Monthly Archive for January, 2009

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Local Housing Authorities to build new homes… perhaps

By J on 21/01/2009. 0 Comments

Local government finance is a fascinating area. Honestly.

Those local housing authorities which still retain housing stock are required keep records of their housing income and expenditure. They also operate a Housing Revenue Account (“the HRA”). The HRA is required to balance each year and, if there is a surplus, that surplus is paid to the Government and used to cover shortfalls in the HRA of other local housing authorities – see, generally, Part 6 of the Local Government and Finance Act 1989.

Section 313 Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 introduced a new s.80B into the 1989 Act. It would provide for the Secretary of State (or the Welsh Ministers) … Read the full post

Posted in Allocation, Housing law - All and secure-tenancy. Tags: , .

No no she's not dead, she's, she's restin'!

By J on 21/01/2009. 13 Comments

Newport City Council v Charles [2008] EWCA Civ 1541, The Times, 11 Aug 2008 [now on bailii]

The transcript for this (factually remarkable but legally straightforward) case has only just been produced, hence the delay in covering it.

The appellant, Mr Charles, lived at 1B Marlborough Rd, Newport. That property had been granted to his mother on a secure tenancy some years previously. She died in January 2003 and, upon her death, Mr Charles made anonymous enquiries of the local housing authority to try and discover what was likely to happen. He discovered that it was unlikely that he would be permitted to remain in occupation and, therefore, simply did … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Possession and Trusts and Estoppel. Tags: , , , .

Right to Buy leases and service charges

By J on 21/01/2009. 0 Comments

Leicester City Council v Masters LRX/175/2007 (links to a .pdf)

Pursuant to the Right to Buy provisions, the respondent purchased a leasehold interest in his flat in April 2005. As readers will know, where someone is purchasing a leasehold interest under the RTB provisions, the local authority will serve a notice under s.125 Housing Act 1985, setting out the anticipated level of service charge expenditure for the first five years of the lease. Save for increases for inflation, the s.125 notice operates to cap the level of service charge recovery during those first five years. .

In 2006, the local authority carried out a number of items of works which … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Leasehold and shared ownership and right-to-buy. Tags: , .

Retrospective CFAs on appeal

By NL on 21/01/2009. 0 Comments

Birmingham City Council v Forde [2009] EWHC 12 (QB) was the High Court hearing of Birmingham’s appeal from the High Court (Costs) case we reported on in August last year.

In short, the appeal was dismissed, and the judgment of the Costs Judge upheld, but in a lengthy and detailed judgment, there are some considerable differences to the reasoning and the findings of the Costs Judge that are worth noting. In particular, the new elements are:

i) the finding that there is no policy, or other, reason why CFAs, including the success fee, should not be retrospectively effective; (with the exception of when proceedings had been issued and notice of funding … Read the full post

Posted in Disrepair, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: , , , .

On the naughty step – on tour

By NL on 17/01/2009. 0 Comments

Nearly Legal’s naughty step has recently taken the complicated, slow and interrupted trip from Norwich to North Wales. It is is with reluctance, several changes of train, and a painful recovery of repressed traumatic memory that we now find ourselves in the East Midlands.

Yes, Nottingham, home of Robin Hood, who stole from the rich to give to the poor. Or, alternatively, home of the (now ex) director of operations, Tyron Brown who gave a larger council home to the (subsequently suspended) vice chair of the ALMO holding all former council properties, Chris Burnell.

In fact redistribution of wealth was going on on a dramatic scale in Nottingham between … Read the full post

Posted in Allocation, Housing law - All and secure-tenancy. Tags: , , , .

Ahmad v Newham in the Lords

By NL on 15/01/2009. 0 Comments

R (Ahmad) v Newham LBC is being heard in the Lords on Monday 19 January and Tuesday. This is an important case on allocation policies and cumulative need. See our post on the Court of Appeal decision here. We’ll report on the outcome as soon as…… Read the full post

Posted in Allocation, Housing law - All and secure-tenancy. Tags: , , , .

Views on the Mortgage possession protocol

By NL on 15/01/2009. 0 Comments

The Law Gazette this week has a couple of articles on the new mortgage repossession/money claim protocol.

First is a clear and possibly optimistic outline of the requirements of the protocol from Christopher Atkinson. Well worth a read on the details and process.

Second is a view from DJ Peter Jolly, of Portsmouth, on the operation of current law and the likely impact of the protocol, noting that clear unreasonableness of behaviour is needed to apply a costs sanction. This is particularly interesting on the use of case citation by ‘bullish’ lenders.

The January 09 Legal Action also has an outline of the requirements of the protocol, such … Read the full post

Posted in Housing law - All, Mortgage possession and Possession. Tags: , .
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