Thomas & Ors v Bridgend County Borough Council [2011] EWCA Civ 862 This Court of Appeal case might be rather limited on its facts, but there are some broader issues and it is interesting. The appeal was of a preliminary issue, whether the Claimants'...
Tenancy deposit penalties awarded!
There are two appeals on cases involving claims for the return of deposits and the three times penalty in both of which - astonishingly, given the recent history of High Court and Court of Appeal decisions - the tenant was awarded the penalty. We have said...
Never Mind the Boxall
Bahta & Ors, R (on the application of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department & Ors [2011] EWCA Civ 895 This is not a housing case, but it is an important case on costs in settled claims for judicial review, which is a major issue for many...
Homelessness, Workers and ‘effective employment’
Falastin Amin v Brent LBC, Wandsworth County Court 2011 A county court s.204 appeal on the issue of eligibility of an EU citizen as a 'wroker'. While it is not binding, it sets out a clear position which, given the involvement of Minos Perdios in the review...
X & Y v UK settled without hearing
X, Y & Z v the United Kingdom - 32666/10 [2011] ECHR 1199 The long and sorry story of X & Y v Hounslow appears to have reached an end. As you will recall, this was the case that resulted from the horrendous abuse of two highly vulnerable Hounslow...
You don’t want to do it like that.
The Local Government Ombudsman receives over 300 complaints a year about Local Authorities' handling of homeless applications. The LGO is clearly concerned by what it sees in the matters referred to it as it has now produced a 'focus report' , called "How...
Forgive us our trespasses…
The Prime Minister's confirmation that the government will be bringing forward legislation for the criminalisation of trespass and the proposed removal of legal aid from trespassers in the Legal AId, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill amount to the...
Injunction, planning and committal, post Cala
Broxbourne Borough Council v Robb & Ors [2011] EWHC 1626 (QB) I'll give a somewhat lengthy report of this case, because it is one of the first to touch on the changing planning environment for Gypsies and travellers after the DCLG's stated intention to...
Unintended clarity from the DCLG
A leaked letter has emerged, sent from the DCLG to the office of the Prime Minister. The full text of the letter is here. Written by Eric Pickles' private secretary, apparently at Pickles behest, the letter sets out the DCLG's concerns at the effects...
Croatia, proportionality and history
Orlic v Croatia [2011] ECHR 974 (Application no. 48833/07) [Link to rtf file] This is a European Court of Human Rights First Section decision on an article 8 case. Although not of immediate application, it is a useful restatement of the principle that where...
A few small tweaks
As visitors to the site may have noticed, I've made a few changes (and apologies to anyone who visited on Sunday and got 4 or 5 different and rapidly changing versions of the site). The problem was that having 10 full posts on the front (and subsequent)...
Dealing, closure and possession
Hammersmith and Fulham LBC v Forbes Willesden County Court 14 April 2011 While we are on County Court proceedings based on drugs and nuisance (see the previous post), this is a possession case following closure orders and allegations of dealing. Hat tip to...