New Homelessness Statutory Guidance for England – priority need
Today, 29 June 2020, MHCLG issued an update to the statutory Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities. The relevant updates are to the chapter on priority need and consist of a new paragraph...
View ArticleAdventures in forfeiture – brothels and specifying the breach
Marchitelli v 15 Westgate Terrace Ltd (2020) UKUT 192 (LC) An Upper Tribunal appeal of an FTT decision that the leaseholder, Ms M, was in breach of lease, and specifically a restriction “Not to do or...
View ArticleTwo thirds of a stay
TFS Stores Ltd v The Designer Retail Outlet Centres (Mansfield) General Partner Ltd & Ors (2020) EWCA Civ 833 (02 July 2020) Another Court of Appeal challenge to the PD 51Z stay (and, by extension,...
View ArticleDispensing with section 20 – requirements on landlord
Aster Communities v Chapman & Ors (LANDLORD AND TENANT : SERVICE CHARGES) (2020) UKUT 177 (LC) A quick note on this one. Where a landlord is looking to do works that would cost residential...
View ArticleEvidencing a joint tenancy
Vale of Aylesbury Housing Trust Limited v Richens (2020) EWHC 685 (Ch) An appeal of judgment in a possession claim where the status of the occupant was in issue. Mr Richens occupied VAHT’s property....
View ArticleWe don’t do that in Wales
Jarvis v Evans & Anor (2020) EWCA Civ 854 The question for the Court of Appeal on this second appeal was does failing to be licensed under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 prevent a landlord from...
View ArticleEither/Or, not Both.
Karimi v Southwark LBC, County Court at Central London, 26 April 2020 (note in July/August 2020 Legal Action – Housing: Recent Developments) Mr Karimi had applied to Southwark as homeless. Southwark...
View ArticleGetting late legal advice not a ground for set aside of possession order
Sangha v Amicus Finance Plc (2020) EWHC 1074 (Ch) This was Mr Sangha’s appeal of a refusal of his application to set aside a possession order against his property by a lender who had a charge on the...
View ArticleDiscrimination and ‘No DSS’
As we have seen before, Shelter have been supporting discrimination claims under the Equality Act 2010 against letting agents who operate a ‘No DSS’ policy (meaning a refusal to even consider people...
View ArticleMystery directions
In the evening of Friday 17 July, The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 appeared, having apparently been laid earlier that day. These will come into force on 23 August 2020....
View ArticleReactivation!
After the mystery of the Rules laid last Friday, we now had the text of Practice Direction 55C, which will come into effect on 23 August 2020 at the end of the Part 55.29 stay of possession...
View ArticleYet more new CPR – and no eviction without notice coming soon.
In the excitement last Friday about the Rules laid in Parliament introducing PD 55C, I completely overlooked another set of Rules, also laid last Friday. The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules...
View ArticleDon’t believe the type – N11B Defence form goes wrong
Our grateful thanks to Jo Underwood of Shelter for spotting this. The N11B Defence form to a section 21 possession claim via form N5B – both released April 2020 – doesn’t add up. Quite literally....
View ArticleRent arrears and RROs.
Awad v Hooley CHI/21UD/HMG/2020/0003 5 August 2020 (link to PDF) This is a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decision on an application for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO), which unusually deals with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
N5B or not N5B. That is the question.
I have no idea what is going on here, but the accelerated possession proceedings claim form – form N5B – has vanished from the gov.uk website and has been missing since at least 17 August 2020 – at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From March to September – possession stay extended.
The stay on possession claims imposed by CPR 55.29 was due to end on Sunday 23 August. In an extraordinary, after the last minute, step, on 20 August 2020 the Lord Chancellor directed the Master of the...
View ArticleSuitability, affordability and benefit claims
Tiemo, R (on the application of) v Lambeth London Borough Council (2020) EWHC 1193 (Admin) A interim judicial review decision from May, but judgment just out. The issue was the suitability of temporary...
View ArticlePossession claims, present and predicted.
A round up of where we are on possession claims, notices, etc. and then what we will need to know for the future. This post is, of course, a hostage to fortune. The present moment stuff is right, but...
View ArticleHere come the new rules, (not quite) the same as the old rules – Notice periods
In that delightfully wilful way that we housing lawyers have come to know and love*, the Govt chose Friday afternoon 28 August to drop The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential Tenancies: Protection from...
View ArticleBeth sy’n digwydd yng Nghymru?
We are very grateful to Mike Norman of Bristol Law Centre for the following guest post on the current position on possession claims and notice periods in Wales. Keeping up with England has been more...
View Article