Al Ahmed v London Borough of Tower Hamlets (2020) EWCA Civ 51 We saw the High Court in this case take an incredibly strict approach to homelessness section 204 appeal timescales (our report), deciding that seeking legal aid representation could not be a good...
Deposit penalties – factors on culpability. Sort of.
Davies v Scott, 24 October 2019, Mayors & City County Court . HHJ Saggerson (Unreported, we've seen a note of judgment) This was a county court appeal on a failure to protect deposit claim. We saw the first instance decision on this case here. This was...
Rent Repayment Orders, criminal standard, and new evidence on appeal
Salva v Singh-Potiwal (HOUSING - HOUSE IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION) [2019] UKUT 307 (LC) This was the appeal of a First Tier Tribunal decision on Ms Salva's application for a rent repayment order. Ms Salva has a tenancy of a room in a property owned by Mr...
Electrical safety checks – soon with added regulation
The draft of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 has been laid in Parliament. The regs require a resolution of each house, so this will not be an immediate approval, but should be soon - it looks like the...
“I know it gives a person pause”
Camelot! Camelot! I know it gives a person pause But in Camelot, Camelot Those are the legal laws Camelot Guardian Management Ltd previously pleaded guilty to 15 charges for failing to licence an HMO and for multiple breaches of HMO management regulations in...
Tenancy deposit – unserved prescribed information
Liaw v Sohal. Central London County Court, 10 January 2019. (unreported elsewhere, we've seen the approved judgment). A county court first instance deposit claim decision, but with elements of interest and broader relevance (as well as some lessons to...
New Pre-Action Protocols coming! Social Possession and Housing Conditions.
[Update 13 Jan. The new protocols are out and in force today - Housing Disrepair (England), and Social Landlord Possession Claims ] Be still my beating heart, there will be two new/revised pre-action protocols on 13 January 2020. There will be a revised...
On not being entitled to make decisions, let alone wrong ones
Holding And Management (Solitaire) Ltd v Miller (LANDLORD AND TENANT - SERVICE CHARGES) (2019) UKUT 402 (LC) An Upper Tribunal appeal decision where just about everything that could have been wrong about the first instance First Tier Tribunal decision was....
Improper purposes
First, a quick erratum to yesterday's post on upcoming housing law. The post had wrongly stated that the 1 June 2020 Tenant Fees Act changes would mean repaying deposits of over five weeks rent on pre 1 June 2019 tenancies. That is not the case, so long as...
Sibylla*
2020 then. The years keep coming, with uncaring relentlessness. Still, putting a brave face on it, I shall combine the roles of soothsayer and almanac for what is likely to be a busy year for housing law. First, the things that we know will happen and when....
Tis the Season…
The new government's Queens Speech confirmed that there will be a Bill that will involve the ending of section 21 'no ground' possession procedure. This is something we've talked about before. It will be complicated, will involve new grounds of possession...
Second homelessness application and new facts
Bukartyk, R (on the application of) v Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (2019) EWHC 3480 (Admin) A judicial review of a refusal to take a second homeless application which should really be put in the 'Councils, don't do this' list of things that councils...