No-fault evictions to be banned in England – BBC News
‘Private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short notice without good reason under new plans.’
BBC News, 15th April 2019
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: repossession
Bailiffs should be required to wear bodycams, say MPs – The Guardian
‘Bailiffs should be officially regulated and required to wear body cameras to monitor their behaviour when they seize property to cover unpaid bills and fines, MPs have recommended.’
The Guardian, 11th April 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Second possession orders and estoppel – Nearly Legal
‘A court of appeal decision on a first instance application, where the main issue was whether, given an historic possession order, the landlord could bring fresh possession proceedings.’
Nearly Legal, 24th March 2019
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
U Can’t Do This* – Nearly Legal
‘This was a directions hearing in a possession claim, supposedly brought by Ojo & Opaleye. The tenant, Ms M, was defending on the basis of failure to comply with deposit protection regulations.’
Nearly Legal, 15th February 2019
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Are banks guilty of faking signatures on British court papers? – The Guardian
‘Have some banks, or their legal representatives, been faking signatures on UK court documents used to repossess people’s homes and to recover other debts?’
The Guardian, 16th February 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Housing association defeats defence against eviction based on ‘cuckooing’ – Local Government Lawyer
‘The public sector equality duty should be considered in cases of ‘cuckooing’ where a vulnerable resident’s home is taken over by others as a base for drug consumption and dealing, the High Court has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 24th January 2019
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
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
You ain’t the boss of me (yet) – Nearly Legal
‘When a section 21 notice is served, does the party serving it (or on whose behalf it is served) have to be the tenant’s landlord at that time?’
Nearly Legal, 31st October 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Property Guardians – licence not tenancy in office building – Nearly Legal
‘Camelot Guardian Management Ltd v Khoo (2018) EWHC 2296 (QB). This is quite a significant judgment on the issue of property guardians and the licence/tenancy distinction. This was Mr Khoo’s appeal of a first instance possession judgment that found his occupation was under a licence, not a tenancy.’
Nearly Legal, 23rd October 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Doing the same thing all over again – Nearly Legal
‘A county court appeal arising out of a set of proceedings starting with a disrepair claim by a private sector tenant, which raises issues of service and when second proceedings are an abuse of process. Our thanks to Hardwicke Chambers for making the judgment available.’
Nearly Legal, 7th October 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Council wins possession of wildlife garden but eviction must wait for JR hearing – Local Government Lawyer
‘A judge has confirmed Lewisham Council’s right to possession of a wildlife garden in Deptford as part of a housing project, but said it cannot take place until seven days after a High Court judge holds an oral hearing into whether to grant permission for a judicial review challenge.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st October 2018
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
A noisy appeal – Nearly Legal
‘This was Curo Places appeal of a Circuit Judge’s dismissal of its possession claim against Ms Walker.’
Nearly Legal, 30th September 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
International Court of Justice begins hearing on Britain’s separation of Chagos islands from Mauritius – Daily Telegraph
‘Britain has apologised for the “shameful” way it evicted islanders from the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, but insisted Mauritius was wrong to bring a dispute over sovereignty of the strategic atoll group to the United Nations’ top court.’
Daily Telegraph, 3rd September 2018
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Unregulated eviction service “crossed line” into litigation – Legal Futures
‘An unregulated eviction service called Remove a Tenant “crossed the line” between assisting claimants and conducting litigation, a judge has ruled.’
Legal Futures, 28th August 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
No-fault evictions making hundreds of families homeless each week – The Guardian
‘Hundreds of families are being made homeless every week in “no-fault” evictions by landlords keen to cash in on rising property prices or put the rent up.’
The Guardian, 18th August 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Section 21- Notices and the Possession Procedure – Hardwicke Chambers
‘What is a section 21 (“s21”) notice?
It is a method of ending an assured shorthold tenancy by giving two months’ notice. The advantage of a s21 notice over other types of notice is that a Landlord does not have to give a reason for requiring possession.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 16th July 2018
Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk
Trespassers and Human Rights – Where are we now? – Falcon Chambers
‘Those who act for private sector landlords in residential possession proceedings will be familiar with the decision of the Supreme Court in McDonald v McDonald [2017] AC 273, which was argued successfully by Stephen Jourdan QC and Ciara Fairly of Falcon Chambers. In McDonald, the Supreme Court was asked to decide whether a tenant in summary possession proceedings could require the court to consider the proportionality of making a possession order, having regards to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): the well-known right to respect for private and family life. In particular, the court was required to decide whether a private landlord’s mandatory right to possession of her property under section 21 of the Housing Act 1998 could be curtailed or defeated entirely by invoking Article 8.’
Falcon Chambers, May 2018
Source: www.falcon-chambers.com
Equality Act and Evictions – Nearly Legal
‘An appeal on the issue of whether disability discrimination should be considered afresh on an application for stay of warrant following breach of a suspended possession order.’
Nearly Legal, 5th August 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Disability Discrimination and Proportionality in Possession Proceedings – Zenith PI Blog
‘Discussion of two recent cases of Eales v Havering London Borough Council unreported (decision of Sir Alistair Macduff in the QBD of 13th July 2018) and Paragon Asra Housing LTD (formerly known as Paragon Community Housing Ltd) v James Neville [2018] EWCA Civ 1712.’
Zenith PI Blog, 27th July 2018
Source: zenithpi.wordpress.com
Whose jurisdiction is it anyway? – Nearly Legal
‘Avon Ground Rents Ltd v Child [2018] UKUT 204 (LC). As many readers of this blog will be aware we have a number of different courts and tribunals involved in residential property. In some cases, notably leasehold service charges, there is sometimes a need to engage with two of these entities (namely the County Court and the First Tier Tribunal) in the same matter. This situation arises particularly where a money judgement or possession order is sought for non-payment of service charges and is defended on the basis that the charge is unreasonable or excessive. This question is properly a matter for the FTT and under s176A of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 the County Court may transfer to the FTT “so much of the proceedings as relate to the determination of that question”. This is an enormous amount of hassle and in an effort to improve the situation there has been a CJC-led pilot running whereby FTT Judges (all of whom are also County Court judges by virtue of s5, County Courts Act 1984) actually sit “double-hatted” dealing with the FTT and Courts aspects in one go. This has been described in an entertaining speech by Vos LJ as a “sticking plaster” and is one of the reasons for calls for reform and a single Housing Court (although see NL on that topic here).’
Nearly Legal, 28th June 2018
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
