One of the interesting potential side effects of removing section 21 from the Private Rented Sector is the damage it might do to landlord regulation. Over time s21 has become a backdoor regulatory tool to help ensure landlord compliance. If the notice is...
I Hate Those MEESes to Pieces*
Introduction 1st April 2019 saw the introduction of the significantly amended Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) for private sector landlords. These provisions have been delayed several times and fudged around a fair bit along the way. These...
Going off Half Breached
Toms v Ruberry (2019) EWCA Civ 128 This case deals with the lease of a public house. It has passed through a number of different landlords and tenants but the current landlord is Mr Toms and the tenant, Ms Ruberry. The lease contains a range of provisions...
Whose jurisdiction is it anyway?
Avon Ground Rents Ltd v Child [2018] UKUT 204 (LC) As many readers will of this blog will be aware we have a number of different courts and tribunals involved in residential property. In some cases, notably leasehold service charges, there is sometimes a...
You gotta plan
London Borough of Waltham Forest v Khan [2017] UKUT 153 (LC) It has always been generally assumed that local authorities have a fairly limited discretion when granting a licence under a selective licensing scheme created under Part 3, Housing Act 2004....
Getting Noticed
With NL away on his summer holidays I have picked up the Supreme Court judgement in Edwards v Kumarasamy [2016] UKSC 40 The case of Edwards v Kumarasamy has now seen a final decision from the Supreme Court with the Court overturning the decision of the Court...
Protect My Money
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 is finally here although it will probably not be in force until early 2017. One of the late amendments to the Act finally introduced compulsory client money protection for agency work. This is something that landlord and...
Something to Declare
Herefordshire Council v Rohde 2016 UKUT 039 (LC) The power for a local authority to make an HMO declaration under s255, Housing Act 2004 is not commonly used. This power arises where a property appears to be an HMO in all respects save that it is not being...
You Didn’t Tell Me or How Ignorance of the Law is no Defence
Thanet DC v Grant LTL 2/11/2015 EXTEMPORE (only on Lawtel) This case deals with a small point relating to HMO licensing and prosecutions. It is only on Lawtel as an extempore judgement but is a pretty clear statement of the law. When making an HMO licensing...
Not Bare Licencees
Spielplatz Ltd v Pearson & Anor [2015] EWCA Civ 804 It would be easy to make smutty jokes during this post…and be in no doubt that I will do so! However, that should not detract from what is a pretty key decision in the crucial question of whether a...
If You Can’t Stand the Heat
I have been holding off writing this post as I was hoping for the Government to provide more clarification. Despairing of this I have been forced to trawl through the murky world of EU Directives…. The Heat Network (Metering and Billing) Regulations 2014...
Not So Alarming
There are new provisions requiring smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in residential properties. This announcement has had an interesting genesis! The Government announced on 11 March 2015 that it would be utilising powers it had taken to itself to require...