Archive for the 'Disrepair' Category

What is the difference between a jacuzzi and a sauna?

 

This may be one of the more esoteric points to be heard by the Court of Appeal on terms of a lease, but one of the issues in Newman v Framewood Manor Management Co Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 159 was whether Mrs Newman was entitled to damages for loss of amenity for not being provided with a contractual jacuzzi but rather a sauna by the Defendant lessor.

While the facts may be of very limited general applicability, there are some general points about loss of amenity claims worth a look. There is also the extraordinary spectacle of an appeal on a claim worth, in the end, about £6,400 in … Read the full post

Turning up is usually the best idea

Williams & Anor v Hinton & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 1123

This, and please bear with me here, was an application for leave to appeal a Circuit Judge’s trial judgment. It was also an application for an injunction to restrain enforcement of the trial judgment, originally made in the High Court. It resulted from a possession claim and disrepair and personal injury counterclaim that had, at some stage, involved a claim for judicial review and an application for permission to appeal the refusal of permission for review. All this out of what should have been a fairly straightforward claim and counterclaim.

The actual appeal deals with non-attendance at trial, the … Read the full post

Shaken and Stirred

Jones & Anor v Ruth & Anor [2011] EWCA Civ 804

We missed this one when it came out in July 2011. Not sure why – sorry. This was an appeal of a claim in nuisance, trespass, harassment and personal injury. The claim arose out of building works on an adjoining property. The appeal is worth looking at on issues of quantification of damages for trespass and the foreseeability of personal injury.

Jones and Lovegrove owned a 3 storey terrace at 105 Lower Thrift Street. Mr & Mrs Ruth owned 103 and 101 Lower Thrift Street, both originally two storey terraces. Between 2002 and 2007, the Rs gutted and rebuilt … Read the full post

On legal aid and letters pages: bits from last week

Some bits and pieces from the last week that didn’t quite fit in elsewhere.

First – developments in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

At the committee stage a large number of amendments were tabled, both by the Government and by the opposition. The opposition amendments would have introduced a revised definition of domestic violence, in line with Yemshaw, and brought benefits and debt advice back within scope.

All the opposition amendments fell. The Government amendments make three changes, described by the MoJ as follows:

The first change disapplies the exclusions for trespass to land, trespass to the person, trespass to goods, damage to property and

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Standards in private renting: A bit of a mess?

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

Getting Plastered

Grand v Gill [2011] EWCA Civ 554

Farewell to the Heygate 1At the risk of being mocked, or shunned, I must confess myself to be throughly excited. A Court of Appeal disrepair case! And on one of the great unknowns of disrepair liability to boot! Obviously, my wedding day 8 years ago counts as being more exciting, but that excepted… This is rarer than hen’s teeth, rarer even than a meaningful engagement with a consultation by the ConDems, so even if you don’t do disrepair cases, enjoy the scarcity value.

This was an appeal by the Claimant, the tenant Ms Grand, against the trial judgment awarding her £5,600 general damages for disrepair and breach … Read the full post

Its Cold In There

Bristol City Council v Aldfrod Two LLP [2011] UKUT 130 (LC)

The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has recently ruled on the proper use of improvement notices under the HHSRS. When I say recent I should actually say a little while ago. You can blame the recent spate of good weather and a short spell of leave for the slightly reduced speed of posting on this.

Anyway, dragging my gaze back from sunny blue skies to the hard grey world of statistics, the situation concerns the use and scoring of the excess cold hazard. In this case Bristol CC had inspected a property which was heated entirely by convector heaters. Most … Read the full post



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