Following my plaintive cry here, I now have copies of the two Upper Tribunal judgments from Scotland referred to by the DWP. And, while the judgments do do something rather more and rather different to the outcomes suggested in the DWP Circular,...
All the blog posts, most recent first
Ch ch ch ch changes
When is a Secure Tenancy Agreement not a Secure Tenancy Agreement? News has reached us of an interesting case in Bow County Court involving the right to succeed to a secure tenancy and the operation of s.103 of the Housing Act 1985: London Borough...
The public sector equality duty and priority need
We are (or more accurately I am) a bit late on this one. It is quite important though and the fact I have only just written it up should not detract from that. In Kanu v Southwark LBC [2014] EWCA Civ 1085, the Court of Appeal considered whether the...
You’ve got absoutely nothing out of this
For most parties that enter into litigation (save for those on CFAs and some who are legally aided) a win isn't really a win unless the other side is also ordered to pay your costs. I say most, because certain litigants enter into litigation...
A longer waiting to wait
Barnet Council are consulting on changes to their 2012 Allocation policy. The main change proposed is that the current 'residence requirement' of two years be increased to five years. That is to say that no-one would be eligible for Barnet's...
Odds and Sods
A few bits and pieces, none of which are worth their own post, including a couple of updates on old 'friends'. First, as you have probably noticed, the blog has had a redesign (yes, another one). There are a couple of reasons for this: partly for a...
Costs and forfeiture
Barrett v Robinson [2014] UKUT 322 (LC) is very, very important decision on costs from the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). It came out a few weeks ago and I've been promising to do it since then. Sorry. You'll be aware that most, if not all leases,...
Article 8 and the Private Sector-the Court of Appeal Speaks
In McDonald v McDonald & Anor [2014] EWCA Civ 1049, the Defendant held an assured shorthold tenancy of a property in Witney, Oxfordshire. The tenancy was granted by Ms McD's parents in breach of the terms and conditions of a mortgage agreement...
Just bonkers, absolutely bonkers
Just what did Sandwell think they were doing? They set a minimum residence requirement of two years (why two you might ask) for their local council tax reduction scheme and thought that would be acceptable. They did so on the basis that they were...
More on post possession order disrepair counterclaims
This is an issue we’ve looked at before, bringing a disrepair counterclaim after a possession order has been made. Now the Birmingham County Court has dealt with the issue on an appeal from the decision of a District Judge. Midland Heart Ltd...
Trouble out west
In O'Brien v Bristol CC [2014] EWHC 2423 (Admin) [heard at the RCJ instead of in the Bristol admin court? Not on Bailii yet but we have seen a transcript], a range of issues arose out of the council's decision to seek and obtain a possession order...
My Left Shin
In years to come, we may all wonder what all the fuss was about, but Tuesday's judgement in R (Public Law Project) v the Secretary of State for Justice has provided some relief and not a little amusement to legal aid practitioners girding...