News has come our way (circuitously) of a change in practice by London and Quadrant on the use of Ground 8, the mandatory ground for possession on the basis of rent arrears in respect of assured tenancies, from 01 August. Apparently, they will now only use...
Extending the role of the TSA
The Government has just issued a consultation paper (available here) on extending the TSAs regulatory role to local housing authorities. Whilst the document is expressed to be a consultation, the tone of the document suggests that the Government is already...
RSLs support L&Q in Weaver appeal
According to Inside Housing, not only is L&Q to seek permission to appeal the Court of Appeal decision to the Lords/Supreme Court (and no surprise there) but the G15 group of the largest RSLs in London are potentially backing them, including funding. To...
RSL meet HRA, HRA meet RSL
Well, well, well. Or perhaps well, well, oh heck. The Court of Appeal has handed down its judgment in R (Weaver) v London & Quadrant Housing Trust [2009] EWCA Civ 587 and, by a majority, L&Q have lost. It will be remembered that Mrs Weaver was a...
Tales from the pink campervan
The Tenants Services Authority (the new regulatory body for RSLs and, from April 2010, local authorities) has been holding a "national conversation" with tenants, touring round in a pink campervan amongst other engagement techniques. The outcome from that,...
Pick a date, any date
It might be a small thing next to the likes of Weaver v L&Q, but Hussain v Bradford Community Housing Limited & Kauser [2009] EWCA Civ 763 is worth attention on a technical point. Hussain had a weekly periodic tenancy has joint tenant with Kauser. The weekly...
Weaver v L&Q Newsflash
R(Weaver) v London & Quadrant [2009] EWCA Civ 587 is out (link to doc of the judgment thanks to Garden Court) This was the Court of Appeal hearing of L&Q's appeal of the High Court finding that it was a public authority in its housing function,...
Rent review (Megarry at last…)
Avid students of assured tenancies will know that the late Sir Robert Megarry wondered (in his work the Rent Acts) what would happen to a term providing for a mechanism for setting the rent that was written into a fixed term assured tenancy after that...
Equality Bill – request for help
As we noted here, the Government's new Equality Bill brings together various bits of anti-discrimination legislation and extends some of them. One area that is extended is protection against age discrimination, which is now covered by Part 3, in respect of...
Outright orders and drug offences
Knowsley Housing Trust v Prescott & Prescott [2009] EWHC 924 (QB) Mr & Mrs Prescott were the assured tenants of Knowsley Housing Trust and had been since 2002. On 11 April 2006, Mr Prescott pleaded guilty to charges relating to the supply of cocaine...
If you missed it…
There was a piece broadcast on Radio 5 live about illegal subletting, I think it was on last Sunday, 22 March. It is available as a podcast until Sunday 29 March here or can be played/downloaded as an mp3. Many thanks to Ruth, the producer, for the link.
Improvements, rent and former long leaseholders – a nasty loophole
The recent case of Hughes v Borodex Ltd [2009] EWHC 565 (Admin) illustrates a pitfall that may face the very small number of former long leaseholders who have become assured tenancies as a result of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 ("the 1989 Act")....