After a lot of concern that the Bill was going to be lost, the Government announced that the second reading of the Renters (Reform) Bill will take place on Monday 23 October, so enabling it to be carried forward into the next parliamentary session after the...
Homelessness and evidence
Oday Yabari, R (on the application of) v The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster (2023) EWHC 185 (Admin) A judicial review of what was alleged to be Westminster's failure to meet its s.188(1) duty to secure suitable accommodation and breach of...
Job ad – Westminster
Mary Ward Legal Centre Mary Ward Legal Centre is recruiting! We've extended the deadline to apply for our housing solicitor roles until Monday 30 October 2023 at 10 a.m. We have just opened a brand new office in Stratford, East London and are expanding our...
Rent increase and creation of a new tenancy
Our thanks to Haroon Sarwar of TV Edwards and Marina Sergides of Garden Court for the details of this county court possession case. Tower Hamlets Community Housing v The personal representative of Joseph Desir & Ors. County Court at Clerkenwell &...
Job ads – Two in Liverpool
Broudie Jackson Canter Job Spec – Housing Lawyer / Team Head Business unit: Broudie Jackson Canter/JLG Department: Civil Liberties Department Role: Senior Housing Lawyer/ Team Head Reporting...
Be still, my beating heart – new ‘How to Rent’ Guide
A new version of the How to Rent Guide was released today, 2 October 2023. This needs to be given to the tenant on all new and replacement tenancies (including on statutory periodic arising) from today onwards. NB - 'given' means a physical copy given to the...
Misc notes – RRO in the UT; Allocation, domestic abuse and discrimination
A couple of quick notes on cases that have been sitting a browser tabs in my 'to do' window for far too long... Daff v Gyalui & Aiach-Cohen (2023) UKUT 134 (LC) Ms Daff had been ordered to pay an RRO for an unlicensed property to the tenants in the...
A couple of possession related appeals
Reading Borough Council v Holland (2023) EWHC 1902 (Ch) An appeal of a possession order made at first instance for Ms Holland's introductory tenancy of sheltered accommodation. Ms H was found by an expert report in the original proceedings to have...
Job Ads – Bradford, Ealing
Bradford Citizens Advice Housing Solicitor Job Opportunity Role: Housing Solicitor (Legal Aid contract) Hours: 37 hours per week (Job share requests considered) Holidays: 25 days plus 8 bank holidays plus 3 additional days Salary: £33k - £38k (Plus 5%...
Upper Tribunal leasehold cases
Brief notes on some recent Upper Tribunal cases. Davies v Benwell Road RTM Company Ltd (LANDLORD AND TENANT - SERVICE CHARGES) (2023) UKUT 197 (LC) Following a complicated and muddled history of County Court and FTT proceedings between the parties, a 'double...
Job Ads – Holborn, London/Crawley/Cornwall, Farringdon
Mary Ward Legal Centre We are recruiting for a full-time Housing Solicitor at Mary Ward Legal Centre. Mary Ward is a fabulous place to work. We have 35 days annual leave (not including bank holidays), TOIL and flexible working. Applicants who want to work...
Damp, mould and the HHSRS
Cases yet to be written up are in a growing pile, but frankly it has been too darn hot to have the laptop on my lap for more than half an hour, so they are going to have to wait. Instead, here is a quick note on two recent DLUHC/govt publications on damp and...