Catching up - housing conditions and illegal evictions Ferko v Kumar & Kumar. Ealing Magistrates Court. 15 July 2025 This was the sentencing hearing in an Environmental Protection Act 1990 prosecution that we previously saw in on appeal in the High...
Tidings (various) and a gift
As we head into some time off (and a chance to rest my RSI) I bring you a couple of tidings, not necessarily of comfort and joy, of things for the new year. And a bit of a gift for Christmas. After Christmas, I'll see about some of the backlog of reports. In...
Tenant redress for abuse of possession grounds under the Renters’ Right Act
With the introduction of of the new grounds of possession looming - 1 May 2026 - we are very pleased to bring you as a seasonal gift this guest post by Nick Bano, barrister, and Jamie McGowan, pupil, of Garden Court Chambers, helpfully looking at the routes...
Gas Safety Certificate and section 21 ping-pong
I have a huge backlog of cases to write up, but for various reasons, currently have neither the time nor the energy to do so (gestures at life generally). So I am very grateful to Georgie Rea of Garden Court Chambers for the following note of a Circuit Judge...
When can a section 21 end?
No, this is nothing to do with 30 April or 31 July 2026... Paragon Asra Housing v Rainford, County Court at Leicester, 25 October 2025 (copy of Judgment here) This was a County Court appeal of a first instance possession order on the basis of a section 21...
Renters Rights Act Day!
And Lo! The appointed day has been announced! And it is 1 May 2026. Well, partly... On 1 May 2026, the following provisions will come into force: The end of assured shorthold tenancies, fixed terms and new section 21 notices. New and amended grounds of...
The King of England… and all his force dares not cross the threshold
Southern Housing v James Emmanuel (2025) EWCC 58 This was a first instance judgment, by District Judge Cridge at Bromley County Court, on the vexed issue of whether the court has the power to amend an injunction order for a tenant to give access to give the...
Men (and women) behaving badly
A couple of cases involving bad behaviour by landlords/freeholders, both prior to and during proceedings... Kramer v Scudder. Canterbury County Court. 14 August 2025 (unreported. We've seen an unapproved note of judgment. Our thanks to Miranda Grell of...
Redeeming the irredeemable. Gas Safety Certificates and section 21
Cassell & Cassell v Sidhu & Sidhu. HHJ Clarke. County Court at Reading. 9 October 2025 (Copy of Judgment) I had hoped that we could see out the dying days of section 21 notices in relative tranquility, without legal controversy or kerfuffle, (the...
And I still haven’t found what I’m looking for – changing deposit schemes
Ameera Macintyre v Cowdray Trust Limited and Rathbones Trust Company Limited (2025) EWCC 54 A County Court appeal to a Circuit Judge from a first instance decision on a possession claim based on a section 21 notice (after previous s.21 proceedings were...
Tales from the Housing Conditions Wars. Part 2
The second of a series of reports on County Court judgements in housing conditions claims - on what might be called procedural and costs wars. The first, focused on expert evidence and the pre-action protocol, is here. Carter v Leeds City Council. County...
Tales from the Housing Conditions wars. Part 1
Lancastle v Curo Group (Albion) Limited (2025) EWCC 48 This is a judgment on application in two joined cases, Lancastle v Curo Group and Bailey & Bennet v Curo Places. In each, the defendant landlord had applied variously for the claims to be struck out...