Category: landlord & tenant

Retaliatory Eviction and Law Reform – NearlyLegal

Posted September 15th, 2014 in bills, complaints, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by tracey

‘The government (through its Minister for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams) today announced its backing to Sarah Teather’s private members bill, whose aim is to prevent landlords from evicting tenants who have complained about disrepair in their home or where health and safety hazards are found to exist at the premises, using the accelerated possession procedure. Statistics provided by Shelter show that 200,000 tenants faced possession proceedings in the last 12 months in response to complaints about the condition of their home.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 11th September 2014

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

Right to rent: landlords’ code of practice – Home Office

Posted September 5th, 2014 in codes of practice, landlord & tenant by tracey

‘Guidance for landlords affected by the introduction of right to rent checks.’

Full code of practice

Home Office, 3rd September 2014

Source: www.gov.uk/home-office

Landlord Immigration Checks from 1 December – NearlyLegal

Posted September 4th, 2014 in codes of practice, immigration, landlord & tenant, news, pilot schemes, vetting by sally

‘The Home Office has (finally) announced the ‘pilot’ areas for the landlord immigration check requirement under Immigration Act 2014.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 3rd September 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Housing experts call for clampdown on rogue landlords – BBC News

Posted September 1st, 2014 in housing, landlord & tenant, news, rent, standards by sally

‘Housing experts have called for minimum standards to be better enforced in the private rental market to stop landlords exploiting vulnerable tenants.’

Full story

BBC News, 30th August 2014

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Landlord fined for renting room that could only be entered on all fours – The Guardian

Posted August 22nd, 2014 in environmental health, fines, landlord & tenant, news by tracey

‘Barnet council took the landlord of a house in Sunningfields Road, Hendon, to court after discovering he was renting a room which could not be accessed standing up. The head height along the course of the staircase was between 0.7m (27.5 inches) and 1.2m (47 inches) high and the door to the room was also reduced in size.’

Full story

The Guardian, 22nd August 2014

Soource: www.guardian.co.uk

Costs and forfeiture – NearlyLegal

Posted August 21st, 2014 in costs, forfeiture, landlord & tenant, news, tribunals by tracey

‘Barrett v Robinson [2014] UKUT 322 (LC) is very, very important decision on costs from the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber).’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 21st August 2014

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

Indecent homes and major works charges – NearlyLegal

Posted August 13th, 2014 in landlord & tenant, news, repairs, service charges by sally

‘The DCLG has released the “Social landlords reduction of service charges: mandatory and discretionary directions 2014“, in force as of today, 12 August 2014.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 12th August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

The strike down of Superstrike: Where are we now with tenancy deposits? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in deposits, housing, landlord & tenant, news by sally

‘Most landlords of residential property take a deposit as security for their tenant’s liabilities. Since 1996 the vast majority of tenancies granted by private landlords and many tenancies granted by Registered Providers of housing have been assured shorthold tenancies (“ASTs”).’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 6th August 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Private landlords and article 8 – Are we there yet? – Hardwicke Chambers

Posted August 7th, 2014 in benefits, housing, human rights, landlord & tenant, mortgages, news, repossession by sally

‘At the time of the decisions in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2011] 2 AC 104 and Hounslow v Powell [2011] 2 AC 186 it was thought that a seismic shock wave would be sent through the Courts requiring them in every claim for possession of residential premises by a public sector landlord to undertake a time consuming balancing exercise to assess the “proportionality” of making an order for possession. The Courts, it was thought, would be overwhelmed. This has in fact not proved to be the case. The County Court has become adept at weeding out the weak cases early on and even where the article 8 point is run to trial the Court has, by and large, been robust in its approach. The one issue which has remained unresolved for a surprisingly long time is the question of the extent to which the principles set out in Powell and Pinnock would apply in a possession claim where the land owner is a private individual and not part of the public sector.’

Full story

Hardwicke Chambers, 4th August 2014

Source: www.hardwicke.co.uk

Spencer v Taylor- Some Analysis – NearlyLegal

Posted August 4th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, news, notification, repossession, Supreme Court by sally

‘We have already reported briefly on the Supreme Court decision to refuse permission to appeal to the tenant in the case of a Spencer v Taylor on the grounds that no new points of law were raised.’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 3rd August 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Wiggins v Regent Wealth Ltd and others – WLR Daily

Posted August 1st, 2014 in enfranchisement, land registration, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases, news by sally

Wiggins v Regent Wealth Ltd and others [2014] EWCA Civ 1078; [2014] WLR (D) 352

‘Section 2 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 did not permit exercise of a right to collective enfranchisement in relation to leasehold interests which were not in existence at the date of service of the initial notice under section 13 of the Act, and paragraph 15(2)(b) of Schedule 3 to the Act did not confer power on the court to permit amendment of the initial notice to specify such interests.’

WLR Daily, 30th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Lawrence and another v Fen Tigers Ltd and others (No 2) – WLR Daily

Posted July 24th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, law reports, noise, nuisance, sport, Supreme Court by sally

Lawrence and another v Fen Tigers Ltd and others (No 2) [2014] UKSC 46; [2014] WLR (D) 332

‘In order for the landlord to be liable for nuisance caused by the tenant of a property the circumstances had to be such that the landlord either (i) could be said to have authorised the nuisance by letting the property in question or (ii) had participated directly in the commission of the nuisance, and it was not enough that the landlord was aware of the nuisance but took no steps to prevent it.’

WLR Daily, 23rd July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd v Friends Life Ltd (Westbrook Dolphin Square Residential 1 Ltd intervening) – WLR Daily

Posted July 23rd, 2014 in enfranchisement, landlord & tenant, law reports, leases, subsidiary companies by michael

Westbrook Dolphin Square Ltd v Friends Life Ltd (Westbrook Dolphin Square Residential 1 Ltd intervening) [2014] EWHC 2433 (Ch);  [2014] WLR (D)  330

‘A “proposed purchase price” contained in a notice by qualifying tenants seeking to exercise a right of enfranchisement for the purposes of section 13(3)(d)(i) of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 must be a genuine offer as opposed to a nominal figure.’

WLR Daily, 17th July 2014

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Property owner liable for business rates when property fell unoccupied following liquidation of tenants, rules High Court – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 17th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, local government, news, rates by tracey

‘A property fund group face a near £600,000 business rates bill in Birmingham after the council in the area won a High Court ruling relating to liability for business rates due following liquidation of the tenants of a property in the city.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 16th July 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

Court of Appeal: landlord entitled to refuse new lease due to tenant’s failure to allow access – OUT-LAW.com

Posted July 9th, 2014 in covenants, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repairs by sally

‘A landlord was entitled to refuse to grant a new tenancy to a commercial tenant due to that tenant’s “substantial breach” of provisions in the lease allowing the landlord to access and inspect the property regularly, the Court of Appeal in England has said.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 9th July 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

The UT Repays Again – NearlyLegal

Posted July 7th, 2014 in appeals, landlord & tenant, licensing, news, rent, repayment, tribunals, utilities by sally

The Upper Tribunal has again found itself considering the issue of Rent Repayment Orders and has provided some further enlightenment on its position after the case of Parker v Waller.

Full story

NearlyLegal, 6th July 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Historic Neglect – Nearlylegal

Posted July 4th, 2014 in covenants, landlord & tenant, leases, news, repairs by tracey

‘Daejan Properties Ltd v Griffin & Anor [2014] UKUT 206 (LC) is not, perhaps, the most riveting of Upper Tribunal appeals on service charges, but it does have some useful statements and reminders along the way.’

Full story

Nearlylegal, 3rd July 2014

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

English landlords will not need to re-comply with tenancy deposit requirements when tenancy ‘rolls over’ – OUT-LAW.com

Posted June 23rd, 2014 in appeals, bills, deposits, landlord & tenant, news, repossession, time limits by sally

‘English landlords that secured deposits from fixed-term tenants would not have to re-comply with the deposit protection rules if that tenancy later ‘rolls over’ to become a statutory periodic tenancy or if the landlord enters into a new tenancy with the same tenant for the same premises, the UK government has proposed.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 20th June 2014

Source: www.out-law.com

They think it’s all over … – NearlyLegal

Posted June 23rd, 2014 in appeals, care homes, codes of practice, housing, landlord & tenant, mental health, news, notification, proportionality, repossession, undue influence by sally

‘We covered the case of Beech v Birmingham CC in the High Court here. The appeal to the Court of Appeal was heard on 11/6/2014 and judgement was given on 17/6/2014.

I will not repeat the facts here except to say that the appeal was narrowed down to only two grounds of challenge: namely that the notice to quit was procured from the late Mrs Warren under undue influence from the housing officer, Mr Pumphrey, and that it had been given when no formal mental capacity assessment had been carried out, in breach of the Code of Practice issued under s.42(1)(a) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the ‘public law defence’).’

Full story

NearlyLegal, 22nd June 2014

Source: www.nearlylegal.co.uk

Rogue landlords exploit deposit protection loophole – The Guardian

Posted June 20th, 2014 in consumer protection, deposits, landlord & tenant, news by tracey

‘Legislation to rein in bad landlords and agents can leave tenants out of pocket.’

Full story

The Guardian, 19th June 2014

Source: www.guardian.co.uk