Private sector updates – Nearly Legal

Posted November 25th, 2016 in agency, fees, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by tracey

‘Section 8 notice prescribed form. The Govt has made The Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2016. The Schedule contains a new ‘form 3’ – the prescribed form of Section 8 Notice Seeking Possession. This must be used for s.8 notices served on or after 1 December 2016.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 23rd November 2016

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

Cardiff v Lee: Permission needed to enforce a suspended possession order – Hardwicke Chambers

‘Last week, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the case of Cardiff County Council v Lee (Flowers) [2016] EWCA Civ 1034, confirming that all landlords, whether social or private, are required to seek the permission of the County Court under CPR r83.2 in order to obtain a warrant of possession for breach of a suspended possession order.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 26th November 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Fairhold Freeholds No. 2 Limited v Moody [2016] UKUT 311 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in appeals, costs, fees, indemnities, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has held that an indemnity given in a lease can be viewed as a promise by the tenant to protect the landlord from the landlord’s liability to a third party. For the tenant to be liable, the tenant’s breach must be the reason for the landlord’s liability to the third party. In this case, the indemnity was not drafted widely enough to render the tenant responsible for the administrative and legal costs incurred by the landlord once the ground rent had been tendered (even though it was tendered late).’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 10th October 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Nemcova v Fairfield (‘the Airbnb ruling’): Stirring up the Hornets’ Nest of Short-Term Lets – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in appeals, covenants, hotels, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘In Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Ltd [2016] UKUT 303 (LC), in what has become known as ‘the Airbnb ruling’, the Upper Tribunal gave guidance on the circumstances in which short-term lets might amount to a breach of covenant prohibiting the use of a property for anything other than ‘a private residence’. In this article, Jamal Demachkie (who acted for the successful landlord at first instance and on appeal) provides his analysis of this important decision.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 12th October 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Landlord & Tenant – Unlawful sub-letting – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in covenants, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘The Upper Tribunal upheld the FTT’s determination that the lessee had breached a covenant in her lease not to use her flat other than as a private residence by granting a series of short-term lettings of the property. The fact that the lessee had granted the lettings meant that her occupation of the flat was so transient and not sufficiently permanent that she would not consider the property her private residence.’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 10th October 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Short-term Lettings and the Sharing Economy – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in health & safety, insurance, landlord & tenant, news, planning by sally

‘The beginning of 2016 has seen much focus on the buy to let market with the changes to the tax implications for those purchasers who already own property. The Government has announced further changes to come for buy to let landlords – might budding landlords seek to overcome these changes by exploring opportunities for shorter lets of their own homes, or alternatively, rooms in their own homes?’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 6th October 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Sinclair Gardens Investments (Kensington) Ltd v Wisbey [2016] UKUT 203 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in appeals, costs, landlord & tenant, leases, news, tribunals by sally

‘Solicitors costs of and incidental to the preparation of a counter notice were recoverable under s. 60 LRHUDA 1993. There ought to be some reduction in costs where a landlord was dealing with multiple claims involving the same building.’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 1st November 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

If it ain’t broke – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, rent by sally

‘The interplay between tenants’ rent obligations and their ability to break the term of their leases has for a number of years been a topic which has been of considerable interest to practitioners advising both either landlords or tenants. Two cases in particular will have been high on the radar in advising clients both before and after the exercise of a break clause.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 12th October 2016

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Airbnb – a wonderful idea or is it? – Tanfield Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in covenants, hotels, landlord & tenant, leases, mortgages, news, nuisance by sally

‘Airbnb seems like a wonderful idea. You can rent out your flat whenever convenient without having to become a full-time landlord or hotelier. It’s an easy way to earn a little extra cash with the added bonus of a world-wide network of other people’s spare rooms available for that well-deserved weekend break. Airbnb now has 60m users, 640,000 “hosts”, 2m listings and 500,000 stays per night. It’s big!’

Full story

Tanfield Chambers, 22nd October 2016

Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk

Second (non-) succession – Nearly Legal

Posted November 7th, 2016 in housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, succession by sally

‘In Holley v Hillingdon LBC [2016] EWCA Civ 1052, Mr Holley was seeking to challenge the council’s decision to evict him and his brother from a three bedroom property that could sleep up to six persons, in which Mr Holley had lived for 32 years of his life and where he was suffering from a range of mental health problems, including anxiety, panic attacks and depression following his grandmother’s death in 2009. There had already been a statutory succession to Mr Holley’s grandfather, so Mr Holley was, “in the rather antiquated private law jargon”, a trespasser. The judge made a possession order on the basis that there were no seriously arguable defences under Articles 8 and 14.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 1st November 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

A non-binary outcome – Nearly Legal

‘This is a cautionary tale for DJs and DDJs hearing Equality Act defences. In Birmingham CC v Stephenson [2016] EWCA Civ 1029 (not on Bailii yet, but we have seen a transcript), the Court of Appeal considered whether a possession order granted in respect of an introductory tenancy was wrongly granted where an Akerman-Livingstone Equality Act style defence was raised (alongside an Article 8 defence). Mr Stephenson had been responsible for noise nuisance from his (uncarpeted) flat. He suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, the symptoms of which are alleviated but not completely cured by medication.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 1st November 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Crackdown on rogue landlords to include new minimum bedroom size – The Guardian

Posted October 18th, 2016 in housing, landlord & tenant, licensing, news by sally

‘A new minimum bedroom size and the extension of licensing to thousands more properties are to form part of a government crackdown on rogue landlords who cram tenants into overcrowded homes.’

Full story

The Guardian, 18th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

English court dismisses ‘notice to quit’ served on tenant before land registered – OUT-LAW.com

Posted October 11th, 2016 in land registration, landlord & tenant, news, notification by sally

‘A ‘notice to quit’ served on a tenant farmer by the new owner of the land was invalid, as the new owner had given notice before its ownership was properly registered with the Land Registry, the High Court has ruled.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 10th October 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

In the Tribunals… – Nearly Legal

Posted October 10th, 2016 in costs, landlord & tenant, news, rent, service charges by sally

‘Ms K had a weekly tenancy of a flat (initially her daughter’s flat but assigned to her in 2014 by mutual exchange). The tenancy agreement provided for the payment of rent and also a weekly payment for service charge, originally £14.60. In 2015 the service charge was raised to £16.22. The tenancy agreement specified payment of the service charge but the space for the services to be provided was left blank.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 10th October 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Landlord ordered to pay £700,000+ for planning enforcement notice breach – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 6th, 2016 in costs, enforcement, fines, landlord & tenant, local government, news, planning by tracey

‘A landlord guilty of breaching a planning enforcement notice has been ordered to pay a record fine and costs to the London Borough of Barnet, after the largest planning enforcement and confiscation investigation the borough has seen.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 6th October 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Cherie Booth to represent landlords fighting changes to tax regime – The Guardian

Posted October 5th, 2016 in barristers, landlord & tenant, news, taxation by sally

‘Cherie Booth QC, who with her husband – Tony Blair – and three children owns at least 10 houses and 27 flats, is to represent landlords fighting proposed changes to the tax regime at the high court in London on Thursday.’

Full story

The Guardian, 4th October 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Homeless eligibility amends and deposit discretions – Nearly Legal

‘The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 have (finally) been made to come into force on 30 October 2016. These sort out the anomaly highlighted in Romans v Southwark LBC and SSDCLG and Alabi v SSDCLG about those with leave to remain granted under Appendix FM. Their eligibility for housing and homeless assistance is confirmed. A number of appeals have been stayed pending the regulations, which should now be resolved.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 3rd October 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Local authorities “failing to use powers to tackle criminal landlords” – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 3rd, 2016 in landlord & tenant, local government, news by sally

‘Tenants and landlords are “being let down by local authorities who are failing to use powers to tackle criminal landlords”, the Residential Landlords Association has claimed.’

Full story

Local Government Lawyer, 28th September 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Housing shortage means many women ‘feel safer behind bars’ – BBC News

Posted September 22nd, 2016 in housing, landlord & tenant, news, prisons, probation, release on licence, reports, women by sally

‘A former inmate has told the BBC many women feel “safer in prison” due to a lack of suitable housing for female ex-offenders.’

Full story

BBC News, 22nd September 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The agreements that weren’t – Nearly Legal

Posted September 6th, 2016 in deposits, landlord & tenant, news, trusts by sally

‘Every now and again there is a reminder of the problems of a contractual tenancy. In this case, the difficulties involved a deposit of £52,000 and a weekly rent of £6,500.’

Full story

Nearly Legal, 5th September 2016

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk