In a written statement, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has announced the timescales for the implementation of Awaab's Law - i.e when the specific regulations will take effect. For social housing, this is: October 2025...
Homelessness – local connection and necessity
Hussaini v Islington London Borough Council (2025) EWCA Civ 22 Mr Hussaini was a refugee. He had been accommodated in Barking & Dagenham area. On grant of leave to remain, he applied as homeless to Islington. Islington decided he did not have a local...
Renewed homeless applications and new facts
Ivory, R (On the Application Of) v Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council (2025) EWCA Civ 21 A second appeal to the Court of Appeal from a judicial review of Welwyn Hatfield's rejection of a homelessness application by Ms Ivory, on the basis that it was based on...
No deductions without prior warning.
Roberts v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2025) EWHC 51 (Admin) A quick note on this judicial review of DWP policies on implementing 'diversionary' payments (direct payments of rent element of Universal Credit to landlords) and 'recoupment'...
Service of documents – post and deemed service
D’Aubigny v Khan & Anor (2025) EWCA Civ 11 (Not on Bailii yet, a copy of the judgment is here.) We saw this case in the County Court. This is the Court of Appeal judgment. The central issue was whether service by post of a gas safety certificate, EPC and...
New year clear out
A pile of case notes that I've managed to do in the Betwixtmas/Merrineum, hopefully clearing the decks for the new year. It includes right to buy and the intention to return, FTT jurisdiction on rent increases, a council's unlawful interpretation of an...
Ealing comedy. Getting statutory nuisance very wrong
Ferko v Ealing Magistrates Court & Ors (2024) EWHC 2592 (Admin) This was an appeal by case stated to the High Court from a decision of Ealing Magistrates Court on a statutory nuisance/section 82 Environmental Protection Act 1990 prosecution. It is also a...
Orders for forced entry after injunction
Sovereign Housing Association Limited v Hall. Bristol County Court. 10 July 2024 (Unreported. A copy of the judgment is here.) This was a County Court appeal from a first instance decision by a District Judge that the Court did not have jurisdiction under...
Posthumous Right to Buy
Howe v Brent London Borough Council (2024) EWCA Civ 1444 Just a quick note on this Court of Appeal judgment on whether a family member (B) of a secure tenant with a right to buy their home (A) is able to exercise a shared right to buy if A, whose right is...
Fees before the Tenant Fees Act, after the Tenant Fees Act.
Martyna Switaj v Adrian McClenaghan (2024) EWCA Civ 1457 The Court of Appeal on the status of a fee related to a tenancy taken before the Tenant Fees Act 2019 came into force on 1 June 2019 and the impact on the validity of a section 21 notice. Ms Switaj had...
Assorted notes on bits of interest
Various bits of interest... On 21 November, the Housing Minister Matt Pennycook released a written statement on the Government's plans on Leasehold and Commonhold reform, with an outline timetable. Points to note are that regulations implementing key parts...
Lateness – excusable and otherwise
Idara v Southwark LBC (2024) EWHC (KB) (unreported as yet) Thanks to 4-5 Grays Inn Square for their note of the case. This was an appeal to the High Court of the County Court's refusal to give permission for an out of time section 204 appeal. Southwark had...