Lees v Kaye (2022) EWHC 1151 (QB) This is another judgment on the operation of the Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England & Wales) Regulations 2020. (The first was part of the Brake v Axnoller...
Notes and gloats.
It is being reported that reform of the private rented sector, including the abolition of section 21, will be in the next Queen's Speech. It may not be a renters reform bill but part of a larger 'levelling up' bill, which does make one wonder about its...
The wrong order
Behjat v Crescent Trustees Ltd (2022) UKUT 115 (LC) UTLC We've previously seen some messes happen where the First Tier Tribunal judges purport to exercise their jurisdiction as county court judges, for example here. This, unfortunately, is another instance...
Service and admin charges – from the Upper Tribunal
Some brief notes on recent Upper Tribunal (LC) service and administration charge decisions Marshall v Northumberland & Durham Property Trust Ltd (2022) UKUT 92 (LC) The First Tier Tribunal had been wrong to grant dispensation from section 20 consultation...
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...
Notes (various)
As I stagger towards writing up some case law at the weekend, some notes on things that have happened. The Solicitors Regulation Authority published a Guidance note - "Advising on leasehold provisions including ground rent clauses". This covers a lot of the...
No relief, no unjust enrichment.
Golding v Martin (2022) EW Misc 2 (CC) We first saw this forfeiture case when it went to the Court of Appeal (our note). Briefly, Ms Martin had bought a leasehold flat, and indeed extended the lease. In 2003, she went to live in Majorca. She left no...
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...
The Gove Conundrum
Today (Monday) was Michael Gove's big day. Not the getting stuck in a lift at Broadcasting House for half an hour, but the announcement of his plans to tackle the Building Safety Crisis. There was a distinct change in rhetoric - with developers and...
The shape of things to come – a video look forward.
I decided to ignore 2021 altogether this new year. Instead, here is a look forward (if not entirely an enthusiastic one) to potential policy and legislative changes in 2022, for England, at least. (If Wales finally brings in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act in...
Various notes – anniversaries, punishments, evictions and RROs.
A few notes on events and a couple of RRO cases. Landlord Law, run by Tessa Shepperson, has achieved the remarkable feat of passing its 20th anniversary. That is really quite something for an online service - the online landscape was very different in 2001!....
Leasehold assortment
Some quick notes on leasehold related cases. Termhouse (Clarendon Court) Management Ltd v Al-Balhaa (2021) EWCA Civ 1881 The First Tier Tribunal has no power to enforce its decisions. This has to be done via the County Court. In some circumstances this can...