Author Archive for SJM

Part VII and Procedure

By SJM on 20/05/2012. 0 Comments

Two very recent Court of Appeal judgements have looked at the extent of a Local Authority’s obligations under Reg 6(2) of the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999: Maswaku v Westminster CC and El Goure v RB Kensington & Chelsea.

In brief, the Regulation provides that once a request for a s.202 review has been made, the Authority is obliged to notify the applicant of their right to make further representations on review, either personally or by somebody on their behalf.

In both El Goure and Maswaku, the Authorities were criticised for failing to notify the Appellants or their solicitors once the requests had been … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Homeless and Housing law - All.

Housing and Human Rights Round-Up

By SJM on 14/05/2012. 3 Comments

Two interesting cases have been delivered by the ECHR in the last few weeks: Mago and others v Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yordanova and others v Bulgaria.

Mago

The applicants in Mago held tenancies for life of flats within Bosnia-Herzegovina (with the exception of Mrs Mago, whose husband was the tenant) and they were compelled for varying reasons to leave their  homes following the outbreak of the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1992. Security of these flats could be lost in a limited range of circumstances, including where the flat was left unoccupied for a continuous six month period or more. Once the tenants left, their properties were treated as abandoned by … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All, Licences and occupiers and Possession. Tags: , , .

Auto-bids and Lettings Choice

By SJM on 09/04/2012. 0 Comments

The Administrative Court has recently given judgement in the conjoined applications of Rouse Tout a Tout  and Heff v LB Haringey, which concern the lawfulness of the auto-bid system operated by LB Haringey in the allocation of their permanent accommodation.

Both Claimants were accepted as homeless several years ago and were waiting in temporary accommodation for an offer of permanent accommodation. Both Claimants were successful “auto-bidders” for properties under the scheme and although they expressed dissatisfaction with the offered properties, only Ms Rouse Tout a Tout took up the new tenancy while Ms Heff remained in her temporary let.

The common ground of challenge was that the local authority … Read the full post

Posted in Allocation and Housing law - All.

It never rains but it pours

By SJM on 25/03/2012. 0 Comments

The EHCR has recently delivered its judgement in Kolyadenko v Russia , which (apart from demonstrating the reach of the ECHR jurisdiction to the remote corners of Asia) is a useful case applying principles we would recognise under the rule in Rylands v Fletcher.

The 6 applicants in this case are residents of Vladivostok, who brought proceedings against the Municipal Authority and the Water Company alleging responsibility for damage caused to their homes and belongings in a flood which occurred on 7th August 2001.

The flood started with the release of excess water from the nearby dam following a period of exceptionally heavy rainfall. This excess water travelled through … Read the full post

Posted in FLW case note, Housing law - All and Nuisance.

Monk, ECHR and Article 8

By SJM on 13/03/2012. 2 Comments

Dixon v UK has now reached a conclusion in the ECHR with an Order made on 21/2/12 removing the case from the lists under Art 37 (1)(c) of the Convention.

This Order is the Court’s response to a unilateral declaration made by the UK government on 8/11/11 accepting that Mr Dixon had not had the benefit of a proportionality exercise in line with the principles set out in McCann, Pinnock and Powell and that the High Court’s obiter findings on proportionality were insufficient to guarantee Mr Dixon’s Article 8 rights. The UK therefore offered £3000 by way of just satisfaction, costs and expenses.

Despite Mr Dixon’s argument that had Art … Read the full post

Posted in Possession and Uncategorized.

“Tenting on the Old Camp Ground”

By SJM on 29/02/2012. 0 Comments

Babenko v Ukraine Appn No 68726/10 of 4/1/12 is an ECHR Chamber decision which looks at the relationship between an applicant’s right to social housing from the state and Art 1 of the ECHR First Protocol.

The Applicant was a WWII veteran who registered in 2004 for social housing with the local housing executive. By 2007 he was still on the waiting list for an apartment and he began court proceedings, alleging that the Council had breached Art 46 of the Ukrainian Housing Code by failing to provide him with housing.

Art 46 is a curious amalgam of what we would understand to be homelessness and allocations law: it states … Read the full post

Posted in Allocation, Homeless and Uncategorized.

Proportionality, Art. 8 and Monk

By SJM on 02/01/2012. 4 Comments

Chesterfield BC v Bailey is a highly instructive case heard at first instance by Recorder Tilbury in the Derby County Court. We thank Philip Barber of Zenith Chambers for providing us with a transcript of the judgment. The Defence was run by Chesterfield Law Centre. [Now on Bailii Read the full post

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