The government (through its Minister for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams) today announced its backing to Sarah Teather's private members bill, whose aim is to prevent landlords from evicting tenants who have complained about disrepair in...
The public sector equality duty and priority need
We are (or more accurately I am) a bit late on this one. It is quite important though and the fact I have only just written it up should not detract from that. In Kanu v Southwark LBC [2014] EWCA Civ 1085, the Court of Appeal considered whether the public...
You’ve got absoutely nothing out of this
For most parties that enter into litigation (save for those on CFAs and some who are legally aided) a win isn't really a win unless the other side is also ordered to pay your costs. I say most, because certain litigants enter into litigation knowing that...
Anti-social behaviour – advance guidance
Given that most of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 is not yet in force, including the provisions which empower the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance, it seems slightly odd that statutory guidance which purports to have...
Arguably Serious – Aster Communities Ltd v Akerman-Livingstone
Aster Communities Ltd (formerly Flourish homes Ltd) v Akerman-Livingstone [2014] EWCA Civ 1081 (30 July 2014) is an extraordinary decision that will – if allowed to stand – have a significant impact on the day-to-day management of possession claims in the...
Article 8 and the Private Sector-the Court of Appeal Speaks
In McDonald v McDonald & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 1049, the Defendant held an assured shorthold tenancy of a property in Witney, Oxfordshire. The tenancy was granted by Ms McD's parents in breach of the terms and conditions of a mortgage agreement with...
My Left Shin
In years to come, we may all wonder what all the fuss was about, but Tuesday's judgement in R (Public Law Project) v the Secretary of State for Justice has provided some relief and not a little amusement to legal aid practitioners girding themselves for yet...
Mitchell-Game, Set and Match?
The eagerly awaited Court of Appeal judgement in Denton & others v TH White Ltd & others was handed down on Friday. Dyson LJ provides a careful methodology on the approach to applications for relief from sanctions under CPR 3.9, with the aim to set...
They think it’s all over….
We covered the case of Beech v Birmingham CC in the High Court here. The appeal to the Court of Appeal was heard on 11/6/2014 and judgement was given on 17/6/2014. I will not repeat the facts here except to say that the appeal was narrowed down to only two...
On the naughty step: The unacceptable face of London landlords
Some of you, those in London at least, might have noticed Boris Johnson announce a new, and completely voluntary, no compulsion here, landlord accreditation scheme. The idea being that tenants, desperate to find somewhere in the middle of the worst...
Succession and Sharia
A quick note on a recent Court of Appeal decision: Northumberland & Durham Property Trust Ltd v Ouaha. From 1/8/1980 until his death on 19/11/2010, Mr Al-Faisal held a protected Rent Act tenancy of Flat 15, 1 Royal Avenue House, London, SW3. In 1987, Ms...
This is what we always meant
Regular readers of this blog (when it is accessible) will know that we are a housing law blog. However, housing law (for the most part) is covered by the overarching umbrella of civil law and we do therefore occasionally cover the odd important non-housing...