Category: landlord & tenant

The Something Must Be Done Bill, Calais edition – Nearly Legal

Posted August 4th, 2015 in housing, human rights, immigration, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘The Rent Act 1957 introduced the requirement for a court order for eviction from a tenancy. That is 58 years of eviction without due process of law being unlawful. But no matter, for Something Must Be Done to deter people who have spent months on perilous journeys across continents and are currently sleeping under an old tarpaulin. Nothing is more likely to make such desperate, traumatised people turn their faces from England, pick up their tarpaulins and walk away into France than knowing they will not get the security of occupation offered by Housing Act 1988 or Protection from Eviction Act 1977.’
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Nearly Legal, 3rd August 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Illegal immigrants to UK face eviction without court order under new plans – The Guardian

Posted August 3rd, 2015 in asylum, benefits, bills, housing, immigration, landlord & tenant, news, proceeds of crime by sally

‘Immigrants living in Britain illegally will face abrupt eviction from rental properties under new laws designed to make Britain a tougher place to live in, the government will announce as it redoubles its response to the Calais migrant crisis.’

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The Guardian, 3rd August 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Service charges, the burden of proof and reasonableness of decisions – Park Square Barristers

Posted July 28th, 2015 in appeals, burden of proof, costs, landlord & tenant, news, service charges, tribunals by sally

‘Last week wrote an introductory article on a service charge case, The Gateway (Leeds) Management Ltd v Naghash and Shamsizadeh (citation above), a decision of Martin Rodger QC, Deputy President in the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber), in which I acted for the Defendants/Respondents. The facts are set out in that piece, and I do not propose to rehearse them here.’

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Park Square Barristers, 15th July 2015

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Service Charges in Mixed Use Developments – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 28th, 2015 in consultations, landlord & tenant, news, service charges by sally

‘By their very nature, mixed-use developments involve multiple parties with competing interests. This often leads to disputes regarding the management of the estate and the cost of maintaining it.’
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Tanfield Chambers, 7th July 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Tenants who lack mental capacity to make decisions – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 28th, 2015 in appeals, benefits, housing, landlord & tenant, mental health, news, social security, tribunals by sally

‘In Wychavon District Council v EM (HB) [2011] UKUT 144 (AAC), the claimant, who was profoundly physically and mentally disabled, appealed from a decision that she was not entitled to housing benefit in respect of the sums payable under a tenancy agreement which, in the space for the tenant’s signature, stated that she was “profoundly disabled and cannot communicate at all.”’

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Tanfield Chambers, 18th June 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Assessment of interim rent – New Square Chambers

Posted July 25th, 2015 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent, time limits by sally

‘As everyone knows, the court, in the case of a business lease with security of tenure, and subject to certain grounds for refusal, can order the grant of a new business for a term of up to 15 years. The new lease normally now starts from the date of the court order. However there may be a gap between the expiry of the original lease and the start of, or as the case may be, the refusal of a new lease, a gap that may be significant in the case of a hotly contested case. During this interim period, the court can order that the tenant pay an interim rent to the landlord.’

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New Square Chambers, 29th July 2015

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk

Country’s worst landlord blames tenants for property convictions – The Guardian

Posted July 23rd, 2015 in landlord & tenant, local government, news, prosecutions, victims by sally

‘A London landlord has been convicted for property offences seven times but believes she is the victim, not her tenants.’

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The Guardian, 23rd July 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Family Law Week’s Budget Briefing, July 2015 – Family Law Week

Posted July 10th, 2015 in benefits, budgets, children, corporation tax, housing, income tax, interest, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, pensions, remuneration, taxation, wills by sally

‘Richard Holme, Chartered Accountant of Creaseys, a firm which specialises in advising family lawyers on tax related family law issues, explains the Budget changes of most relevance to family lawyers.’

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Family Law Week, 8th July 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

How late it was, how late – Nearly Legal

Posted June 30th, 2015 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news, time limits by sally

‘A County Court deposit protection case, and an illustration of some of the ways in which landlords still haven’t figured out how the deposit rules work.’

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Nearly Legal, 29th June 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Right to rent: all landlords must check immigration status or face £3,000 fine – Daily Telegraph

Posted June 29th, 2015 in appeals, codes of practice, documents, fines, immigration, landlord & tenant, news, race discrimination by sally

‘Landlords in England will be responsible for spotting illegal tenants ‘from September’ after a trial in the West Midlands results in fines.’

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Daily Telegraph, 27th June 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Southward Housing Co-operative Ltd v Walker and others – WLR Daily

Posted June 16th, 2015 in landlord & tenant, law reports, leases by sally

Southward Housing Co-operative Ltd v Walker and others [2015] EWHC 1615 (Ch); [2015] WLR (D) 246

‘The rule that it was beyond the power of the landlord and the tenant to create a term which was uncertain did not depend for its application on the parties’ intentions; but might be disapplied where those intentions and fundamental aspects of their agreement would be confounded by it.’

WLR Daily, 8th June 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Contract entitled landlord to raise service charge irrespective of increase in costs, says UK Supreme Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 12th, 2015 in contracts, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, Supreme Court by sally

‘Lease provisions that would ultimately increase service charges payable by the tenants of a number of holiday homes near Swansea to more than £1 million a year should be allowed to stand, the UK’s highest court has ruled.’
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OUT-LAW.com, 11th June 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

UK Immigration: illegal working and EU reform – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted June 4th, 2015 in appeals, banking, bills, deportation, employment, immigration, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘The Queen’s speech, which announces the Government’s agenda for the next five years, would not be the same without some proposals on immigration reform. We were not let down and the plan of attack will be a new Immigration Bill which will focus on illegal workers, overstayers and rogue employers.’

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd June 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Local authority prosecutes housing association tenant for unlawful subletting – Local Government Lawyer

Posted May 13th, 2015 in benefits, fraud, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘Enfield Council is claiming to have become the first local authority nationally to have used the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 to successfully prosecute a housing association tenant for unlawful subletting.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 12th May 2015

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

As difficult as pulling teeth – Nearly Legal

Posted May 5th, 2015 in costs, damages, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by sally

‘Disrepair claims against private landlords are often interesting. Not least because said landlords have a tendency to take ridiculous positions and stick with them to trial, even when represented. This case is a glorious example of that.’

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Nearly Legal, 4th May 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Rosslyn Mansions Tenants’ Association v Winstonworth Limited – Tanfield Chambers

Posted April 29th, 2015 in landlord & tenant, news, tribunals by sally

‘There is no requirement that the potential membership of a proposed tenants’ association must be at least 60% for a certificate of recognition to be granted under section 29 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 16th April 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Well I wouldn’t start from here – Nearly Legal

Posted April 9th, 2015 in appeals, case management, civil procedure rules, costs, damages, fees, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by sally

‘A cautionary tale on how, when things go badly wrong, it is, by and large, better not to take active steps to make them worse.’

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Nearly Legal, 8th April 2015

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

A New English (Leasehold) Reformation? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted April 2nd, 2015 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, Scotland by sally

‘Last time this column discussed the changes introduced to leasehold tenure in Scotland. Nicola Muir examined the long-term package of reforms designed to bring about the demise of the feudal and leasehold system north of the border. To recap, Scotland is about to implement the changes introduced by the Long Leases (Scotland) Act 2012, which follows the imposition in 1974 of a 20 year limit on the term of any new residential lease and the abolition of the feudal system of property ownership in 2004. In 2000 a limit of 175 years was imposed on the term of commercial leases. The final stage of reforms under the 2012 Act will convert qualifying leases into ownership. ‘

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Tanfield Chambers, 20th March 2015

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Certainty for landlords as commercial property energy efficiency regulations receive parliamentary approval – OUT-LAW.com

Posted April 2nd, 2015 in energy, landlord & tenant, news, regulations by sally

‘New energy efficiency standards for privately-let commercial property in England will come into force on 1 April 2018, after the UK parliament passed regulations in one of its final sessions ahead of May’s general election.’

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OUT-LAW.com, 30th March 2015

Source: www.out-law.com

Ninety Broomfield Road RTM Co Ltd v Triplerose Ltd; Garner Court RTM Co Ltd v Freehold Managers (Nominees) Ltd; Holybrook RTM Co Ltd v Proxima GR Properties Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted March 31st, 2015 in appeals, company law, landlord & tenant, law reports, regulations by sally

Ninety Broomfield Road RTM Co Ltd v Triplerose Ltd; Garner Court RTM Co Ltd v Freehold Managers (Nominees) Ltd; Holybrook RTM Co Ltd v Proxima GR Properties Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 282; [2015] WLR (D) 147

‘Pursuant to section 72 of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, a right to manage company could not acquire the right to manage more than one self-contained building or part of a building.’

WLR Daily, 27th March 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk