‘MPs who employ relatives and claim money to rent accomodation could soon be blocked under a new review of politicians’ expenses.’
The Independent, 4th April 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘April 2016 is a month of big changes for people living and working in the UK. A number of new laws and policies are coming into force, affecting just about everyone from public sector workers to dog owners. Here’s what the new laws could mean for you.’
The Independent, 3rd April 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘The developer applied for outline planning permission for the development of 32 dwellings on a site lying outside the defined development boundaries and allocated sites set out in the local planning authority’s local plan. The local authority failed to determine the application and the developer appealed to the Secretary of State. The inspector appointed by the Secretary of State recognised that the main issue was whether the site was a suitable location for residential development having regard to the local plan and other considerations. He identified that the proposed development was in clear conflict with the location policy in the local plan, which policy remained in force and so retained its full weight as part of the statutory development plan. Having found therefore that para 14 of the National Planning Policy Framework (“the NPPF”) did not apply, the inspector went on to consider the policies of the NPPF as a whole, concluding that the proposed development constituted sustainable development so that the presumption in favour of sustainable development applied, that being a material consideration capable of outweighing the development plan, pursuant to section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004. Accordingly, the inspector allowed the appeal and granted permission. The local authority challenged that decision pursuant to section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 on the ground, inter alia, that the inspector had erred in law in failing properly to apply the approach to decision-taking set out in section 38(6)of the 2004 Act.’
WLR Daily, 16th March 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘The Court of Appeal have recently considered the issue of whether or not a missing bannister could amount to disrepair pursuant to section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972.’
Zenith PI Blog, 29th March 2016
Source: www.zenithpi.wordpress.com
‘The Department for Work and Pensions has spent over £100,000 on lawyers fighting a court battle to save its controversial “bedroom tax” policy.’
The Independent, 28th March 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A planning inspector has removed the affordable homes obligations from an agreement between a developer and an Oxfordshire council after finding that they rendered the proposed development economically unviable.’
Full story
OUT-LAW.com, 16th March 2016
Source: www.out-law.com
‘A High Court judge has ruled that the claims of two boys against a council for negligence in failing to protect them from harassment from neighbours on the estate where they lived were wrongly struck out.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th March 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Bill and Mary Nicholson were awarded compensation after the Cedar tree’s roots caused serious damage to their semi-detached £400,000 property’
Daily Telegraph, 21st March 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘You wait for 4 years for another case on bannisters and the Defective Premises Act 1972 and then two come along at once…
Sternbaum v Dhesi [2016] EWCA Civ 155
Dodd v Raebarn Estates Ltd & Ors [2016] EWHC 262 (QB)
Both can be dealt with fairly quickly and together, as the courts follow the same lines. Both cases involved falls on stairs, very sadly in Dodd, a fatal fall. In each case, there was no bannister to the staircase. Both claims were on appeal from being dismissed at first instance.’
Nearly Legal, 20th March 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘This has been a bit of an epic. First, the problem of High Court Enforcement Officers using form N293A to obtain writs of possession against tenants was raised by us in November 2015, then the scale of that use became clear by January 2016, and there were updates in February. Now, the coup de grace (which, if I am entirely honest, I’ve known was coming for a while).’
Nearly Legal, 21st March 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘Two children who say they suffered “harassment and worse” whilst being brought up on a tough council estate have won the right to sue for massive compensation.’
Daily Telegraph, 16th March 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘The London Borough of Redbridge is to share information and intelligence with other councils and HM Revenue and Customs, after three people were found guilty of a £1.4m housing benefit fraud.’
Local Government Lawyer, 15th March 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Britain’s changing demographics will mean a huge shift in demand for legal services, towards managing the wealth and lives of the growing proportion of elderly people in the population, according to a study forecasting legal needs in 2025.’
Legal Futures, 14th March 2016
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘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/
‘Lafferty v Newark & Sherwood District Council [2016] EWHC 320 (QB). Does section 4(4) of the Defective Premises Act 1972 create a strict liability on the landlord for any defect, such that it covers latent or undetectable defects? The short answer is no. This appeal sets out why.’
Nearly Legal, 6th March 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/
‘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
‘Forfeiture of (residential) long leases is a controversial subject: on the one hand, it’s clear that there has to be a practical and accessible route for landlords to enforce covenants, whether as to payment of monies or more general “management” covenants (e.g. stopping people just removing load bearing walls); but, on the other, the potential for an enormous (and almost always disproportionate) benefit to the landlord if the lease actually is forfeited is pretty hard to justify. Moreover, as a result of both the general drafting techniques in long leases and some [ahem] interesting Court of Appeal decisions, there is a pretty good case that a landlord can recover his legal and professional costs of pursuing forfeiture matters, even if the breach is trivial or if relief would be granted.’
Nearly Legal, 29th February 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee has begun an enquiry into homelessness. The written submissions from Councils, charities, campaigners, professional organisations and others are a stark illustration of a homeless system that is, at least in some areas, in complete crisis – overwhelmed, unable to cope with rapidly rising demand, let alone provide suitable accommodation.’
Nearly Legal, 29th February 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
‘The supreme court is to hear a legal challenge against the government’s bedroom tax from five people who argue it discriminates against the weak and vulnerable.’
The Guardian, 29th February 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘An application for interim relief in a judicial review of Lambeth’s refusal to provide interim accommodation pending review of the claimant’s homeless application, but one that leaves me thinking (or perhaps hoping) that there must have been more to this than appears in the Lawtel note.’
Nearly Legal, 24th February 2016
Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk
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