Renters: Eviction cases resume after six-month ban – BBC News
‘Eviction hearings will now resume in courts in England and Wales – but the most serious cases will be given priority.’
BBC News, 21st September 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: landlord & tenant
Possession claims – More new things and yet more to come – Nearly Legal
‘Gov.uk now has a “Reactivation Notice” (one for claimants, one for defendants). Note this is not a statutory or prescribed form. There is no set format for a reactivation notice.
The page says “Please do not use these documents before 20 September 2020. There is no need to rush to reactivate – you have until 4pm on 24 January 2021.” Which is not necessarily the case. Any possession claim with a hearing already listed requires a reactivation notice to be filed and served at least 42 days before the hearing – Practice Direction 55C 2.5.’
Nearly Legal, 15th September 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
The Parable of the Property Developer – Nearly Legal
‘An unlawful eviction case, but not a residential one. A note because it is an interesting case of a badly behaved property developers, a church an a question over general damages.’
Nearly Legal, 6th September 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Ban on evictions and notice periods extended in Government u-turn – St Ives Chambers
‘The stay imposed on possession proceedings was due to expire on Sunday 23 August 2020. However, in an 11th hour u-turn, Robert Jenrick announced on Friday afternoon that the ban on evictions would be extended for a further 4 weeks (taking the total ban to 6 months) in England and Wales. In a further, unforeseen twist, it was announced that a new 6 month notice period would be in place until at least 31 March 2021 (this applies to England only) in all matters save for “serious cases”, examples of which are anti-social behaviour and domestic abuse.’
St Ives Chambers, 21st August 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
Council loses appeal over £200 confiscation order in housing case when benefit said to be several hundreds of thousands of pounds – Local Government Lawyer
‘The London Borough of Islington has lost “a most unusual” Court of Appeal action in which it argued that a confiscation order in a housing overcrowding case was too lenient.’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th August 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Benefit claimants face landlord discrimination despite ruling – BBC News
‘Thousands of landlords are trying to avoid renting their properties to benefit claimants, despite a judge ruling a blanket ban was unlawful.’
BBC News, 28th August 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Reopening Workplaces: Considerations for Commercial Landlord and Tenants – Thomas More Chambers
‘With more businesses reopening their previously closed premises and following the Prime Minister’s recent encouragement for employees to return to work, it is important that commercial landlords and tenants consider their statutory health and safety obligations and enact all appropriate measures.’
Thomas More Chambers, 5th August 2020
Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk
Croydon LBC v Kalonga [2020] EWHC 1353 (QB) – Tanfield Chambers
‘The “flexible tenancy” was the latest, and mercifully the last, in a long line of new “tenancies” created by Parliament to address perceived deficiencies within social housing. The flexible tenancy is a fixed term secure tenancy that is capable of determination at the end of its term by not becoming a secure periodic tenancy. Its purpose was to enable a greater churn of social housing and to ensure that such housing went to those tenants in greatest housing need. The flexible tenancy did not prove popular—there are said to be only 30,000 flexible tenancies in existence—and Parliament’s proposal to make such tenancies mandatory (under the Housing and Planning Act 2016) has never been brought into force.’
Tanfield Chambers, 11th August 2020
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Suitability, affordability and benefit claims – Nearly Legal
‘A interim judicial review decision from May, but judgment just out. The issue was the suitability of temporary accommodation under section 188 Housing Act 1996 (judicial review necessary, as no s.202 review option on s.188 accommodation).’
Nearly Legal, 23rd August 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Eviction ban extended by four weeks – Local Government Lawyer
‘The ban on tenant evictions, which was set to expire on Monday 23rd August, has been extended for a further four weeks until 20th September.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st August 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Councils warn of “cliff edge” with 500,000 people at risk of eviction once stay on proceedings is lifted – Local Government Lawyer
‘Councils have warned that hundreds of thousands of people could be at risk of eviction when the stay on possession proceedings introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end on 23 August.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st August 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
The position on possession – Hardwicke Chambers
‘Andrew Skelly considers the current restrictions on a landlord’s ability to recover possession, and the emergency measures set out in the Coronavirus Act 2020 that will continue to apply after the automatic stay on possession proceedings comes to an end on 23 August 2020.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 12th August 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
230,000 could lose homes as eviction ban ends in England and Wales – The Guardian
‘A man whose partner died of coronavirus after they moved into their dream flat is among 230,000 people who face having to leave their homes when the government lifts its ban on evictions in England and Wales this weekend.’
The Guardian, 19th August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Rent arrears and RROs – Nearly Legal
‘This is a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decision on an application for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO), which unusually deals with the issue of the tenant’s rent arrears.’
Nearly Legal, 16th August 2020
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Where to now? End of eviction ban leaves tenants fearing for future – The Guardian
‘Soon landlords will be able to take action against renters again, which many fear could lead to a rise in homelessness.’
The Guardian, 9th August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
High Court rejects challenge to award by arbitrator favouring council in property lease dispute – Local Government Lawyer
‘A High Court judge has dismissed a bid by a landlord to have set aside an arbitrator’s award that favoured a council as tenant of a city centre property.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th August 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Landlords in England ignoring ‘no DSS’ ban, claim private renters – The Guardian
‘Hundreds of private renters in England in receipt of benefits are still struggling to secure accommodation despite a landmark ruling saying that landlords are not allowed to discriminate against this group.’
The Guardian, 2nd August 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Rees v Windsor- Clive Rees v Windsor-Clive (as Trustees of the St Fagan’s No 1 and No 2 Trusts) [2020] EWCA Civ 816 – Tanfield Chambers
‘The question whether a right of entry clause permitted a landlord to undertake activities in order to comply with planning conditions was a matter of fact and degree.’
Tanfield Chambers, 17th July 2020
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
The public/private divide in the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 – Monckton Chambers
‘In a judgment that will be of interest to a number of entities, particularly in the transport and utilities sectors, the Upper Tribunal in IC v Poplar Housing Association [2020] UKUT 182 (AAC) has provided a boost to this analysis, upholding a narrow definition of “public authority” under Regulation 2(2)(c) of the Environmental Information Regulations (“EIR”) that will exclude many organisations from the scope of the regime.’
Monckton Chambers, 24th July 2020
Source: www.monckton.com
The Impact of COVID-19 on Landlords of Students Occupying HMOs – 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square
‘Measures brought in to tackle the pandemic meant that universities, much like everyone else, had to implement policies of working or learning remotely. These are likely to continue at varying extents across England for the 2020-2021 academic year. If students, in particular those residing otherwise abroad, do not need to attend lectures in person, and face difficulties in returning to England due to travel restrictions, then this is likely to raise an issue for landlords of HMOs targeted at that sector of the market. This is because students renting a room in shared accommodation or those who had agreed to do so for the next academic year are likely to try to surrender their lease. Where does this leave the landlords?’
4-5 Gray's Inn Square, 17th July 2020
Source: www.4-5.co.uk
