupy a city apartment have been quick to meet the demand, with new “hosts” joining the site every day. There are Airbnb kiosks on London’s high streets where tourists can book a property like they used to book a cab.’
Tanfield Chambers, 5th August 2016
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
‘Development work that restricts natural sunlight to property can in principle be a breach of a ‘quiet enjoyment’ covenant in a lease, even where no formal right to light exists, according to the county court.’
OUT-LAW.com, 17th August 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘While the Magistrates Courts continue to hand out paltry fines to landlords on conviction for illegal eviction, despite the removal of the upper £5000 limit, it is good to see that the civil courts are capable of taking a more reasonable approach to quantum.’
Nearly Legal, 13th August 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
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