Khayyat & Anor v Westminster City Council (2023) EWHC 30 (Admin) A judicial review by two claimants of Westminster's allocation policy and its restriction of entry to the housing register to only homeless applicants to whom Westminster had decided it...
A lift too far. The extent of the section 11 obligation
Anchor Hanover Group v Cox (2023) UKUT 14 (LC) (Copy of judgment here. Not on Bailli or national archive yet) A somewhat unusual Upper Tribunal appeal concerning the application of section 11 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which ends up being about the scope...
The whirligig of time
A happy new year to all. I was going to do a new year video, as per the last two years, but as rain lashes the windows and the daylight disappeared about 2 pm, the level of faff involved was beyond me. This seems a fitting way to end 2022... After three...
Ombudsman’s decisions and housing conditions claims
I'm going to break one of our rules (well, more of a guideline really) and comment on a case in which I had a role. I supervised the case, in which one of my colleagues acted for the claimant. It is also a report on a settled County Court claim, so not...
Awaab Ishak – Coroner’s ruling and Reg 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths
We now have the Coroner's Findings and Conclusion for the inquest into the death of Awaab Ishak, and also the Regulation 28 Report for the purpose of preventing future deaths. (My previous post on the death of Awaab Ishak is here. It was written quickly and...
An Avoidable Death
"Every death was avoidable" said Richard Millett KC at the closing submission to the Grenfell Inquiry. Now we know from the inquest verdict into the death of two year old Awaab Ishak's that this death was also thoroughly avoidable,and we know the catalogue...
Assorted notes: joint tenancies, RROs – rent arrears and late evidence, and disrepair damages periods
Pile v Pile (2022) EWHC 2036 (Ch) The High Court confirms that Procter v Procter (2022) EWHC 1202 (Ch) is authority for the proposition that it is not a breach of trust for one joint tenant to give notice to quit on the joint tenancy, even where this is done...
We don’t need no tariffs
Khan v Mehmood (2022) EWCA Civ 791 (Housing Law Practitioners Association intervening) This was, it has to be said, in part a rather odd appeal to the Court of Appeal. The background was a rent arrears possession claim by Ms Khan and a defence and disrepair...
Delays to services…
Apologies, I know updates have been slow in the last few weeks - I have been very busy on a lot of time sensitive stuff and what down time I've had, has really been needed as, well, down time... But the blog has not been forgotten or abandoned, honest. There...
Excluded grounds of possession and subsequent grounds
Poplar HARCA v Kerr. Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court. February 2022. DJ Bell (Unreported, we've seen a note of extempore judgment.) Our thanks to Daniel Skinner for the note of judgment in this case, which is of interest on the argument that the...
‘The present proceedings should never have been brought.’ ASB and disability discrimination.
Rosebery Housing Association Ltd v Williams & Anor (2021) EW Misc 22 (CC) Our grateful thanks to Marie Paris of Doughty Street Chambers for the following note of this County Court judgment. Applications for injunctions under Part 1 of ASBCPA 2014 seem to...
News things
There were a few announcements today and a Supreme Court decision. By far the biggest one, if you live in or are a landlord, or indeed a housing lawyer, in Wales is that the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will be implemented (come into force) on 15 July...