Secretary of State for the Environment Food & Rural Affairs v Meier & Ors [2008] EWCA Civ 903 was a case concerning travellers encamped on Forestry Commission land. Some of the travellers had previously camped on a nearby patch of Forestry Commission...
Institutionally racist
We are not institutionally racist. SRA October 2007 This is not housing law related, but it is of significance to many in the sector. Lord Ouseley, the former head of the Commission for Racial Equality, was jointly commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory...
Nearly Legal 2.0
Having posed some questions about this blog's future a couple of weeks ago, I am delighted to be able to announce the next stage for Nearly Legal. First and most importantly, you will notice case notes, news and opinion pieces by other people appearing from...
ASB corner
The August 2008 Legal Action contains a couple of cases concerning anti-social behaviour possession claims that weren't recorded elsewhere. Ealing LBC v Jama B5/08/0104 was a Court of Appeal matter. Mrs Jama was Ealing's secure tenant of a two bed property....
Amour fou
Unsurprisingly, the papers and blawgers have been all over the story of Kylie McGrath, detained under the Mental Health Act after breaking into the home of solicitor Emma Eardley, whom McGrath had been stalking for over two years. McGrath began as Eardley's...
It's oh so quiet…
Or at least after last week's tsunami of housing cases, it is quiet. This is good because I am a) perversely very busy, what with everyone else being on holiday, and b) behind the serene exterior of the blog, there is intense plotting and organising going...
Retrospective CFAs
Forde v Birmingham City Council [2008] EWHC 90105 (Costs) In brief, where a firm had asked a client to sign a second CFA for a disrepair claim, at a time when it appeared that the first CFA might be found unenforceable, and the second CFA provided for a...
Estoppel – needs something to estop
I'm not going to do a report on this one as it is a) epic, b) unprecis-able and thankfully c) pretty much off topic for housing law. But anyone who, like me, is a bit of an equity hobbyist on the side, the House of Lords judgment in Yeoman’s Row Management...
What is a locality?
R (on the application of Heffernan) (FC) (Appellant) v The Rent Service) (Respondents) [2008] UK 58 concerns the meaning of locality in para 4(6) of Part 1 Schedule 1 Rent Officers (Housing Benefit Functions) Order 1997. Locality serves to define the area by...
Enforcing positive covenants
Cantrell v Wycombe District Council [2008] EWCA Civ 866 concerns enforcement of positive covenants by a Local Authority. In return for funds towards the purchase of another property, a housing association had granted the Council nomination rights to six...
Care and Attention
R (on the application of M) (FC) (Respondent) v Slough Borough Council [2008] UKHL 52 is a House of Lords case concerning Local Authority obligations under the National Assistance Act 1948, and specifically when the authority is obliged to arrange and pay...
Disrepair – One bite at the cherry
Onwuama v Ealing LBC [2008] EWHC 1704 (QB). The Claimant made a claim for s.11 disrepair (in person), alleging dampness and electrical problems. No expert evidence was put forward as to the cause of dampness. The claim largely failed as the Judge found the...