In Wandsworth LBC v Tompkins [2015] EWCA Civ 846, Wandsworth had purported to grant Mr and Mrs Tompkins an introductory tenancy of a property; only, as the Court of Appeal found, it wasn't an IT because it couldn't be. Mr and Mrs Tompkins had made a...
TLATA: The Court’s discretion
In Bagum v Hafiz and Hai [2015] EWCA Civ 801, the Court of Appeal considered, apparently for the first time, the extent of its discretion under section 14, Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 ("TLATA"). The case is a sad and apparently...
Primary considerations
In Mohamoud v RB Kensington and Chelsea and Saleem v Wandsworth LBC [2015] EWCA Civ 780, the Court of Appeal were faced with the difficult argument about the interaction between section 11, Children Act 2004 and possession proceedings brought by a local...
CA to hear bedroom tax appeals this year
The CA is to hear bedroom tax appeals in A (the DV sanctuary appeal - our note here) and SR (where a minor requires overnight care - our note here) next term. A had been stayed pending the UKSC appeal in MA. However, Underhill LJ and Sir Stanley Burnton...
Westminster again…
In R(Alemi) v Westminster CC [2015] EWHC 1765 (Admin), which has been widely reported already (eg here; and all over my twitter feed), HHJ Blair QC found that Westminster's allocation scheme was unlawful in disbarring successful homeless applicants (other...
Co-ops again …
Often, I will read a judgment with which I disagree; but it is rare that I read one that I think is just plainly wrong. The judgment of Hildyard J in Southward Housing Co-Operative Ltd v Walker and Hay [2015] EWHC 1615 (Ch) falls in to the latter category,...
What’s the Din? The Supremes’ Cut
Haile v Waltham Forest LBC [2015] UKSC 34 is the second of the triptych of cases which are before the UKSC (We have yet to have the outcome of the third one, the eligibility appeals in Samin/Mirga). The first, Johnson/Hotak/Kanu, as NL wrote, is...
From ‘pillar to post’
In a judgment of undisguised anger, Cobb J described the conduct of LB Tower Hamlets and LB Havering as "shameful" in the way in which they treated AM and his family. I haven't come across Cobb J before but his judgment in AM v Tower Hamlets LBC and...
Zambrano carers and social assistance
There must be times when Court of Appeal judges think that they have bit parts in an ongoing drama - they have a walk on role. And that must be how the Court felt in Sanneh v SSWP and others [2015] EWCA Civ 49, which concerns the eligibility rules for...
Let’s all move to Wales …*
Yesterday, the Welsh Government published the Renting Homes (Wales) Bill. The Bill seeks to implement the Law Commission's Renting Homes Bill, with some major amendments partly reflecting the devolution settlement (ie what can be done) and partly to update...
Qualification criteria and allocations: An outlier?
In R(Hillsden) v Epping Forest DC [2015] EWHC 98 (Admin), McCloskey J held the council's allocation scheme valid in circumstances which, I must say, did not seem propitious to the council. The council's new allocation scheme, which came in to force in...
Shared ownership – new guidance
The CML, NHF, HCA, BSA have produced new guidance on handling arrears and possession sales of shared ownership properties (the previous guidance was in 2010 and the contact details provided were out of date). I am not sure that there is a huge difference...