As you all know, the assorted (very assorted) lawyers that make up the NL team do this for the love of it (though heaven knows it is a demanding relationship at times). We’re glad that we can produce something that people find useful but mostly we just enjoy...
Cold and wet… Disrepair quantum
Courtesy of Beatrice Prevatt's disrepair update in the December 2012 Legal Action, here are a couple of County Court disrepair cases. Both proving the general rule which we have previously noted, that it is only the least competent of private landlords that...
Consultations, bills and mysterious advisors
A bit of a miscellany, with Government skullduggery and posturing galore. First up, Grayling's MoJ has announced a consultation into revising the rules on Judicial Review. Broadly, he is against it. Responses are due by 24 January 2013, so a busy holiday for...
Relationship breakdown and intentional homelessness
Amanda Carthew v Exeter County Council (2012) CA (Civ Div) 4 December 2012 [Not on Bailii, on lawtel only as a note - if anyone has more information or a transcript of judgment, we'd be very grateful...] Where a homeless applicant had previously transferred...
Leases, repairs and ‘errors’
For long leases, outside the provisions of s.11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, the repairing obligation of the landlord is limited to the exact terms set out in the lease, as is the extent to which the landlord can recover the costs of repairs from the...
Deposit scheme – a new wheeze
So, I gave a talk on the deposit scheme post Localism Act on Tuesday morning, then surface to immediately find word of a new wheeze being tried by landlords. Just how quickly can one become outdated? The Housing Act 2004 as amended by the Localism Act 2011...
Disputed facts, s.204 appeals and Article 6 to the ECtHR?
You may recall Ms Ali of Ali & Ibrahim v Birmingham CC (heard in the Supreme Court as Tomlinson & Ors v Birmingham City Council [2010] UKSC 8 (our report here) The issue in Ms Ali's case was a dispute of fact about whether an offer of accommodation...
Housing Law Conference 2012
11 December 2012 – The Royal College of Surgeons, London Yes, it is time for the annual HLPA Housing Law conference. We advertise it (for free) because it is good and some of us are involved with it. A number of the NL team will be there, looking shadowy and...
A makeover…
After much swearing, faffing and fiddling with the placement of semi colons in the underlying code of the site, the new look blog is here. It is hopefully cleaner and easier to read, while keeping all of the functions of the old site. It should also make it...
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Property Guardians seem to be a growth industry. If you haven't come across these yet, you probably will at some point. The Guardian agency puts people into a vacant commercial or residential building to live as occupiers, effectively providing security to...
Suitability: Of time and distance
With perfect timing, a County Court section 204 appeal judgment reaches us, on the issue of suitability of temporary accommodation. With the context of out of borough placements and the post Localism Act situation, this seemed worth considering and quoting...
‘Homeless Legislation – a thing of the past?’
[Update at the end of the post 15/11/2012] Now that the Guardian has the story, I feel able to quote a briefing paper by Andy Gale of the DCLG that had found its way to me. This is the briefing that Andy Gale has been giving to Council officers (not...