Climate change: ‘Right to repair’ gathers force – BBC News
‘It is frustrating: you buy a new appliance then just after the warranty runs out, it gives up the ghost.’
BBC News, 9th January 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: repairs
Landlord fined £25,000 over lack of hot water for disabled tenant – The Guardian
‘The wife of Britain’s most controversial buy-to-let landlord, Fergus Wilson, has been ordered to pay £25,000 in fines and legal costs after a court ruled that she had failed to supply hot water to a disabled tenant.’
The Guardian, 12th December 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
New Judgment: S Franses Ltd v The Cavendish Hotel (London) Ltd [2018] UKSC 62 – UKSC Blog
‘This appeal considered the construction of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. It specifically considered whether a landlord which intends to carry out works if, and only if, those works are necessary to satisfy s 30(1)(f), and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of the undertaking given by the respondent in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f). It also considered whether a landlord whose sole or predominant commercial objective is to undertake works in order to fulfil ground (f) and thereby avoid the grant of a new lease to the tenant, and which offers an undertaking to carry out those works in the form of an undertaking given in the present case, has the requisite intention for the purposes of ground (f).’
UKSC Blog, 5th December 2018
Source: ukscblog.com
Improvement clauses needing improvement – Nearly Legal
‘An object lesson in the need for clarity in tenancy agreements. This was an appeal from a first instance decision of HHJ Luba QC. Mr H was Network’s assured tenant of a flat in a block used for a sheltered housing scheme. Following a fire safety inspection, Network proposed to replace all the flat entrance doors. Mr H would not give access to Network to do so unless certain conditions were met. No agreement was reached and Network applied for an injunction for access.’
Nearly Legal, 22nd November 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Dilapidated’ courts need millions for repairs, says top judge – The Guardian
‘Courts in England and Wales are suffering from decades of neglect and need an injection of hundreds of millions of pounds for repairs, the lord chief justice has told MPs.’
The Guardian, 20th November 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Naomi McLoughlin Discusses the Recent Case of Surrey County Council v Hilliard (2018) – Park Square Barristers
‘The legal test in considering a breach of s41 remains to be found in James v Preseli Pembrokeshire DC [1993] PIQR P114 and Jones v Rhondda Cynon Taff CBC [2008] EWCA Civ 1497. Whilst the appellant was successful on the basis two pieces of evidence had not been considered with the correct weight, the lower Court had nonetheless applied the correct legal test.’
Park Square Barristers, 30th October 2018
Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk
Repairing patented equipment – what is allowed? – Technology Law Update
‘The owner of an item embodying patented technology is allowed to have the item repaired, but if the repairing goes too far it can stray into “making” the item and infringe the patent. A recent ruling explores the boundary between making and repairing, providing some helpful pointers in relation to complex products.’
Technology Law Update, 30th October 2018
Source: www.technology-law-blog.co.uk
What is the price of safety? And who pays the price? – Hardwicke Chambers
‘On 14 June 2017, 72 people were killed when a huge fire engulfed the Grenfell Tower Block in West London. As we approach the anniversary of that appalling disaster, the inquiry into what happened has only just begun, with harrowing accounts from witnesses and survivors. One thing that does seem clear however, is that the retro-fitted cladding which was applied to the outside of the tower was entirely useless in slowing the blaze. Indeed, it seems that the cladding was itself flammable, feeding the flames, and was fitted in such a way as to aid the spread of the blaze.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th June 2018
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
The costs of dangerous cladding – leaseholders position – Nearly Legal
‘First Tier Tribunal LON/00AH/LSC/2017/0435 – Firstport Property Services Ltd v various leaseholders of Citiscape. We previously saw the Salford decision on the costs of a ‘waking watch’ in a tower with ‘Grenfell’ style cladding, but this was the first, keenly awaited, decision on the liability of leaseholders of an affected building (here in Croydon) to pay for the costs of removal and replacement of such cladding under their leases.’
Nerarly Legal, 26th March 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
The ‘MV Renos’ [2018] EWCA Civ 230 – 4 New Square
‘In the ‘MV Renos’ the Court of Appeal had to determine whether the Respondents (“Owners”) had lost the right to abandon the vessel and claim that it was a constructive total loss (“CTL”).’
4 New Square, 21st February 2018
Source: www.insurancelaw.london
Ecclesiastical court judgments – February 2018 – Law & Religion UK
‘Review of the ecclesiastical court judgments during February 2018.’
Law & Religion UK, 3rd March 2018
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
Homeowners battle freeholder over £20,000 ‘Grenfell bill’ – Daily Telegraph
‘Residents of a luxury north London apartment block are battling their freeholder over who should pay a multi-million-pound bill to replace dangerous Grenfell-style cladding, and for the wages of fire marshals.’
Daily Telegraph, 5th March 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Deliberate breach of faculty conditions – Law & Religion UK
‘In 2014 we posted “Ignorance of the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules is no excuse…”, and expanding on this theme, “Risks of disregarding the faculty jurisdiction” in June 2016. The recent case Re St Peter & St Paul Pettistree [2017] ECC SEI 6 concerned a “deliberate and avoidable” breach of the terms of the faculty by a professional on the list of DAC-approved architects.’
Law & Religion UK, 6th February 2018
Source: www.lawandreligionuk.com
Water into gas should not go – UK Human Rights Blog
‘When the supply of gas to your house fails, you are entitled to compensation from the gas undertaker for the inconvenience. If that failure has been caused by another utility’s burst water main, the gas undertaker may seek to recoup its expenses for repair to its own infrastructure and the compensation it has had to pay out to consumers. A simple enough picture.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 3rd February 2018
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Fire Safety – Who Pays? – Nearly Legal
‘Since the extent of the issues with the cladding to blocks of flats became clear after Grenfell, and it became clear that private blocks as well as social were affected, we have been waiting for the beginning of the legal fall out over who was to pay for rectifying the problems. For leaseholders in those blocks, this was always going to be a very serious issue.’
Nearly Legal, 4th February 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Ryan v Villarosa [2017] UKUT 466 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers
‘In a conflict between a clear scheme of covenants and complimentary service charge machinery, and ambiguous declarations as to the relationship between one of the parties to the lease and a third party, (both contained in the same lease) the scheme takes precedence and is binding on the parties – coherence trumps uncertainty where provisions are in conflict.’
Tanfield Chambers, 8th January 2018
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Potholes Galore! – Zenith PI
‘Crawley v Barnsley MBC [2017] 1WLR 2329 may well have surprised both local authorities and those who follow the law reports. It strikes one as very much a decision on its own facts and typical of the numerous cases which these days clutter the Lexis reports. If it does indeed state a matter of principle, it may be thought a singular advance on previous authorities.’
Zenith PI, 26th July 2017
Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com
Grenfell Tower fire: tenants’ rights and the gaps in the law – Legal Voice
‘The Grenfell Action Group and residents raised repeated concerns about the apparent neglect of health and safety legislation. Whilst there are several potential causes of action, the reality for tenants is that they would have struggled to bring a claim for a number of reasons.’
Legal Voice, 23rd June 2017
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Oliver v Sheffield City Council [2017] EWCA Civ. 225 – Tanfield Chambers
‘A local authority was required to give credit to leaseholders for funds received from third-parties when recovering a contribution to the cost of major works.’
Tanfield Chambers, 1st June 2017
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
An unsatisfactory situation – Tanfield Chambers
‘Since the Supreme Court turned the law of dispensation from the consultation requirements upside down in Daejan Investments Ltd v Benson [2013] UKSC 14; [2013] 2 EGLR 45, the Upper Tribunal has been troubled with very few cases involving the requirements to consult leaseholders on major works. However, the decision in Lessees of Foundling Court and O’Donnell Court v Camden London Borough Council and others [2016] UKUT 366 (LC); [2016] EGLR 59 has rewritten preconceptions as to who needs to be consulted and caused landlords some new headaches.’
Tanfield Chambers, 12th June 2017
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
