Very interesting post on Housed this evening on the possibilities of seeking a costs order against a local authority for a possession order obtained by a private landlord where the LA has refused to take a homeless application from the tenant until they are evicted. The post contains an advice by Tony Ross of 1 Pump court on the matter.
Hmm. I need to have a think. What about funding for the application?
I would be very interested to see if anyone can run this one and get an Order for costs.
I agree that funding the application could be a problem. The costs involved would generally be too small for a full Certificate to be granted. This would the leave the client unrepresented in what could be a very complicated issue where the local authority at least is going to be legally represented. The client would then be at risk of having to pay their costs too if unsuccessful. It might be possible to get a Certificate at least once on the basis that tthe case would be of wider public interest.
Alternatively the work could be carried out under the Legal Help scheme. The solicitor might be able to claim more than the basic fixed fee costs on the basis that this was an exceptional case but this would not cover sending counsel to Court. Hopefully these problems could be sorted out.