Archive for the 'Assured Shorthold tenancy' Category

Page 2 of 17

Mental Capacity Act and Tenancy: An open question

By NL on 06/10/2011. 12 Comments

I have had a question from the editor of the Small Places blog, which is a very fine blog on human rights and community care, with attention to Court of Protection matters. I think it is a question which might benefit from the assembled housing law mavens who read NL from time to time.

The question concerns the position of someone lacking capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 1985 when an independent tenancy is sought. There is conflicting guidance and threatening case law to deal with.

The starting point is that someone lacking capacity cannot enter into a binding contractual agreement, including a tenancy.

The frequent advice of local authorities … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, Community care, FLW article and Housing law - All.

Starter tenancy: proportionality ‘just about arguable’

By NL on 16/08/2011. 18 Comments

West Kent Housing Association v Haycraft [2011] EWCA Civ 992 (Not on Bailii. We’ve seen a transcript)

This was a renewed application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal on a second (or perhaps first- see below) appeal from the granting of a possession order. The ground of appeal was that the appellant tenant had a defence of proportionality which had not been considered by the District Judge and not considered adequately by the Circuit Judge in dismissing the first appeal.

Mr H had a starter tenancy (or AST) from West Kent Housing Association, an RSL/PRPSH. In January 2010, the RSL had a meeting, described as a re-hearing … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, assured-tenancy, FLW case note, Housing law - All and Possession. Tags: , , , , , .

Tenancy deposit penalties awarded!

By NL on 01/08/2011. 1 Comment

There are two appeals on cases involving claims for the return of deposits and the three times penalty in both of which – astonishingly, given the recent history of High Court and Court of Appeal decisions – the tenant was awarded the penalty. We have said before that it would now be a somewhat incompetent landlord who would be caught by a claim. You can draw your own conclusions from the facts of these cases. The way in which Hashemi is distinguished in the first of these cases is interesting, but perhaps unlikely to be of general application

First, in the High Court:
Suurpere v Nice & Anor [2011] EWHC … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, FLW case note, Housing law - All, Possession and Unlawful eviction and harassment. Tags: , , .

Back in the consulting room

By J on 12/07/2011. 0 Comments

R (Peat and others) v Hyndburn DC [2011] EWHC 1739 (Admin) is the first successful challenge to a selective licensing scheme. We’ve previously covered the permission hearings (here and here). It’s quite a fun judgment to read, if only for the absolute kicking that the authority get over their consultation exercise.

Selective licensing is, in short, a mechanism whereby authorities can require landlords to obtain licenses before being allowed to let property. Before making a designation, the authority must take reasonable steps to consult persons likely to be affected (s.80(9), Housing Act 2004) and (as the law stood at the relevant time), obtain the consent of the Secretary … Read the full post

Posted in ASB, Assured Shorthold tenancy, FLW case note and Housing law - All. Tags: .

Standards in private renting: A bit of a mess?

By Dave on 08/07/2011. 0 Comments

My good friend, Alex of Alex’s Archives, has sent me a link to a discussion in the GLA corridors of power on standards in the private rented sector.  I haven’t finished listening to the GLA debate, but, as Alex said in his email, it does expose some “shaky understandings” of the law.  Alex has written at some length about regulation of private renting, most recently about rogue landlords, and there has been the Shapps announcement in Harrogate that standards would be imposed on private rented properties for homeless households (cf his press notice last year that there would be no more red tape for private landlords; and his … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, assured-tenancy, Disrepair, FLW article, Homeless and Housing law - All.

A Not So Unlawful Eviction

By David Smith on 04/07/2011. 4 Comments

R v Q [2011] EWCA Crim 1584. On Lawtel but not on BAILII

This is an appeal concerning s1(3A), Protection From Eviction Act 1977. This subsection was inserted by the Housing Act 1988 and was intended to fix a problem with s1(3). S1(3A) reads:

Subject to subsection (3B) below, the landlord of a residential occupier or an agent of the landlord shall be guilty of an offence if—
(a)he does acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of his household, or
(b)he persistently withdraws or withholds services reasonably required for the occupation of the premises in question as a residence,
and (in

… Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, FLW case note, Housing law - All and Unlawful eviction and harassment. Tags: .

Tenancy Deposits Back in the Localism Bill

By David Smith on 21/06/2011. 0 Comments

We have previously posted on amendments to the Localism Bill tabled in Commons committee which would have had the effect of rewriting the tenancy deposit protection provisions in the Housing Act 2004.

The changes were designed to reset the position back to that which was set out by the government when it originally put the provisions forward and before the legislation was undermined by a number of Court of Appeal decisions.

The amendments were not supported by the Government in Commons committee and were withdrawn on the basis that an alternative would be put in place. However, there has been no alternative forthcoming thus far and time is getting short.… Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, Deposits, FLW article and Housing law - All. Tags: , .
row of sheds footer image
17 pages