DCLoG have put out supplementary guidance to local authorities on intentional homelessness in the context of applicants who face homelessness following difficulties with mortgage commitments. I suspect if you look hard enough, you'll find it, but...
All the blog posts, most recent first
"Unauthorised tenancies": New Consultation
I have found myself unaccountably lethargic post-lunch, so when the Chief put us on to the new DCLoG consultation document on "unauthorised tenancies" I jumped at the opportunity to post on it. It's a beautifully produced document with lots of...
Allocations policies: Publication
In R (Boolen) v Barking and Dagenham LBC reported on Lawtel, the Claimant applied for judicial review of the the council's allocation scheme on the basis that (1) the council had implemented a "local connection" criterion into its prioritisation...
Civil Procedure Rules – 50th update?
The next amendment to the civil procedure rules has been passed in the form of the the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2009. The change has not (yet) been noted on the Ministry of Justice's CPR website but I am anticipating that they will...
Peverse incentive
We don't usually cover gypsy & traveller planning permission cases, since they tend to turn on their own facts, but Rafferty and another v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another [2009] EWCA Civ 809 has one point of...
Quick to the Plunder
The decision of the Court of Appeal in Nationwide Building Society v Wright [2009] EWCA Civ 811 confirms that a court need not set aside a final charging order merely because the order was made at a time when the owner of the property was insolvent...
Not just suitable but properly so
Araya, R (on the application of) v Leeds City Council [2009] EWHC 1962 (Admin) S.188 Housing Act 1996 accommodation, provided pending s.184 decision or s.202 review of a negative s.184 decision, must be 'suitable'. This means that any accommodation...
Pinnock and Proportionality
The CA have just handed down judgment in Manchester CC v Pinnock[2009] EWCA Civ 852, concerning the evidence that can be taken into account to justify a breach of a demoted tenancy at a review panel, the proper role of the County Court in such a...
A very short note
The decision of the House of Lords in R (Purdy) v DPP [2009] UKHL 45 (the assisted suicide case) clearly has nothing to do with housing law but, as a general statement of law, para. 34 is very interesting. ... it is obvious that the interests of...
On the naughty step
For this Naughty Step, we're going trans-atlantic. A warm welcome to the Step for Horizon Group Management, a property owner/management firm from Chicago. Horizon cannot be said to lack a pioneering spirit (or, as we shall see, a snappy way with a...
Imputed fairness?
Jones v Kernott [2009] EWHC 1713 (Ch) [not on Bailii yet] was an appeal from the County Court on a Trust of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 case. At issue is the question of fairness and whether and how far a change in common intention...
What do you want me to do about it?
Noise abatement notices are governed by Part 3, Environmental Protection Act 1990 (as amended). They are not 'pure' housing law but they are frequently used in a housing context, particularly when dealing with noise-related complaints of...