Allocation & unreasonable behaviour
YA v London Borough of Hammersmith And Fulham [2016] EWHC 1850 (Admin) YA was in care with H&F for a number of years and was now a care leaver. During that previous period as a child in care, he...
View ArticleCouncil tax, periodic tenancies, and the end of L&T law avoided
We’ve seen the issue of who is liable for Council Tax when a tenant has left a property before the end of a periodic tenancy arise before. Here, the Upper Tribunal decided that a statutory periodic...
View ArticleWhen does the refusal to provide accommodation to an applicant breach Article 3?
In R (GS) v Camden LBC [2016] EWHC 1762 (Admin), the High Court was required to consider whether a Swiss national, who was not present in the UK lawfully, was entitled to accommodation under the Care...
View ArticleHousing needs and household members
Jones v Luton Borough Council [2016] EWHC 2036 (Admin) This was a judicial review of a decision by Luton Council Housing Appeals and Review Panel not to offer Mr Jones a tenancy of the property of...
View ArticleOppression and the rent arrears protocol
Home Group Limited v Jacqueline Emery & anor, Edmonton County Court 08/08/16 (County Court decision unreported elsewhere). This is a county court case, so not binding, but involves an interesting...
View ArticleThe mechanics of proprietary estoppel
What is the difference between, on the one hand, Yeoman’s Row Management Ltd v Cobbe [2008] UKHL 55 and, on the other hand, Thorner v Majors [2009] UKHL 18? The standard answer is that Cobbe involved...
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Landlords behaving badly
While the Magistrates Courts continue to hand out paltry fines to landlords on conviction for illegal eviction, despite the removal of the upper £5000 limit, it is good to see that the civil courts...
View ArticleVulnerability after Hotak/Johnson/Kanu
I strongly suspect that at some point in the next year we will get at least one Court of Appeal case on the meaning of ‘vulnerability’ in homeless priority decisions after the Supreme Court decision in...
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The wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind small
Or how to end up with a personal liability for £100,000 within 5 years of qualification as a solicitor. The Charles Henry/Legal Action fallout continues, and very painfully for some involved. For...
View ArticleWhat do points mean? (No prizes)
Woolfe, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Islington [2016] EWHC 1907 (Admin) Another allocation judicial review, related, but perhaps distinct from the line of ‘reasonable preference’ cases...
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The agreements that weren’t
Publity AG v Chesterhill Properties Ltd [2016] EWHC 1994 (Ch) (Not on Bailii. Judgment on Lawtel) Every now and again there is a reminder of the problems of a contractual tenancy. In this case, the...
View ArticlePlease sir, can I have some more?
This is really a costs issue, though it was on a leasehold disrepair claim. A county court decision, so not binding, but as we’ll see, consonant with a High Court decision and on an issue on which...
View ArticlePerversity in Brent
Our thanks to Garden Court Chambers, Hackney Law Centre and Liz Davies for their note of this case. Cieicierska v Brent LBC. Central London County Court, 5 September 2016. Ms C, a single parent with 3...
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Weekend Miscellaneous
Various bits and pieces on subletting and homelessness. What is it about subletting and in particular the current vogue for ‘rent to rent’ that makes people so determinedly stupid? The lure of easy...
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A compendium of vulnerability cases
Following on from our post on Mohammed v Southwark LBC, here are notes on a further three appeals to the County Court under section 204 Housing Act 1996, all related to decisions on priority need (or...
View ArticleCircumstances and consequences. Accommodation pending appeal.
Our thanks to Garden Court chambers and Justine Compton for their note of this case. Where a homeless application has requested a s.202 review of the local authority’s decision on duty, the authority...
View ArticleShort term lets and private residences
Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Ltd [2016] UKUT 303 (LC) We’ve seen a First Tier Tribunal case on breach of lease by use of the property for short term lets through Airbnb. Here the Upper Tribunal weighs in...
View ArticleRight to be Forgotten?
When does temporary accommodation become settled so as to break the chain of causation of intentional homelessness? The appeal in Huda v LB Redbridge [2016] EWCA Civ 709 concerned a homeless applicant...
View Article‘Solicitor’s agents’ and rights of audience again
We had a look at this issue many years ago, and now, with thanks to Gordon Exall at Civil Litigation Brief, there is information on a county court case on the point. This is of significance, and...
View ArticleVulnerability, ‘significantly’ and equality duties
S Butt v London Borough of Hackney. County Court at Central London. 22 February 2016 (PDF of judgment) This was another in a number of county court judgments on section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeals...
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