SL v Westminster [2013] UKSC 27 is a very important case concerning the meaning of "care and attention" in the context of s.21, National Assitance Act 1948. We can only apologise for not writing it up sooner. All we can say is that the nearlylegal backlog of...
Night Shelters, dwellings and housing benefit
This a late note on OR -v- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and Isle of Anglesey CC [2013] UKUT 065 (AAC) because, bluntly, I had read it quickly at the time and overlooked its broader significance. The issue was whether OR could receive housing...
Priority need
Hotak v Southwark LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 515 concerned a short point on whether an authority was entitled to have regard to the assistance that a homeless person would receive, in the event he became homeless, when determining whether he was vulnerable or not....
Being civil
Morshead Mansions has been involved in a quite astonishing amount of litigation. Bailii throws up 13 hits (here), cases in the LVT, Lands Tribunal, High Court and Court of Appeal. It's really must be the most awful burden on all those involved. And now,...
Yet another one…
The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 gives qualifying long leaseholders of houses the right, inter alia, to acquire the freehold. The definition of "house" is quite technical, but, in essence, it turns on whether it could reasonably be called a house (even if it...
Bedroom Tax Judicial Review update
Just to note that the 10 joined bedroom tax Judicial Review claims (for initial details see our note) are listed for full hearing on Wednesday to Friday next week (15-17 May). The claims involve a range of challenges to the regulations involving disabled...
To be incurred or not to be incurred?
Those with good memories will remember that a year or so ago the Upper Tribunal gave judgment in a case called Om Property Management Ltd v Burr (our note here) in which the issue was at what point in time does a cost became incurred for the purposes of...
Intention and resulting trusts
Chaudhary v Chaudhary (not on bailii yet but on lawtel) is something of a puzzle, which hopefully will be solved when we see the full transcript (hint, hint). It may be important, but it's a little early to say. The one thing about it that isn't a puzzle is...
The Shape of Things to Come.
In which two [now confirmed as four] Housing Associations behave very badly in anticipation of the benefit cap. Haringey is one of the pilot boroughs for the benefit cap, limiting the total amount of benefit, including housing benefit/LHA (and astonishingly...
When is Article 8 available at the enforcement stage of the eviction process?
In R (JL) v SSD [2013] EWCA Civ 449, the Court of Appeal "broke new ground"* by considering how Article 8 applied to the stage at which possession orders are enforced. Facts JL rented accommodation owned by the Ministry of Defence and had done so since 1989....
Regulatory dilemmas
The Regulatory Committee of the HCA has published Protecting Social Housing Assets in a More Diverse Sector, which is styled as a discussion paper, but which also contains some thought-provoking questions about how regulation can and should work in a much...
Tories to regulate private rented sector? Don’t get excited…
The detail of this may have passed you by at the time, it certainly did me, but amongst the wind and posturing of David Cameron's 'big speech' in March on stopping immigrants from getting things from healthcare to driving licences was quite a significant...