High Court: tenant’s failure to remove partitioning meant no vacant possession – OUT-LAW.com

Posted August 11th, 2016 in landlord & tenant, leases, news by tracey

‘A tenant was unable to exercise a break clause in a commercial lease due to its failure to remove partitioning that it had installed. This meant it had not provided vacant possession of the property, which was required by the lease as a condition of effective exercise of the break clause, the High Court has ruled.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 11th August 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

Housing needs and household members – Nearly Legal

‘This was a judicial review of a decision by Luton Council Housing Appeals and Review Panel not to offer Mr Jones a tenancy of the property of which Mr J’s late father was the tenant, but instead offer a one bed property.’

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Nearly Legal, 7th August 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Council tax, periodic tenancies, and the end of L&T law avoided – Nearly Legal

Posted August 2nd, 2016 in council tax, landlord & tenant, local government, news, tribunals, valuation by tracey

‘We’ve seen the issue of who is liable for Council Tax when a tenant has left a property before the end of a periodic tenancy arise before. Here, the Upper Tribunal decided that a statutory periodic monthly tenancy following a 6 month fixed term did not amount to a ‘material interest’ of over six months such that the tenant would remain liable for Council Tax, while here in the Shropshire decision (and amusingly featuring NL) the Valuation Tribunal decided that a contractual periodic tenancy following on from a fixed term of 6 months did amount to a material interest such that the tenant remained liable.’

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Nearly legal, 1st August 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Hostile environment – Counsel

‘As the nation grapples with the impact of Brexit on migration, Ronan Toal briefs readers on the major revisions already introduced by the Immigration Act 2016.’

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Counsel, August 2016

Source: www.counselmagazine.co.uk

Getting Noticed – Nearly Legal

Posted July 15th, 2016 in easements, landlord & tenant, news, notification, repairs by tracey

‘The case of Edwards v Kumarasamy has now seen a final decision from the Supreme Court with the Court overturning the decision of the Court of Appeal in two key areas.’

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Nearly Legal, 14th July 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Tenants win “forward looking test” case at Court of Appeal – Local Government Lawyer

Posted July 15th, 2016 in appeals, drug offences, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repossession by tracey

‘Tenants have won a Court of Appeal case over the use by judges of the “forward looking test” in two cases involving eviction from social housing after cannabis farms were discovered.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 13th July 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

City West Housing Trust v Massey; Manchester and District Housing Association v Roberts – WLR Daily

Posted July 13th, 2016 in appeals, evidence, housing, landlord & tenant, law reports, repossession by sally

City West Housing Trust v Massey; Manchester and District Housing Association v Roberts [2016] EWCA Civ 704

‘When exercising the discretion to suspend a possession order where a tenant’s evidence was considered to be untrue in whole or part, the judge has to be persuaded by cogent evidence that there is a sound basis for the hope that the previous conduct will cease or not recur. Cogent evidence regarding future compliance does not need to stem solely from the tenant himself, without regard to how others might behave, rather the likelihood or possibility of action by others, or even the perception that others might take action, may in an appropriate case be evidence which supports an overall assessment that there is real hope of compliance in the future (post, paras 47–49).’

WLR Daily, 7th July 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Wrong warrants? Issues in N325 compliance – Nearly Legal

‘GCN’s Jonathan Holt sets out below the background and detail to the recent emergence of a potential argument employable by those facing a warrant for possession, whether it be as the result of rent arrears or a failure to make mortgage payments.’

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Nearly Legal, 13th July 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

McDonald (by her litigation friend) v McDonald and others [2016] UKSC 28 – Henderson Chambers

‘In this alerter Hannah Curtain & George Mallet consider the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonald (by her litigation friend) v McDonald and Ors [2016] UKSC 28.’

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Henderson Chambers, June 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

A balancing act: a landlord’s right to build and a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment – Henderson Chambers

Posted July 12th, 2016 in compensation, construction industry, landlord & tenant, news, noise by sally

‘Judgment has been handed down by the High Court in the matter of Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corporation and another [2016] EWHC 1075 (Ch), a case which raised in an acute form the conflict between a landlord’s right to build and a tenant’s right to quiet enjoyment.’

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Henderson Chambers, 1st July 2016

Source: www.hendersonchambers.co.uk

‘Speak out’ plea as rogue lettings agent is jailed – BBC News

Posted July 11th, 2016 in agency, fraud, landlord & tenant, news, sentencing by sally

Nearly all scam and fraud victims “suffer in silence”, councils say, but the jailing of a lettings agent shows billions of pounds could be saved.

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BBC News, 8th July 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Conditions of repentance – SPOs – Nearly Legal

Posted July 8th, 2016 in landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘When considering a suspended possession order, how should the judge exercise their discretion where the tenant’s evidence has been disbelieved, in whole or part? And should an SPO impose conditions which set responsibilities on the landlord?’

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Nearly Legal, 7th July 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

The Right to Rent and The Immigration Act 2016 – LAG Housing Law

‘In this post Alice Richardson considers the Immigration Act 2016 as it relates to possession proceedings and eviction.’

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LAG Housing Law, 21st June 2016

Source: www.laghousinglaw.com

Rent increases and rent lawfully due – Nearly Legal

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in landlord & tenant, news, rent by sally

‘A few years ago now, I was instructed by Luton Law Centre in a series of possession cases brought by BPHA (a housing association) in Luton and Bedford County Courts. The claims were all for rent arrears, brought variously on Housing Act (HA) 1988 Sch 2 Grounds 8, 10 and 11. Their common feature was that, in all of them, BPHA had (apparently unwittingly) been raising the rent in breach of the terms.’

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Nearly Legal, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Yes but No – Article 8 and the private sector – Nearly Legal

‘The Supreme Court has finally decided on the issue that has been hanging over private sector possession claims since Pinnock and Powell – whether article 8 proportionality of eviction defence might also apply to the private sector as well as to public body landlords. The Court of Appeal decision (our note here) was frankly unsatisfactory, so finality from the Supreme Court was desirable.’

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Nearly Legal, 19th June 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlord sentenced after admitting conspiring to defraud council – Local Government Lawyer

‘A landlord has been sentenced to 17 months in prison suspended for 12 months after she admitted conspiring to defraud a district council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 17th June 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

From the County Courts – deposits, evictions and introductory tenancies – Nearly Legal

‘Some county court cases reported in the indispensable ‘Housing: Recent Developments’ in Legal Action for May 2016. Cases involve introductory tenancies, deposits, harassment and illegal eviction.’

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Nearly Legal, 12th June 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corpn and another – WLR Daily

Posted June 3rd, 2016 in covenants, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases by sally

Timothy Taylor Ltd v Mayfair House Corpn and another [2016] EWHC 1075 (Ch)

‘The tenant occupied the ground and basement floors of a building from which it operated a gallery. The lease contained terms reserving the landlord’s right to build and a covenant for quiet enjoyment. In order to carry out works on the adjoining upper floors of the building, the landlord erected scaffolding, which enveloped the building, restricting access to the tenant’s gallery and giving the impression that it was closed. The works also caused substantial noise in the tenant’s premises. No financial compensation was offered by the landlord to the tenant for the works undertaken.’

WLR Daily, 10th May 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Beware of residential rights – Tanfield Chambers

Posted June 2nd, 2016 in housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news by sally

‘With the constant cry for more housing, commercial developers are increasingly including residential flats in their plans. Whether they are converting offices into homes or building new mixed-use schemes, developers must be aware of the raft of rights that residential tenants enjoy which are not available to commercial tenants. With some careful planning, some of these rights can be avoided.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 31st May 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

And the first shall be last – Nearly Legal

Posted May 31st, 2016 in amendments, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by tracey

‘An accidental chain of tenancies, in which only the very first was left standing. London Borough of Haringey v 1) Hansa Ahmed & 2) Shaheeda Ahmed [2016] EWHC 1257 (Ch). Three tenancy agreements for the same property, apparently at least partly at the same time, and possession proceedings against someone who was not a tenant under either agreement. Just how was this going to work out.’

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Nearly Legal, 30th May 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk