Pelipenko v Russia 16/1/14 We reported the ECtHR's decision on the merits here. There now follows the Chamber's decision on the claim for just satisfaction. The Applicants' claim for the breaches of Art 6 and Art 8 broke down into 4 parts: 1. the purchase...
Housing and Human Rights Round-Up Pt 1
Winterstein v France 17/10/13 (judgement in French only) The applicants in this case were travellers who were part of a community that had occupied land on a site (known as bois du Trou-Poulet) in the Herblay region of France and had made it their home over...
For Whom the Bell Tolls
This is a brief note on an important Court of Appeal judgement. Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd is actually a defamation case but it is an essential point of reference for anybody involved in civil litigation. The case concerns the scope of the new CPR...
Allocation, Allocation, Allocation
Leicester CC v Shearer is a rare example of a successful public law defence to a claim for possession. Mrs S was the wife of the late Mr Shearer, who was himself the successor tenant to the property that was the subject of the possession claim at 35...
More on JR and Costs
We have been blogging lately about costs in settled JRs and S.204 appeals (see here and here) and we can now report that the Admin Court Office has published guidance on costs following settlement of JR claims, which can be found in this link. The guidance...
Homelessness Appeals and Costs
This is a brief note on a recent High Court appeal dealing with the issue of costs on withdrawn s.204 appeals (Unichi v LB Southwark 16/10/13-from a Lawtel summary, not on Bailii). The Local Authority discharged its duty towards Ms U under s.193(6)(b) of the...
Better Late than Never?
Peake v LB Hackney [not yet on Bailii] is another cautionary tale about the importance of lodging statutory homelessness appeals within the 21 day limit. Ms P was found intentionally homeless by the Council following the surrender of a tenancy of...
Human Rights Round-up
3 cases have recently been decided by the ECtHR Chamber Busuioc v Republic of Moldova [2013] ECHR 684 (16/7/13) The Applicant (B) complained to the Court under Arts 3 and 8 ECHR about the State's failure to protect her and her two children under the...
Job Ad
Tower Hamlets Law Centre is seeking a skilled housing specialist to join its busy housing team at its offices in Whitechapel. The successful applicant will need to have proven skills as a housing practitioner, effective communication skills and experience of...
JR and Costs
A quick note on a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal on an application for costs following a settled judicial review: Emezie v SSHD. The Appeal was brought by Ms Emezie against Mostyn J's dismissal of her application in the High Court, which followed...
There’s no place like home
Reading BC v Holt is an important case on the approach to be taken by the courts when making possession orders under Ground 16 (and since 1/4/12, 15A) of the Housing Act 1985. Mrs Holt has occupied 28 Southdown Rd, Emmer Green, Reading since her birth in...
Out of Area Placements
Shelter has recently issued its 2012 statistics of homeless households who were temporarily accommodated outside London. 31 London councils provided data, which have revealed that out of 11513 households, 120 (or 1%) were accommodated more than 20 miles from...