[Update 22 November 2018. In the Budget, the Govt has said that: a) the 7 days without any payment after UC claim will be scrapped b) For those with existing HB/LHA claims, there will be a two week overlap of existing HB/LHA payments after the UC...
All the blog posts, most recent first
Closing the Gaps – the failure of the law on health & safety at home
Three months ago we wrote about a research project and report on housing and health and safety law being carried out for Shelter by legal academics from the Universities of Kent and Bristol. Now the report has been completed. The report is here and...
‘I’m not racist, I just won’t let to them’. Fergus Wilson meets the Equality Act
Fergus Wilson (for it is he) has managed to cap such highlights of a landlording career as being convicted of assaulting his letting agent, and evicting tenants (including single mothers or 'battered wives') because they were on housing benefit or...
Deposits, Lies and Unlawful Evictions
Zeeshan v Mahmood, County Court at Manchester, 27 October 2017. (Our grateful thanks to Amy Tagoe of Stephensons Solicitors for the following note of this unlawful eviction case) The Claimants were the tenants of a property owned by the Defendant...
How long has this been going on? – settled accommodation
Doka v London Borough of Southwark [2017] EWCA Civ 1532 The issue in this second appeal was what amounts to 'settled accommodation', sufficient to break the chain of causation of intentional homelessness. Mr D was homeless and in priority need....
Hide and Seek with Justice – A Rant
(Updated 26/10/2017 - at the bottom) Access to justice is one thing. Actually being able to find it another. This is the sorry, sad, truly pathetic tale of the fall out of the closure of Lambeth County Court. I'm sorry for length, but hell, it has...
Significantly more vulnerable – how much, or what kind?
Panayiotou v London Borough of Waltham Forest (2017) EWCA Civ 1624 This is an important court of appeal decision on the meaning of 'significantly' in Lord Neuberger's definition of vulnerability under s.189(1)(c) Housing Act 1996 in Hotak v...
Guidance on reducing homelessness
The DCLG has published the draft statutory code of guidance to accompany the Homelessness Reduction Act (in force from April 2018). The draft code is now subject to 8 weeks consultation. The DCLG has also announced the fairly small additional sums...
Vulnerability, medical evidence & Now Medical
Thomas v Lambeth LBC, County Court at Central London, 16 March 2017 This is a s.204 appeal in the County Court of a vulnerability decision by Lambeth. A copy of the transcript of judgment is here. Of particular interest is that the judgment...
Waiting for DCLG
During an exchange about the speech by the Secretary of State yesterday (more on that later I suspect - I'd quite like to do a conference round-up piece), it occured to me that there are an awful lot of actual housing law consultations that haven't...
Fitness for Habitation 2.0 – Q&A and call to arms
If you haven't already heard, Karen Buck MP got fourth place in the 2017 ballot for private members bills. And she has taken this opportunity to bring forward a new version of the 'Fitness for Habitation' Bill that was filibustered in 2015 (and...
Job Ad – SW London
Wainwright & Cummins LLP HOUSING SOLICITOR & SUPERVISOR Wainwright & Cummins LLP are looking for a motivated, passionate and dynamic housing solicitor 4yrs PQE + to take over the role of Head of Housing Department. The applicant must...