Our grateful thanks to Nicholas Nicol of One Pump Court for the following note of a complex ASB possession claim, with counterclaims for breach of the Equality Act 2010 and for disrepair. Redacted copy of the Judgment is here (a condition of the Official...
Pre allocation costs in a housing conditions claim
Gemma Court v Beyond Housing Limited. Teesside Combined Court Centre. 12 February 2026. HHJ Robinson BEM. (Copy of Judgment. Our thanks to Andrew Hogan of Hailsham Chambers for circulating it.) This was a County Court appeal of a first instance decision on...
Rent (and when it isn’t).
Phillips & Anor v Garraway (2026) EWCA Civ 55 This is a curious second appeal of a possession order. It was the tenant's appeal, as the first appeal had upheld the possession order. The background is that Mr & Mrs Phillips had granted Ms Garraway a...
Catching up – housing conditions and illegal evictions
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...
Two smallish rants…
It has been one of those days, where a couple of things caused gnashing of teeth at the state of the world, or at least that (smallish) bit of it that involves the practice of housing law. So, I am going to vent. Apologies in advance. Firstly, I am trying to...
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...
Awaab’s Law – A summary overview of Phase 1
Today - 27 October 2025 - the regulations implementing phase 1 of Awaab's Law came into force. The Hazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) Regulations 2025 cover 'significant hazards' of damp, mould and fungal growth, and 'emergency...
*Actually, there needn’t (necessarily) be consequences
(We are, as ever, hugely grateful to Mike Norman of Harrow Law Centre for his excellent updates on housing law in Wales. Here is Mike's report on the fascinating denouement of the 'Costal Housing Group' litigation on the effect of not serving EICRs under...
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...