When we reach 1 October 2018, provisions of the Deregulation Act 2015 come into force, affecting all assured shorthold tenancies that commenced before 1 October 2015. Quite what those provisions are is a bit complicated, and may yet be subject to further...
Eviction companies, conducting litigation, and defective notices
Kassam v Gill & Gill (13th August 2018, County Court at Birmingham) (copy of judgment here) Regular readers and long term twitter followers will know that we tend to take a dim view of unqualified, unregulated 'evict your tenant' set ups. Here is a very...
Appealing rent increases for assured tenancies
Robertson v Webb, Re Honley Road (LANDLORD & TENANT - rent determination) (2018) UKUT 235 (LC) Just a brief note on this - where a landlord serves a notice of proposed increased rent under section 13 Housing Act 1988, the tenant can apply for a...
When service charges become indisputable
Marlborough Park Services Ltd v Micha Leitner (2018) UKUT 230 (LC) Tenants/Leaseholders can seek a determination of the payability and reasonableness of service charges under s.27A Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. It has been something of a question about how...
Service not included.
The Queen on the application of Mr Peter Gaskin v LB Richmond Upon Thames (2018) EWHC 1996 (Admin) We didn't report round 1 of this, probably because it was so completely inconclusive, but here is round 2 and a decision that will very significant for every...
Equality Act and ‘reasonable to remain’
Lomax v Gosport Borough Council (2018) EWCA Civ 1846 This was a second appeal on a homeless application by Ms L to Gosport. Ms L "suffers from a number of both physical and mental problems. She is wheelchair bound and is confined to bed for large portions of...
Equality Act and Evictions
Paragon Asra Housing Limited v James Neville [2018] EWCA Civ 1712 An appeal on the issue of whether disability discrimination should be considered afresh on an application for stay of warrant following breach of a suspended possession order. Mr N was...
Allocations and Equality Act
R(Gullu) v LB Hillingdon [2018] EWHC 1937 (Admin) Well now. This was another challenge to LB Hillingdon's policy of requiring 10 years residence in borough for admission to the housing register. It follows after TW, SW, and EM, R (On the Application Of) v...
Hide and seek – unlawful eviction
Ryan Insalaco v i) One Room UK ii) Paulo de Souza iii) Alisson Teixeira. County Court at Willesden, 6 July 2018 An unlawful eviction claim, notable for the casualness of the eviction and the efforts the defendants then went to to pretend the claim wasn't...
When help with wood pellet fuel means no right to buy
Milton Keynes Council v Bailey (HOUSING – Right to Buy) [2018] UKUT 207 (LC) A bit of an oddity, this one, but there is perhaps a broader principle. Paragraph 11 of Schedule 5 to Housing Act 1985 provides that a property is exempt from the Right to Buy...
Possession as a proportionate response
An appeal of a possession order, on grounds of disability discrimination and public law. Eales v Havering LBC (2018) QBD 13/07/2018 (extempore judgment, note on Lawtel) Ms E had a non-secure contractual tenancy from Havering. Havering had sought possession...
Until death us do terminate
We reported a county court appeal on the issue of termination of tenancy of a deceased tenant by service of notice on the Public Trustee in Pavey v LB Hackney here. The problem being when the notice to quit was not served on the Estate (at the property) and...