‘A judicial review where the relevant parts played out in the early stages of the pandemic lockdown, and where the central question was whether self contained accommodation provided without a fridge, cooker and bed, was suitable within the meaning of section 206 Housing Act 1996, such that interim relief could be ordered.’
Nearly Legal, 28th June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The UN has warned Britain that its failure to strip combustible cladding from high-rise buildings containing tens of thousands homes may be a breach of international law.’
The Guardian, 28th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In a long-awaited judgment handed down on 18th June 2020, the Court of Appeal held (2:1) in Trecarrell House Limited v. Patricia Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 760 (“Rouncefield”) that a failure to provide a gas safety certificate to a new tenant prior to them taking up occupation can be rectified by later service so as to enable the landlord to serve a section 21 notice.’
St Ives Chambers, 23rd June 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘Two joint property owners have been found guilty of illegally sub-dividing a building into seven substandard flats in a prosecution brought by the London Borough of Camden.’
Local Government Lawyer, 25th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The fundamental and long-debated approach to awarding compensation for special accommodation today arrived at the Court of Appeal.’
Law Society's Gazette, 23rd June 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘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
‘Ms Stewart and others were tenants of Mr V. The property was an unlicensed HMO and the tenants had applied for an RRO. The FTT had awarded a rent repayment order and the landlord appealed, on the basis that the amount he was ordered to pay was excessive in view of the amounts he had spent on the property. The tenants were assisted by University of London Housing Services.’
Nearly Legal, 21st June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘A landlord has failed in a judicial review challenge after he was refused permission to vacate a guilty plea in relation to an enforcement notice, amid claims that a council was improperly motivated by an expected windfall from a confiscation order.’
Local Government Lawyer, 19th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘It is fair to say this Court of Appeal decision has been widely and keenly awaited. Unfortunately, for reasons I will explain in my comment at the end, I think it leaves us with a lot of further questions.’
Nearly Legal, 18th June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Where a local authority has an initial s.188 Housing Act 1996 duty to provide interim accommodation, but then makes a s.184 decision that the applicant is not in priority need, is that sufficient to bring the s.188 duty to an end? In this judicial review, the answer turns out to be no, at least not if the s.189B duty is continuing and notice of no further duty has not been served.’
Nearly Legal, 16th June 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
‘In a successful challenge to the adoption of a development plan, Mrs Justice Lieven has ruled that the large number of Green Belt allocations in the adopted Leeds Site Allocations Plan (SAP) are legally flawed due to inadequate reasons causing prejudice to the Claimant and an error of fact amounting to an error of law. The Council was also found to have breached the Strategic Environment Assessment Regulations by failing to consider and consult upon a ‘reasonable alternative’ to the strategy of continuing with the SAP in materially changed circumstances. However, in relation to that latter point, relief was not granted due to the Court finding that it was an error that would not have made any difference to the outcome.’
Landmark Chambers, 8th June 2020
Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
‘More than 1,000 prisoners were released into homelessness at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in England and Wales, figures show, prompting the government to increase funding for accommodation for prison leavers.’
The Guardian, 15th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A neighbourhood forum has successfully challenged Leeds City Council’s site allocation plan in the High Court in a dispute over calculating Green Belt release for housebuilding.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This case determines, definitively, that a thorough vulnerability assessment with an acknowledgement of a consideration of the Public Sector Equality Duty (‘PSED’) can satisfy the statutory duty pursuant to section 149 of the Equality Act 2010. No further assessment is automatically required.’
St Ives Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘A flexible tenancy is a species of secure tenancy which is granted for a fixed term of at least two years (s.107A-D, Housing Act 1985). At the end of the fixed term, the landlord has a mandatory ground for possession (s.107D). During the fixed term, commentators have differed on how the landlord can terminate the tenancy. In Flexible Tenancies and Forfeiture, [2014] Journal of Housing Law 17 (Andrew Dymond), it was suggested that the tenancy needed to include a forfeiture clause and the fixed term needed to be terminated by way of forfeiture (see s.82(3), 1985 Act). By contrast, in In a Fix New Law Journal, 29 June 2012 (Jon Holbrook), it was suggested that a flexible tenancy could be determined in the same manner as a periodic secure tenancy, i.e. by the landlord obtaining and executing an order for possession.’
Landmark Chambers, 2nd June 2020
Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
‘Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £64m by the City watchdog for failing to treat mortgage customers fairly after they fell into financial difficulty.’
The Guardian, 11th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The London Borough of Waltham Forest has won two appeals over reductions made by the First-Tier Tribunal to penalty notices for unlicensed flat rentals.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 makes detailed provision for the regulation of residential service charges payable by long leaseholders. In particular, s.20B(1), 1985 Act provides that a tenant is not liable to pay service charges which were incurred more than 18 months before a demand for payment was served on the tenant. That provision does not apply if, within the same 18 month period, the tenant is notified in writing that the costs have been incurred and that he will subsequently be required under the terms of his lease to contribute to them by payment of a service charge (s.20B(2)). In Brent LBC v Shulem B Association Ltd [2011] 1 WLR 3014, the High Court held that the “demand” for the purposes of s.20B(1) had to be a contractually valid demand. That decision was approved – without argument to the contrary – in Skelton v DBS Homes (Kings Hill) Ltd [2017] EWCA Civ 1139.’
Landmark Chambers, 2nd June 2020
Source: www.landmarkchambers.co.uk
‘Speeding up the process of property buying and selling has taken on new urgency following the conveyancing market meltdown due to Covid-19.’
Legal Futures, 9th June 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Despite the government’s general stance on relaxation of lockdown and the recommendations of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee, the ban on taking active steps in possession claims or seeking to enforce possession orders has been extended until 23 August. This was following advice from the Lord Chancellor and the Civil Procedure Rules Committee.’
St Ives Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
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