Category: repairs

Housing disrepair and ADR following Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council (Law Society and others intervening) [2023] EWCA Civ 1416 – Park Square Barristers

Posted December 19th, 2024 in appeals, chambers articles, dispute resolution, housing, local government, news, repairs by sally

‘It has been over 12 months since the decision in Churchill was handed down by the Court of Appeal. My anecdotal experience is that the disrepair landscape did not change drastically for around nine months; however, in the last three months I have seen Churchill arise in both Defences and applications made early in proceedings. I anticipate that reliance on the authority will continue to grow.’

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Park Square Barristers, 17th December 2024

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Leaseholders dispute £200,000 maintenance bill – BBC News

Posted December 10th, 2024 in housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, ombudsmen, repairs, reports, service charges by tracey

‘Leaseholders living in a block of flats have reported their management company to the housing ombudsman in a dispute over maintenance costs.’

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BBC News, 10th December 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Trends in disrepair and complex housing claims – Local Government Lawyer

Posted December 5th, 2024 in equality, housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by tracey

‘Following recent changes in the law and guidance, as well as recent media coverage of housing issues, there is a significant rise in housing disrepair claims. Mandy Williams and Nichola Johnston anticipate this trend will continue together with an increase in claims’ complexity.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th December 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

New deadlines set for fixing dangerous cladding – BBC News

Posted December 2nd, 2024 in accidents, building law, construction industry, fire, government departments, health & safety, housing, news, repairs by tracey

‘Plans to speed up the removal of unsafe cladding, including target dates for making buildings safe and tougher penalties for refusing to act, have been announced by ministers.’

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BBC News, 2nd December 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Roof Gardens and Higher-Risk Buildings – A tale of one too many storeys. – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 18th, 2024 in building law, fire, health & safety, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by tracey

‘David Owens and Helen Arthur explore a recent First Tier Tribunal decision regarding the meaning of “higher-risk building’ under the Building Safety Act 2022.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 14th November 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The Building Safety Act: Update October 2024 – Falcon Chambers

Posted November 14th, 2024 in building law, chambers articles, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repairs by sally

‘Welcome to our latest post on the BSA 2022, covering some of the current talking points in this area, from the amendments to the BSA made by the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024, various of which will commence this week on 31 October 2024, to a selection of the issues arising in the recent cases.’

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Falcon Chambers, 28th October 2024

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Housing case law: September & October 2024 – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 8th, 2024 in appeals, houses in multiple occupation, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repairs, Supreme Court by tracey

‘Natalie Hurst and Jane Goodier round up the latest housing law cases and court decisions of interest to housing associations and local authorities.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 5th November 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Improvement or remediation, or both? – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 6th, 2024 in building law, case management, fire, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repairs, tribunals by tracey

‘Robert Bowker considers how the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) has dealt with fire safety cases where an improvement notice under the Housing Act 2004 has been served and an application for a remediation order under s. 123 of the Building Safety Act 2022 has been made.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 6th November 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Watchdog says cladding removal deadline may be missed – BBC News

Posted November 4th, 2024 in accidents, building law, construction industry, delay, fire, fraud, government departments, housing, inquiries, news, repairs by tracey

‘The government could miss its own cladding removal completion date if progress is not made to speed up the process, the UK’s spending watchdog has said. In a new report, external, the National Audit Office (NAO) said up to 60% of buildings with dangerous cladding had still not been identified by the government, and at its current rate of progress it was due to miss its own estimated completion date of 2035 for the works.’

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BBC News, 4th November 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Housing Ombudsman issues report on 100 cases of severe maladministration involving damp and mould – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 17th, 2024 in health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, maladministration, news, ombudsmen, repairs by sally

‘The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration for how a housing association failed to deal with damp and mould in a home for two years, which left the resident unable to sleep in her bedroom.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 16th October 2024

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

The meaning of unfitness – Nearly Legal

Posted September 30th, 2024 in health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by sally

‘This is a Circuit Judge (HHJ Melissa Clarke) judgment on, amongst other things, what amounts to unfitness for human habitation under sections 9A and 10 Landlord & Tenant Act 1985, and when the Court can make such a finding. As far as I know, it is the first judgment where this specific issue was argued, certainly at Circuit Judge level. I gather that permission to appeal was sought by Red Kite at the hearing, and refused, so there is the possibility of an appeal to the High Court.’

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Nearly Legal, 29th September 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

A very unfit home – Circuit Judge decision on unfitness and damages. – Nearly Legal

Posted September 16th, 2024 in houses in multiple occupation, housing, landlord & tenant, news, rent, repairs, repossession by tracey

‘Godagam & Edirisinghe v Hanson. Mayors & City of London County Court. 3 May 2024. A county court Circuit Judge judgment on a possession claim with disrepair and unfitness for human habitation counterclaim. Very interesting both as a relatively rare CJ decision on disrepair/fitness, and for the CJ’s viw on the appropriate approach to quantum for unfitness.’

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Nearly Legal, 15th September 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Homes seized from landlord after complaints ignored – BBC News

Posted August 28th, 2024 in complaints, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rent, repairs by tracey

‘A private landlord who ignored tenants’ complaints has had their properties seized by a local authority.’

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BBC News, 28th August 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Who knew? Or ought to have known? – Nearly Legal

Posted August 27th, 2024 in defective premises, duty of care, landlord & tenant, news, repairs by tracey

‘Mann v Martin (2024) EW Misc 23 (CC). Standalone section 4 Defective Premises Act 1972 cases are quite unusual. It is more common as an additional/secondary head in a disrepair claim, but this county court case is such a relatively rare beast.’

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Nearly Legal, 26th August 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Disrepair claims in the County Court – Becket Chambers

Posted August 8th, 2024 in chambers articles, damages, landlord & tenant, leases, news, nuisance, rent, repairs, repossession by sally

‘A landlord owes certain duties to maintain the repair of a property that they have leased to a tenant. If a leased property falls into disrepair, the tenant may be able to claim against the landlord for damages. The tenant may also be able to counterclaim for disrepair where the landlord has brought a claim for property possession against the tenant. Where possession is being sought under the grounds of rent arrears, the tenant can assert that the Claimant landowner is not entitled to the full amount of rent owed.’

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Becket Chambers, 22nd July 2024

Source: becket-chambers.co.uk

The need for speed in BSA funding decisions – Falcon Chambers

Posted August 8th, 2024 in building law, chambers articles, contracts, insurance, news, repairs by sally

‘Applications were made to the Building Safety Fund (“BSF”) in respect of two high rise developments in Birmingham with cladding defects. In the event that BSF funding was provided, the developers would have been expected to reimburse the BSF funding less any proceeds from insurance claims (pursuant to a pledge referred to in the BSF guidance signed by the developers; many developers, including the appellants, have now signed a deed of bilateral contract to give the pledge commitments contractual force).’

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Falcon Chambers, 22nd July 2024

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

Remediation orders under s.123 of the BSA 2022: what might fetter an unfettered discretion? – Falcon Chambers

Posted July 31st, 2024 in chambers articles, government departments, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, repairs by sally

‘The First-tier Tribunal has now twice rejected an argument that the power of the Tribunal to make a remediation order under s.123 must be exercised where the threshold criteria are met.’

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Falcon Chambers, 10th July 2024

Source: www.falcon-chambers.com

The meaning of maintenance – Nearly Legal

Posted July 16th, 2024 in appeals, housing, leases, local government, news, repairs, service charges by tracey

‘London Borough of Tower Hamlets v Lessees of Brewster House and Malting House (2024) UKUT 193 (LC) (11 July 2024). This was an appeal to the Upper Tribunal on whether a service charge for major works to remedy structural defects to two blocks of flats was payable. It may well have broader significance for charges for building safety works, depending on lease terms.’

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Nearly Legal, 15th July 2024

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Triplark Limited v Whale and others [2024] EWHC 1440 (Ch) – Tanfield Chambers

Posted July 4th, 2024 in covenants, leases, news, repairs, service charges by sally

‘Triplark Limited v Whale and others [2024] EWHC 1440 (Ch): a landlord’s works are not within the terms of its repairing covenant where they increase the maintenance burden on the tenant.’

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Tanfield Chambers, 25th June 2024

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Council refunded £1.5m to ‘gagged’ leaseholders – BBC News

Posted July 1st, 2024 in confidentiality, leases, local government, London, news, non-disclosure agreements, repairs, repayment by tracey

‘A London council has been forcing residents into silence as a condition of them receiving money owed to them for building work and services they had been overcharged for – in some cases by tens of thousands of pounds.’

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BBC News, 30th June 2024

Source: www.bbc.co.uk