Samin v Westminster City Council – WLR Daily

Posted November 23rd, 2012 in benefits, disabled persons, EC law, homelessness, housing, immigration, law reports by tracey

Samin v Westminster City Council: [2012] EWCA Civ 1468;   [2012] WLR (D)  336

“A migrant worker from another EU member state who could not establish that he was temporarily unable to work as a result of illness or accident within regulation 6(2)(a) of the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 was not entitled to housing provision from a local authority as a homeless person under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996.”

WLR Daily, 21st November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Deja Vu All Over Again (and again) – NearlyLegal

Posted November 23rd, 2012 in benefits, disabled persons, EC law, homelessness, housing, immigration, news by tracey

“In Samin v Westminster CC [2012] EWCA Civ 1468, the Court of Appeal had to decide what was meant by someone being ‘temporarily unable to work’ so as to determine if Mr Samin retained his status as a ‘worker’ under the Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006.”

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NearlyLegal, 22nd November 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Just because it looks like a Duck, walks like a Duck and sounds like a Duck, does not mean it is Duck –or a house? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 20th, 2012 in appeals, housing, leases, news by sally

“Part I of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 was designed to alter the balance between freeholders and their residential tenants, by giving the leaseholders the right to an extended lease or to compulsory acquisition of the freehold.”

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Hardwicke Chambers, 16th November 2012

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

JR, the rule of law, and administrative justice – NearlyLegal

Posted November 20th, 2012 in housing, judicial review, news, rule of law by sally

“According to Cameron, there is a need to restrict the right to judicial review to ensure the country’s economic competitiveness. As he put it, judicial review should, therefore, cost more, have shorter deadlines, and fewer rights of appeal. This is so that ‘people think twice about time wasting’.”

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NearlyLegal, 20th November 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Charles Terence Estates Ltd v Cornwall Council – WLR Daily

Posted November 16th, 2012 in fiduciary duty, homelessness, housing, law reports, local government by tracey

Charles Terence Estates Ltd v Cornwall Council: [2012] EWCA Civ 1439;   [2012] WLR (D)  326

“It was not appropriate to circumscribe a local authority’s power to acquire houses in order to provide accommodation for unintentionally homeless in priority need by limiting the power to acquire at a reasonable price.”

WLR daily, 13th November 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Housing: between a rock and a hard place – LegalVoice

Posted November 13th, 2012 in benefits, families, homelessness, housing, law centres, local government, news by sally

“Desperation among local authority housing departments is running so high that homeless families are regularly told they can be given accommodation only if their children go into care, writes Elizabeth Davidson. This shocking response on the part of the authorities is clearly a fob-off given that this would not only breach their legal duties but would cost their social services departments a lot of money.”

Full story

LegalVoice, 13th November 2012

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Suitability: Of time and distance – NearlyLegal

Posted November 12th, 2012 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

“With perfect timing, a County Court section 204 appeal judgment reaches us, on the issue of suitability of temporary accommodation. With the context of out of borough placements and the post Localism Act situation, this seemed worth considering and quoting in detail.”

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NearlyLegal, 12th November 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

‘Homeless Legislation – a thing of the past?’ – NearlyLegal

Posted November 12th, 2012 in homelessness, housing, local government, news by sally

“Now that the Guardian has the story, I feel able to quote a briefing paper by Andy Gale of the DCLG that had found its way to me. This is the briefing that Andy Gale has been giving to Council officers (not councillors, as far as I know) on what he gives as the DCLG view of the post-Localism Act world, how Councils should implement it, and how officers should sell this to Councillors.”

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NearlyLegal, 10th November 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

The Article 8 Toys Go Back in the Box – NearlyLegal

Posted November 9th, 2012 in housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, local government, news, succession by tracey

“The Court of Appeal has handed down judgement in a case that will probably come to characterise the operation of Article 8 in the daily life of the County Courts.”

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NearlyLegal, 9th November 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk/blog/

Right to Manage – the Court of Appeal speaks – NearlyLegal

Posted October 29th, 2012 in appeals, housing, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges by sally

“Gala Unity Ltd v Ariadne Road RTM Co Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1372 is important for those doing long leasehold work. I’m not entirely sure it’s right (or, perhaps a better way of putting it, I’m not sure it’s a good decision, it may be right within the statutory framework), but I’ll save that for the end. Since this is the first Right to Manage case to reach the Court of Appeal, I’ll set out some of the relevant background.”

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NearlyLegal, 27th October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Government orders building standards review – The Guardian

“Regulations covering building standards, including fire safety and wheelchair access, could be torn up in a government plan to cut costs for the construction industry and boost the economy.”

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The Guardian, 26th October 2012

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Interim Payments and the Seriously Injured Claimant: Somewhere to Live or Down at Eeeles – Zenith Chambers

Posted October 23rd, 2012 in damages, housing, news, periodical payments, personal injuries by sally

“Gordon Exall look at the cases and principles relating to interim payments and accommodation in catastrophic injury cases.”

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Zenith Chambers, 22nd October 2012

Source: www.zenithchambers.co.uk

CPO over unoccupied property can be made even when dwelling not ’empty’, says court – OUT-LAW.com

“A local housing authority may make a compulsory purchase order (CPO) over an unoccupied house even where the house is not ’empty’ for the purposes of the empty dwellings management orders (EDMO) regime, a High Court judge has ruled.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 22nd October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Not round these parts – NearlyLegal

Posted October 22nd, 2012 in ASBOs, housing, judicial review, local government, news, young persons by sally

“Did historic ASB by the daughter of a former evicted tenant allow the local authority to refuse to allow her accommodation in the same area? This was the issue in this judicial review of Bolton-at-Home’s (‘Bolton’) decision to refuse a property to Ms Carney.”

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NearlyLegal, 21st October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Proportionality – between claim and hearing – NearlyLegal

Posted October 22nd, 2012 in appeals, complaints, housing, local government, news, proportionality by sally

“A successful proportionality defence on an introductory tenancy and one upheld on appeal. There is also some helpful confirmation about what can be considered in assessing proportionality.”

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NearlyLegal, 21st October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Housing Ombudsman consultation – NearlyLegal

Posted October 18th, 2012 in complaints, consultations, housing, news, ombudsmen by sally

“One of the less well-remarked upon changes in the Localism Act 2010 was a set of radical changes to the role of the Housing Ombudsman (the current incumbent being the lovely Mike Biles). In short, the HO takes over jurisdiction for local authority housing complaints; there is a filter mechanism before the HO can accept a complaint (it has to be referred by a Designated person: MP, Councillor, Tenants Panel). The former is to be welcomed – on one view, the HO now offers a far better, more modern, proactive service than the Local Government Ombudsman in our entrepreneurialised housing system; the latter is to be absolutely deprecated as being not just against the spirit of administrative justice but also as a mechanism for cost-saving in the face of proper redress of grievance/s. Whatever you think about ombudspersons – and a range of views are expressed – there is no doubt that they have consistently exposed various maladministrations across the housing sphere, and they don’t hold back; in addition, their purpose (unlike courts) is to make things better for future ‘customers’ so that there may well be an impact on service delivery from a single instance of maladministration (and not just in that organisation).”

Full story

NearlyLegal, 17th October 2012

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Repeal of property sales law will pose risks for housebuilders, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

“The Government’s decision to repeal a law designed for regulating property sales and rely on general consumer protection legislation instead will expose housebuilders to new risks and increase their costs at a time when they can scarcely afford it.”

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OUT-LAW.com, 15th October 2012

Source: www.out-law.com

Day v Hosebay Ltd and another Lexgorge Ltd v Howard de Walden Estates Ltd – WLR Daily

Posted October 12th, 2012 in enfranchisement, housing, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases by sally

Day v Hosebay Ltd and another; Lexgorge Ltd v Howard de Walden Estates Ltd [2012] UKSC 41; [2012] WLR (D) 271

“A property built as, and which retained the appearance of, a house but which was being used solely for commercial purposes was not a ‘house … reasonably so called’ for the purposes of section 2(1) of the Leasehold Reform Act 1967 so as to give the lessees the right to acquire the freehold compulsorily.”

WLR Daily, 10th October 2012

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Supreme Court reverses CoA ruling on the legal definition of a house – The Lawyer

Posted October 11th, 2012 in appeals, housing, leases, news, precedent, Supreme Court by sally

“The Supreme Court has ended years of legal uncertainty by ruling on what constitutes a house in the contest of leasehold enfranchisement.”

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The Lawyer, 11th October 2012

Source: www.thelawyer.com

Reform of planning laws tampers dangerously with the procedural safeguards – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted October 3rd, 2012 in construction industry, housing, news, planning by sally

“A recently announced government reform of the planning laws would extend permitted development rights to house extensions of double the pre-existing limits, to 6m (19 feet) beyond the back wall of a semi-detached house, or 8m (26 feet) in the case of a detached house. The relaxation of the rules, for a fixed three year period, is designed to stimulate construction activity and economic growth. These proposals, however, which will remove the requirement for planning permission, rest on a fundamental misconception as to the role of the planning system. Planning is supposed to deliver a balanced decision based on weighing up all relevant considerations. As any local parish or district councillor knows, extension proposals are often the most contentious proposals because of neighbours’ concerns over loss of privacy, amenity and reduction of property values. Poisonous neighbourhood disputes will undoubtedly increase across the land because concerned neighbours and councillors will no longer have a say on these important local matters.”

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Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 3rd October 2012

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk