Since the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993, leaseholder owners of flats in certain categories of building have been able to "collectively enfranchise" and force the freeholder to convey the freehold of the building to a nominee...
More on tolerated trespassers
Following on from our post yesterday (and from a personal conversation with Robert Latham of Doughty Street Chambers) we can shed a bit more light on the forthcoming commencement of Sch 11, Housing and Regeneration Act 2008. Firstly, the successor landlord...
Looking at it from all angles
Whitehouse v Lee [2009] EWCA Civ 375 is a rare beast – a successful appeal against a decision on reasonableness in the context of possession proceedings. However, it merits close attention not only for its rarity, but because it also reminds us of how to...
All in a good cause
The London Legal Support Trust annual sponsored walk takes place on 18 May 2009, at 5.30pm. Members of the judiciary, as well as solicitors, barristers and ILEX members engage in a leisurely stroll around London in order to raise money for legal charities...
On the horizon
The Court of Appeal yesterday heard argument in Redpath v Swindon Borough Council B2/2009/0479. The case concerns the definition and scope of "housing management functions" for the purposes of ASBIs under s.153A, Housing Act 1996. We'll bring you the result...
O(L)ivers Army
Defence Estates v L and another, High Court (Administrative Court, Collins J, 5.5.09) [2009] All ER (D) 20 (May) is - potentially - quite an important case on the ongoing Qazi/Kay/Doherty/Connors/McCann/Cosic debate about the role of Article 8 in possession...
Outright orders and drug offences
Knowsley Housing Trust v Prescott & Prescott [2009] EWHC 924 (QB) Mr & Mrs Prescott were the assured tenants of Knowsley Housing Trust and had been since 2002. On 11 April 2006, Mr Prescott pleaded guilty to charges relating to the supply of cocaine...
Redolent of Improbability
I don't think there is any significant point of law or practice in Lemas and Sealy v Williams [2009] EWCA Civ 360, but it is a strange case (although one suspects many readers will have been involved in similarly chaotic cases at one stage or another) and...
The end of the road
X v LB Hounslow [2009] EWCA Civ 286. When news of X first reached the NL team, the near unanimous response was one of pleasure at the result. Once we obtained a transcript and saw the reasoning of the trial judge, it became clear not only that an appeal...
Kay in the ECtHR
The Statement of Facts, together with the Question posed by the ECtHR is now online.
Now this is interesting…
The Observer had a very interesting article yesterday, which can be found here. It concerned the complaint by Andrew Brown (not his real name) to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Mr Brown was a tenant of a housing association who was persuaded by a mortgage...
Southwark and the Lords
Southwark LBC are involved in two cases are being heard in the House of Lords next week. Hanoman v Southwark is a Right to Buy dispute and R (G) v Southwark is about whether there is a lawful distinction between a child who is "in need of accommodation" or...