Section 21 and Gas Safety again, and tools for tenants. – Nearly legal
‘Section 21 and Gas Safety again, and tools for tenants.’
Nearly Legal, 24th February 2025
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Category: utilities
Prepayment meters: Magistrates told to stop allowing forced installations – BBC News
‘Magistrates courts in England and Wales are to stop hearing and ruling on applications from energy firms to forcibly install prepayment meters with immediate effect.’
BBC News, 6th February 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Call to end forced installation of UK prepayment meters after millions suffer without power – The Guardian
‘Ministers are being urged to stop the forced installation of prepayment meters after revelations that 3.2 million people – the equivalent of one person every 10 seconds – were left with cold and dark homes last year as they ran out of credit.’
The Guardian, 11th January 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
Benefit claimant wins High Court challenge over DWP policy approach to “Third Party Deductions” – Local Government Lawyer
‘The High Court has declared unlawful the Department for Work & Pensions’ written guidance for officials on ‘third party deductions’.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th September 2022
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Water company fined £100,000 for unsafe street work practices – Local Government Lawyer
‘Thames Water has been fined £100,000 after being prosecuted by Transport for London for four safety street works related offences committed on the TfL Road Network.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th October 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
A reprieve for landlords – Gas safety certificates and section 21 notices Case update: Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 270 – 3PB
‘Residential landlords may well be familiar with, and will quite possibly have fallen foul of, the statutory requirements placed upon them in respect of gas safety certificates. The case of Caridon Property Ltd v Shooltz (02/02/18, unreported but the judgment is available online) providing, until yesterday, unbinding but highly persuasive authority that landlords who fail to serve a copy of the most recent gas safety certificate prior to a tenant entering in to occupation of the relevant property could not rely upon the no-fault eviction process provided by section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and, as per the County Court appeal judgment of HHJ Luba QC, could never rectify the error. The decision, which was regularly followed by district judges and deputy district judges in the County Court throughout the country, placed landlords in a position where, unless they were able to rely upon any of the grounds set out Schedule 2 of the 1988 Act and therefore serve a section 8 notice, they had no way of evicting tenants, even though they were purportedly assured shorthold tenants.’
3PB, 19th June 2020
Source: www.3pb.co.uk
East Tower Apartments Limited v No.1 West India Quay Residential Limited LON/00BG/LSC/2014/0329 – Tanfield Chambers
‘The long-running saga of East Tower Apartments Limited v No.1 West India Quay Residential Limited continues.
The landlord has been given permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal on the issue of whether a demand under Section 20B(1) must be a contractually valid demand. If the landlord is successful, this will likely require the Upper Tribunal to find that Brent London Borough Council v Schulem B Association Ltd [2011] 1 WLR 3014 was wrongly decided.’
Tanfield Chambers, 29th November 2019
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
The Cost Of Sickness: Mental Health Conditions Cost People Over £1000 A Year – Rights Info
‘A person suffering from mental health issues could be paying as much as £1,100 to £1,550 a year more than someone without a condition on necessities such as phone, internet and electricity bills, according to new research by Citizens Advice.’
Rights Info, 4th March 2019
Source: rightsinfo.org
High-speed broadband to be legal right for UK homes and businesses – The Guardian
‘British homes and businesses will have a legal right to high-speed broadband by 2020, the government has announced, dismissing calls from the network provider BT that it should be a voluntary rather than legal obligation on providers.’
The Guardian, 20th December 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Legal costs capped for those who can’t pay energy bills – The Guardian
‘Gas and electricity customers who have fallen so far behind with their payments that they are forced to have a prepayment meter, are to have their court and legal charges capped at £150 by the energy regulator.’
The Guardian, 10th November 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Appeal judges uphold indemnity costs order in “long and acrimonious” neighbour dispute – Litigation Futures
‘The Court of Appeal has backed the order of indemnity costs against a retired couple involved in a battle over access to gas and electricity meters, who “had not come to court to assist the court in resolving the dispute but to assist themselves”.’
Litigation Futures, 15th August 2017
Source: www.litigationfutures.com
‘Bombastic’ pensioners could lose their home after £200,000 legal battle over shared gas meter – Daily Telegraph
‘In elderly couple described as “troublemaking” and “bombastic” face giving up their home after losing a £200,000 legal fight to prevent neighbours accessing a shared utilities meter.’
Daily Telegraph, 25th July 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Nor any drop to drink – Nearly Legal
‘Jones v London Borough of Southwark [2016] EWHC 457 (Ch). Quite a lot of councils have agreements with water suppliers under which the council will collect water charges from their tenants, effectively as an addition to the rent. This case concerned a challenge to the nature and validity of Southwark’s agreement, at least before 2013.’
Nearly Legal, 5th March 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
Court rules council overcharged 37,000 tenants for water and sewerage – Local Government Lawyer
‘A London borough has overcharged approximately 37,000 tenants for water and sewerage services, a High Court judge has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th March 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Illegal counterfactuals: bringing in new claims by the backdoor? – Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers
‘It is fairly well-established in competition cases that the hypothetical counterfactual – which, for the purposes of causation, posits what the situation would have been absent any breach of competition law – cannot contain unlawful elements: see e.g. Albion Water Ltd v Dwr Cymru [2013] CAT 6. In a normal case, C will claim damages, arguing – let’s say – that D abused a dominant position by imposing discriminatory prices. D defends the claim on the basis that, absent any abuse, it would have set prices at a certain (high) level. C replies that those prices too would have been discriminatory – i.e. the counterfactual is inappropriate.’
Competition Bulletin from Blackstone Chambers, 24th February 2016
Source: www.competitionbulletin.com
Freedom of information: round-up – Law Society’s Gazette
‘Transparency and openness for local authorities does not just mean disclosing information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FoI). Section 3 of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 gives the secretary of state the power to issue a code of practice about the publication of information by local authorities relating to the discharge of their functions.’
Law Society’s Gazette, 13th April 2015
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Not So Alarming – Nearly Legal
‘There are new provisions requiring smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in residential properties.’
Nearly Legal, 24th March 2015
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
Teather’s Tether – Will the Tenancies (Reform) Bill be a sticker? – Zenith Chambers
‘Aided by a campaign from Shelter to put an end to “retaliatory eviction” in the private rented sector, Sarah Teather MP introduced a private members bill on 3rd July 2014. This is to address the situation where a tenant, making a legitimate complaint that rented premises are in a state of disrepair, is immediately met with a s. 21 notice and the accelerated procedure for possession. Rather than face up to their responsibilities, or risk a challenge in rent possession proceedings by way of defence and counterclaim for damages for disrepair, unscrupulous landlords choose simply to evict the tenant using the swift and final “no fault” route to possession.’
Full story (PDF)
Zenith Chambers, 12th September 2014
Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk
EDF to pay £3m in compensation after Ofgem inquiry – The Guardian
‘EDF Energy is to pay out £3m to benefit “vulnerable customers” after an investigation by the energy industry watchdog Ofgem found that the company had breached complaint handling rules.’
The Guardian, 22nd August 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
