Worthington & Anor v Metropolitan Housing Trust Ltd (2018) EWCA Civ 1125 The Court of Appeal on an instance of tenancy management going bad, very bad indeed. And the landlord losing a claim against them for damages for harassment under...
All the blog posts, most recent first
Court of Appeal on illegal eviction – quantum and heads of claim.
Smith v Khan (2018) EWCA Civ 1137 Well! It is not often that an illegal eviction case gets to the Court of Appeal, let alone on the tenant's appeal. But that is what we have here. There are some useful bits along the way, the correction of some...
On the Naughty Step – ‘Accommodation Clubs’
To misquote Groucho Marx, you really don't want to belong to any such club that would have you as a member. I've been hearing about these set ups for a while. They seem to be the latest thing in bloody stupid 'get rich quick from residential...
Bits – tenant fees, airbnb and more
The Tenant Fees Bill is now underway. The first reading was on 2 May 2018. The Bill page is here. The Govt response to the CLG select committee report on the proposals is here. Notable in the the Bill is a proposed ban on serving a s.21 notice...
Automatic discharge of suspended possession order – it depends
Armstrong v Ashfield District Council (2018) EWCA Civ 873 Where a suspended possession order has provided for a future date of discharge, does that take effect even when the landlord has applied for a warrant on breach of terms in the interim and...
Capacity and applications: Homelessness
Last night, I was in Leeds at the wonderful Centre for Law and Social Justice, and discussed with some scholars and lawyers (over a few drinks) the way in which housing law appears to have become its own isolated and insular sub-discipline. This...
On the Naughty Step – the questionable ethics of the Christian Legal Centre
Some people will not have come across the Christian Legal Centre (CLC) until the Alfie Evans case. Others will know something of their history. What the Alfie Evans case has done is cast light on what one might call the modus operandi of the CLC...
Councils behaving badly – Part whatever
With grateful thanks to Housing: Recent Developments in March 2018 Legal Action comes this report of a county court case for unlawful eviction. What makes it slightly unusual is that the perpetrator landlord was a council. Lutman v Ashford BC,...
Bedroom Tax – the powers of the Tribunal and a sufficient chest of drawers
Two bedroom tax related decisions - the first of which is a decision of widespread import on the powers (or lack thereof) of the First Tier Tribunal. The Secretary of State for Work And Pensions v Carmichael & Anor (2018) EWCA Civ 548 The was...
Accommodation pending Appeal – where to appeal a refusal?
Davis v Watford Borough Council (2018) EWCA Civ 529 A technical appeal on a point of construction of Housing Act 1996 on homelessness appeals that has considerable practical importance. Usually when a s.204 appeal is being issued, and the council...
‘Things not to do’ corner – Deposit protection counterclaim edition
Wood v Arkley, County Court at Bradford, 15 March 2018 Our grateful thanks to counsel Vilma Vodanovic and solicitor Nawaz Zeb of Foundation for the note of judgment. A section 21 possession claim by the landlord Wood was met with a defence and...
The costs of dangerous cladding – leaseholders position
First Tier Tribunal LON/00AH/LSC/2017/0435 - Firstport Property Services Ltd v various leaseholders of Citiscape We previously saw the Salford decision on the costs of a 'waking watch' in a tower with 'Grenfell' style cladding, but this was the...