Tag Archive for 'Disrepair'

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Condensed Condensation

By NL on 30/01/2010. 1 Comment

Herelle v South London Family Housing Association Limited, Lambeth County Court, 26 November 2009

Ms Herelle was the assured tenant of SLFHA (now part of Horizon Housing). Her tenancy of the one bed flat began in September 2001. There had been problems with the property since early in the tenancy including mould growth, an unpleasant odour and damp throughout the flat. SLFHA had carried out drylining to the rear bedroom and replaced damp wall plaster to an area of the hallway in 2006. Rotten window frames with fungal growth, present from an early part of the tenancy, were replaced in 2007.

The landlord’s repairing covenants in the tenancy agreement … Read the full post

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

Disrepair miscellany

By NL on 13/12/2009. 1 Comment

The December Legal Action also has the annual housing repairs update. A big tip of the hat to Beatrice Prevatt.

We’ve covered most of the cases here, but there are some others that are well worth a mention…

Brunskill v Mulcahy [2009] EWCA Civ 686 (no link)
This was a claim under S.11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 for personal injury from a fall supposedly due to moss or slime on the front steps to the property. At first instance, presence of the moss was held not to be a breach of the landlord’s S.11 duties. The Claimant’s appeal to the Court of Appeal (or possibly the application for permission) … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, assured-tenancy, Disrepair, FLW case note, Housing law - All, Leasehold and shared ownership, Nuisance, secure-tenancy and Unlawful eviction and harassment. Tags: , , .

Continuity of tenancy

By NL on 05/10/2009. 14 Comments

London Borough of Lewisham -v- Litchmore. 2 October 2009, Bromley County Court

Since the beginning of replacement tenancies on May 2009, there have, rather surprisingly, not been any reports on cases involving the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 Schedule 11 s.21 – when the new tenancy and the original tenancy are to be treated as the same and continuous for the purposes of a relevant claim (for breach of tenancy condition or statutory duty). Now, we’ve heard about one such case.

For an ex-tolerated trespasser with, say, a disrepair claim extending back over the period prior to May 2009, there appear to be two routes to recovering tenancy for … Read the full post

Posted in Disrepair, FLW case note, Housing law - All, secure-tenancy and Tolerated trespasser. Tags: , , .

Shocking lack

By NL on 24/07/2009. 15 Comments

And I apologise for the pun in the title, which is in dubious taste.

Normally on NL, we restrict putting our view on matters to a few comments or the odd, albeit caustic, remark. But the events and legal requirements that are set out in this story from the RLA newsletter are such that we even had a bit of a discussion about whether and how Nearly Legal could mount a campaign.

In short, atrocious wiring in a private let resulted in the death of a tenant while running a bath. She was found dead by her five year old daughter. Wiring in the property, done 28 years ago, had … Read the full post

Posted in Assured Shorthold tenancy, Disrepair, Housing law - All and Regulation and planning. Tags: , , .

Like a blind man searching for a black hat in a dark room

By J on 08/07/2009. 8 Comments

Heffernan v LB Hackney [2009] EWCA Civ 655 is a timely reminder of the importance of having evidence to substantiate a claim for damages.

Mr Heffernan was the freehold owner of 16 Penhurst Road, London, E9 (“the property”). The property was converted into two flats, the upper flat being let on a tenancy protected under the Rent Act 1977 and the lower flat being vacant. Mr Heffernan was in dispute with the tenant of the upper flat and, as a result, had not been receiving payments of rent from the tenant, with the alleged result that various repairs were falling due.

In September 1996, LB Hackney served four notices on … Read the full post

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

Take it as is or not at all

By NL on 22/06/2009. 2 Comments

Ryan v London Borough of Islington [2009] EWCA Civ 578 concerned Ms Ryan’s Right to Buy under Part V Housing Act 1985 and whether or not it had been deemed to be withdrawn.

Ms Ryan was the secure tenant of a an Islington property. In January 2003, she served notice of RTB and after two months Islington admitted the RTB, stating that valuation would be as of January 2003. In June 2003, Islington noted that specialist works were required – filling a crack in the rear wall, indicating subsidence. The valuer’s report of the same month noted sloping and springy floors, damp to a ceiling and walls, but did not … Read the full post

Posted in Disrepair, FLW case note, Housing law - All, right-to-buy and secure-tenancy. Tags: , , , .

Intermittently exposed

By NL on 04/06/2009. 0 Comments

Now, this is a bit of an oddity. Mohammadi v Shellpoint Trustees Ltd & Anor [2009] EWHC 1098 (Ch) was an appeal from the Supreme Court Costs Office. It concerned when a person should have the protection from liability for costs under s.17 Legal Aid Act 1988.

Mrs Mohammadi was a leaseholder who had pursued a disrepair claim, beginning in about 1993, reaching trial on disrepair and forfeiture in 2002, at which she was successful and an appeal to the Court of Appeal, at which she was partially successful, with an order for 75% of costs overall.

Mrs Mohammadi, in the course of this litigation, had had no less than … Read the full post

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