Supreme Court rules rent repayment orders cannot be made against superior landlords – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court has upheld a Court of Appeal ruling that a rent repayment order cannot be made against a superior landlord.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 1st March 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Government proposes new professional requirements for social housing managers – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 28th, 2023 in examinations, health & safety, housing, landlord & tenant, news, standards by sally

‘The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities announced yesterday (26 February) that social housing managers must gain professional qualifications under new rules to “protect residents and raise standards in the sector”.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Supreme Court to rule next week over rent repayment orders and superior landlord liability – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Supreme Court will next week (1 March) hand down its ruling in a dispute over whether a rent repayment order can only be made against an immediate landlord or whether a superior landlord can also be liable.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 24th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Estate agent who failed to comply with selective licensing scheme to pay £35k after council prosecution – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 22nd, 2023 in estate agents, fines, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news by tracey

‘An estate agent that failed to license three residential properties subject to a selective licensing scheme has been ordered to pay £35,000 following a successful prosecution by Enfield Council.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 20th February 2021

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Father of boy killed by mould in flat welcomes law to prevent repeat – The Guardian

‘The father of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who was killed by mould in a social housing flat, has welcomed a new law to prevent a repeat tragedy, saying: “We are finally starting to feel like we are being treated fairly.”’

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The Guardian, 9th February 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

New Judgment: Aviva Investors Ground Rent GP Ltd and another v Williams and others [2023] UKSC 6 – UKSC Blog

Posted February 9th, 2023 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, Supreme Court by sally

‘This appeal concerned the validity of a provision in a lease which allows the landlord to revise the proportion of the overall costs of maintaining the wider estate that a leaseholder should pay by way of a service charge.’

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UKSC Blog, 8th February 2023

Source: ukscblog.com

Supreme Court clarifies law on leasehold service charges – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 9th, 2023 in landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges, Supreme Court by sally

‘Landlords of a block of 38 flats in Swansea, Hampshire, are entitled to vary service charges levied on leaseholders, five Supreme Court justices ruled today in a clarification of part of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. The dismissal of the tenants’ appeal was the fourth ruling in a dispute which began when leaseholders objected to the re-apportioning of the charges above those stated on their leases.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th February 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Ombudsman sees “significant increase” in heating and hot water cases – Local Government Lawyer

Posted February 8th, 2023 in complaints, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, ombudsmen, statistics by sally

‘The Housing Ombudsman has revealed that it has seen a 60% increase in complaints on heating and hot water, with 1,600 received in 2021/22 and 1,491 received already in 2022/23.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 7th February 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Building Safety Act 2022: changing the rules on the landlord and tenant relationship, Part 2 – qualifying lease certificates – Practical Law: Construction Blog

Posted January 31st, 2023 in building law, health & safety, landlord & tenant, leases, news, service charges by tracey

‘In a previous blog, I explored one aspect of the statutory reallocation of risk for the costs of works to remedy building safety issues in the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022). The focus of that blog was the new landlord’s certificate, designed as a tool for the landlord to communicate with leaseholders as to whether it is “responsible” for defects, or whether it meets the “contribution condition” in the BSA 2022. In this blog, I will focus on the second element of this new framework, the “qualifying lease certificate” or “leaseholder certificate”. The relevant provisions of the BSA 2022 came into force on 28 June 2022, and the related regulations have been in force since 21 July 2022.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 25th January 2023

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Defendant landlord ordered to pay £52k+ after squashing three flats into basement without planning permission – Local Government Lawyer

Posted January 31st, 2023 in costs, fines, landlord & tenant, news, planning by tracey

‘A landlord who put three flats into the basement of one of his properties in Camberwell has been ordered to pay more than £52,000 in illegal gains, fines and costs.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 30th January 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Court bid to protect tenants from ‘ghost landlords’ – BBC News

‘Housing campaigners hope a Supreme Court ruling to legally define who should be deemed a landlord will help protect tenants in some of England’s worst rental properties.’

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BBC News, 26th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Rogue landlord fined £12,000 for exploiting Bristol tenants – BBC News

Posted January 13th, 2023 in consumer protection, deposits, fines, housing, landlord & tenant, news by tracey

‘A rogue landlord who created fake identities and letting agents to keep deposit money in an “elaborate web of misinformation” has been fined.’

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BBC News, 13th January 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Tenants face homelessness as no-fault eviction threat up 76% – Local Government Lawyer

Posted November 29th, 2022 in homelessness, landlord & tenant, news, repossession by sally

‘There has been a 76% jump in the number of no-fault eviction notices issued by landlords, putting tenants at a higher risk of becoming homeless, government data has revealed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 28th November 2022

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Awaab Ishak’s death shed light on a social housing scandal. Now we have a brief chance to fix it – The Guardian

‘A two-year-old died after exposure to mould in his house in Rochdale. We must ensure no other family suffers like this.’

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Awaab Ishak: The Right To An Adequate Standard Of Living Should Prevent Such Deaths – Each Other

‘Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, died in 2020 from a severe respiratory condition caused by prolonged exposure to mould in his home, an inquest has heard. The right to an adequate standard of living – which includes decent housing conditions – ought to protect people in the UK from living in a home which causes them harm.’

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Each Other, 21st November 2022

Source: eachother.org.uk

Racial inequality hard-wired into housing system in England, study finds – The Guardian

‘One in three black people who have experienced homelessness have also faced racial discrimination from a landlord, six times more than the general population of those who had struggled for shelter, a study reveals.’

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The Guardian, 21st November 2022

Source: www.theguardian.com

Building Safety Act 2022: changing the rules on the landlord and tenant relationship – Practical Law: Construction Blog

‘The Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA 2022) creates a whole new world of building safety regulation and litigation. A key legislative objective was to regulate and direct responsibility for the cost of works to remedy building safety issues, so that the risk of such costs could no longer be the subject of agreement between landlord and tenant, but would (in defined circumstances) be apportioned in advance, by law, to the landlord.’

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Practical Law: Construction Blog, 16th November 2022

Source: constructionblog.practicallaw.com

Research Briefing: The Supported Housing (Regulated Oversight) Bill 2022-23 – House of Commons Library

Posted November 17th, 2022 in benefits, bills, housing, landlord & tenant, local government, news, parliament by tracey

‘Bob Blackman’s Private Members Bill will receive its second reading on 18 November 2022. This paper explains how the bill aims to strengthen regulation of supported exempt housing in England.’

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House of Commons Library , 15th November 2022

Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk

Waking watch costs and flawed reports – Nearly Legal

Posted November 14th, 2022 in fire, health & safety, landlord & tenant, news, service charges, tribunals by tracey

‘Assethold Ltd v Leaseholders Of Corben Mews (LANDLORD AND TENANT – SERVICE CHARGES – whether reasonably incurred – costs of a waking watch) (2022) UKUT 282 (LC). An Upper Tribunal appeal of an FTT decision that the costs of a waking watch were not reasonably incurred by the landlord and so not recoverable under the service charge.’

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Nearly Legal, 13th November 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk

Service charges, burden of proof, and costs of proceedings – Nearly Legal

Posted November 14th, 2022 in burden of proof, costs, landlord & tenant, news, service charges, tribunals by tracey

‘Assethold Ltd v. Nelio Patricio Teixeira Franco (LANDLORD AND TENANT – SERVICE CHARGES – ADMINISTRATION CHARGES – burden of proof – scope of costs incurred for the purpose of the preparation and service of a notice under section 146 of the Law of Property Act 1925) (2022) UKUT 285 (LC).’

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Nearly Legal, 13th November 2022

Source: nearlylegal.co.uk