Not enough of a notice?
London Borough of Islington v Dyer (2017) EWCA Civ 150 Termination of an introductory tenancy requires a notice under s.128 Housing Act 1996. S.128(7) states The notice shall also inform the tenant...
View ArticleShort term lets, long term consequences
A couple of county court cases on Airbnb/short let use by leaseholders. One was reported in the newspapers, the other has not been reported anywhere before. Both show the potentially serious...
View Article… don’t live here anymore
Dove v London Borough of Havering (2017) EWCA Civ 156 This was an appeal of a possession order made against the joint (formerly secure) tenants on the ground of non-occupation as primary or only home,...
View ArticleCommunity contribution, priority stars and discrimination
XC, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Southwark (2017) EWHC 736 (Admin) This was a judicial review of Southwark’s allocation policy as it applied to transfers. Specifically, the issue was...
View ArticleSomebody else’s money
Sheffield City Council v Oliver [2017] EWCA Civ 225 We saw this case in the Upper Tribunal, here, and I’ll borrow the brief facts. Ms Oliver was the long leaseholder in a block of flats on the...
View Article‘Duty of care’– Not in housing allocation
Darby v Richmond on Thames London Borough Council (2017) EWCA Civ 252 Many of you, I suspect, will be like me – you hear from clients, prospective clients, tenants etc., on a very frequent basis that...
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Water and youth
Not, I hasten to make clear, a Daily Mail style piece on the health giving properties of drinking expensive water, but a couple of quick notes. First, a Southwark rent arrears possession case,...
View ArticleEqualities on the 14th floor
Chatokai v Salford City Council. Manchester Civil Justice Centre, 11 April 2017 (Not reported elsewhere) This was a s.204 Housing Act 1996 appeal of Salford’s review decision that Mr C was not...
View ArticleNorthern Waters
Rochdale Boroughwide Housing Ltd v Izevbigie (2017) EWHC 790 (CH) (not on Bailii yet, Judgment is here) Rochdale BH is a social housing provider (of what was the council’s housing stock). The issue in...
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Aesthetics, unlawful kitchens and warehousing bus drivers
A triplet of brief notes. Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring won a judicial review of the Magistrates and Crown Court decisions upholding RB Kensington & Chelsea’s Notice under s.215 Town and County...
View ArticleThe Tribunal’s enforcer
In Octagon Overseas Ltd and Canary Riverside Management Ltd v Coates [2017] EWHC 877 (Ch), the First-tier Tribunal appointed Mr Coates as the manager of Canary Riverside (a development comprising,...
View ArticleThe Tribunal unleashed
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Carmichael and Sefton BC (HB) [2017] UKUT 0174 (AAC) Oh my. This was the DWP’s appeal to the Upper Tribunal of the First Tier Tribunal’s decision on the...
View ArticleYou gotta plan
London Borough of Waltham Forest v Khan [2017] UKUT 153 (LC) It has always been generally assumed that local authorities have a fairly limited discretion when granting a licence under a selective...
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One Million Pounds!
Diaz v Karim [2017] EWHC 595 (QB) The schedule of special damages – never straightforward. The belongings that had to be thrown out, or were taken and not returned. The difficulty in evidencing them,...
View ArticleResearch into energy efficiency and flats
This is a request for information from social housing providers in England and Wales. Sue Bright (Oxford University) and David Weatherall (Future Climate) are carrying out a survey of social housing...
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A bluffers guide to the Homeless Reduction Act 2017
The Homelessness Reduction Act has now received royal assent. The Act itself is here. There is no date yet for it to come into force – there will need to be statutory guidance produced first – and...
View ArticleRegrette rien
R (oao Sambotin) v London Borough of Brent (2017) EWHC 1190 (Admin) Once a local authority has made a homeless decision under section 184 Housing Act 1996, can it change its mind? That was the issue in...
View ArticleHomeless duties, human rights and suitability decisions
Poshteh v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2017] UKSC 36 (For our report of the Court of Appeal decision, see here). For the facts of the case, see the earlier post. In short, Ms Posheth had...
View ArticleService charge disputes and recovery of costs
Bretby Hall Management Company Ltd v Pratt [2017] UKUT 70 (LC) This was an appeal to the UT on various issue arising from an FTT decision. We will not dwell on the issue of specific charges not being...
View ArticleMaking it up as you go.
C, R (on the application of) v The London Borough of Islington (2017) EWHC 1288 (Admin) C was accepted for the full housing duty by Islington, with her 3 children, as a result of domestic violence. C...
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