My good friend, Alex of Alex's Archives, has sent me a link to a discussion in the GLA corridors of power on standards in the private rented sector. I haven't finished listening to the GLA debate, but, as Alex said in his email, it does expose some "shaky...
Getting Plastered
Grand v Gill [2011] EWCA Civ 554 At the risk of being mocked, or shunned, I must confess myself to be throughly excited. A Court of Appeal disrepair case! And on one of the great unknowns of disrepair liability to boot! Obviously, my wedding day 8 years ago...
Its Cold In There
Bristol City Council v Aldfrod Two LLP [2011] UKUT 130 (LC) The Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) has recently ruled on the proper use of improvement notices under the HHSRS. When I say recent I should actually say a little while ago. You can blame the recent...
The (Caveat) Emptor strikes back
"All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing. Hmph. Adventure. Heh. Excitement. Heh. A Jedi craves not these things. You are reckless" - Yoda Which brings us nicely to (1) Jenson...
Can we fix it? Yes we can!
I was in B&Q the other day, when a man in an orange overall came up to me and asked if I wanted decking... luckily I managed to get the first punch in. Ok, so that's not the greatest joke in the world (and, as my wife points out, I've never been to...
I’ll get the lights…
Feeling cheerful? Good, we'll soon change that. Whether Claimant or Defendant on disrepair, judicial review or other CFA funded claims, the world is about to shift on its axis somewhat, and both sides are going to have to rethink their positions and tactics....
It is a truth universally acknowledged…
...that if a disrepair claim reaches trial these days, then one of three options must be true: a) there is a genuine and substantive issue of causation or liability (rare as hens teeth); b) one or perhaps both of the parties are mad; c) a combination of the...
Champerty Returns
Sibthorpe & Morris v LB Southwark [2011] EWCA Civ 25 Champerty and maintenance are two common law doctrines relating to the funding of civil claims. They were, at one time criminal offences, but now survive only as a matter of public policy. Briefly,...
A comedy of errors
Following on from David's sort of disrepair related post below, here is another one - not directly a disrepair matter but bearing on terms of settlement. It is either quite significant or something of a farce of bad drafting, bad decisions and windfall...
Get Set (Off)
Fearns (t/a "Autopaint International") v Anglo-Dutch Paint & Chemical Company Ltd & Ors [2010] EWHC 2366 (Ch) This case was mentioned in the most recent edition of Legal Action's Housing law update but it is not a housing case. Bear with Legal Action...
Catching up with 2010 Part 1 – disrepair
Part 1 of cases - mainly county court - that we have missed or not heard of during 2010. With our grateful thanks to Beatrice Prevatt of Garden Court for bringing these to our notice in her disrepair update at the HLPA conference: Shazad v Khan. Birmingham...
There’s no place like HMO
A brief trip to the Emerald City, or rather Reading, where the Borough Council may have established a record for a fine for breaches of The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 and the Housing Act 2004 Section 11. An HMO at...