As ever, the lovely Legal Action housing updates have some interesting County Court cases that hadn't reached us. A couple in the August edition concern tenancy deposit cases. Nothing binding (and when will some of these cases reach a higher court?), but...
Not just suitable but properly so
Araya, R (on the application of) v Leeds City Council [2009] EWHC 1962 (Admin) S.188 Housing Act 1996 accommodation, provided pending s.184 decision or s.202 review of a negative s.184 decision, must be 'suitable'. This means that any accommodation to which...
On the naughty step
For this Naughty Step, we're going trans-atlantic. A warm welcome to the Step for Horizon Group Management, a property owner/management firm from Chicago. Horizon cannot be said to lack a pioneering spirit (or, as we shall see, a snappy way with a soundbite,...
Imputed fairness?
Jones v Kernott [2009] EWHC 1713 (Ch) [not on Bailii yet] was an appeal from the County Court on a Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 case. At issue is the question of fairness and whether and how far a change in common intention can be...
Shocking lack
And I apologise for the pun in the title, which is in dubious taste. Normally on NL, we restrict putting our view on matters to a few comments or the odd, albeit caustic, remark. But the events and legal requirements that are set out in this story from the...
HB means no gas or electricity
In the July edition of Legal Action's housing reports is the otherwise unreported Salah v Munro Willesden County Court April 2009. This was a harassment and unlawful eviction case. Ms Salah began an assured shorthold tenancy of a room on 23 March 2008 for a...
Mistaken on Undertaking
As a reminder, in case one were needed, that undertakings to the Court in ASB cases should be considered very carefully indeed comes Circle 33 Housing Trust Limited v Kathirkmanathan (2009) CA (Civ Div) 16/7/2009 [Not on Bailii yet, available as note on...
Not seriously arguable
Another case on post-Doherty public law defences was handed down on Friday. Stokes v London Borough of Brent [2009] EWHC 1426 (QB) concerned an appeal summary possession order made against a traveller in unlicenced occupation of a plot on a Brent traveller's...
Support and suitability
Abdullah v City of Westminster [2007] EWCA Civ 1566 is not a new case. In fact it is two years old, but the transcript of the Court of Appeal judgement has only just come out (and it isn't on Bailii). So we'll do a brief note. The case was a second appeal...
Costs on conceded appeals
We had noted City of Westminster v Man [2009] EWCA Civ 236 when it was a permission to appeal hearing. Just a bit late, we have found the outcome. The issue was whether an interim costs order, on an application I think, was payable where proceedings as a...
Not reasonable but suitable
Not for the first time, I (and I suspect others) have been completely wrong-footed by Baroness Hale. It would be fair to say that the House of Lords judgment in the joined appeals in Birmingham v Ali and Moran v Manchester [2009] UKHL 36 has come as...
The good, the bad and the aesthetically challenged
'Building Britain's Future', a broad Government policy direction document, has been put out and must be regarded as an early draft of the Labour election manifesto. As people may well have heard, social housing and the allocation thereof features in the...