Haringey LBC v Goremsandhu [2013] EWHC 3834 (Admin) [Not on bailii yet] Ms Goremsandhu was the owner of an HMO, made up of four flats in Tottenham. Haringey had served her with improvement notices. When Ms G had failed to complete the word...
All the blog posts, most recent first
A sign of things to come?
In the December edition of Legal Action, I noticed a decision from November 2012 (yes, 2012), called Miah v McGrogan [2012] EWCA Civ 1685 (Casetrack only). Mr Miah seems to have been the landlord of a house which had been let to a number of...
Nowhere to go and nothing to do with my time
There are two things in life I really, really enjoy. The first is listening to Queen/Freddie Mercury. The second is leasehold property disputes. I am doing the first whilst writing about the second. The case of Burchell v Raj Properties Ltd [2013]...
There’s no place like HMO
Shah v Croydon LBC [2013] EWHC 3657 (Admin) [Not on Bailii yet. Seen full transcript of judgment] An appeal by way of case stated from a Magistrates Court decision that a property owned by Mr Shah was an HMO and that Mr S was therefore liable for...
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Pt 2
Durrant v Avon & Somerset Constabulary [2013] EWCA Civ 1624 This is not housing law, not even close, but is an important decision on procedure that follows on from Mitchell v News Group Newspapers. We covered that decision (see For Whom the...
Bedroom tax decisions update
There are two new First Tier Tribunal bedroom tax appeal decisions on the FTT decisions page, at the bottom. One from Liverpool and one from Edinburgh. Both are Article 14 discrimination based, with disabilities meaning a bedroom could not be...
Out of order
R (CN) v LB Lewisham; R (ZH) v Newham LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 804 This is a very important decision from the summer. For some reason we haven’t got round to writing it up before now. In the meantime England have managed to retain (yay) and then lose...
Blow the rent, have another egg nog
Hammersmith & Fulham Council have come up with a novel way of angering their tenants. Faced with a substantial rent arrears problem, with a reported 46% of tenants in arrears (what with the bedroom tax, the end of council tax benefit and all),...
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (To Manage)
Fairhold Mercury Ltd v HQ (Block 1) Action Management Co Ltd [2013] UKUT 487 (LC) Fairhold (Yorkshire) Ltd v Trinity Wharf (SE16) RTM Co Ltd [2013] UKUT 502 (LC) Assethold Ltd v 7 Sunny Gardens RTM Co Ltd [2013] UKUT 509 (LC) No.1 Deansgate...
Shortfalls, guidance and intentionality
Birmingham City Council v Balog [2013] EWCA Civ 1582 A s.202 review decision on affordability was at the centre of this second appeal, brought by Birmingham after a s.204 appeal decision went against them. The issue was to what extent the review...
Dialogues with spammers
[Caution, this post contains asterisks and interior design] The 'guest post request' spam continues to flood in (see here and here). 6 or 7 a day. Usually it goes straight into the trash but sometimes... Hello, I would love to send you an article...
What use is a Zambrano right of residence?
A couple of years ago a lot of lawyers practising in housing, immigration and welfare benefits got very excited by the case of Ruiz Zambrano (European citizenship) [2011] EUECJ C-34/09. The reason for this excitement was that the ECJ said...