Well, Nearly Legal asks and the CLG deliver. We posted a note on 12 August, when not much was happening, asking why the new CBL guidance hadn't seen the light of day (with some scurrilous thoughts), and a couple of weeks later it was published (link here)...
S.190 homeless duties and JR costs
I'd managed to miss this one somehow, so thanks to the Garden Court bulletin of August for mentioning it. R (Dumbaya) v Lewisham LBC [2008] EWHC 1852 (Admin) was the end point of a rather messy sounding set of proceedings. The Claimant had been accommodated...
Choice Based Letting Guidance
The Department for Communities and Local Government has released new guidance for local authorities in regard to the operation of choice based lettings (CBL) schemes. This link is to the PDF of the Guidance. A post with an initial consideration of the...
And the 23rd Claim…
As a tale of vexatious litigants, HM Attorney General v Ford & Anor [2008] EWHC 2066 (Admin) has it all. Mysterious changes of identity, admitted perjury, repeated applications for judicial review of refusals to give permission to appeal, and appeals of...
Hey! That's my window.
Sheffield City Council v Hazel St Clare Oliver LRX/146/2007 [links to PDF] This is a case which touches on an issue familiar to those involved with right to buy leases: replacement of windows by the landlord. The landlord council wished to replace metal...
Harvey v Bamforth – request for further information
Harvey v Bamforth, Sheffield County Court, Estates Gazette, 23 Aug, 2008, pg 22. The introduction of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme ("TDS") was one of the more positive reforms to housing law in recent years. It has previously been discussed by NL here and here,...
Pre-emptive possession orders
Secretary of State for the Environment Food & Rural Affairs v Meier & Ors [2008] EWCA Civ 903 was a case concerning travellers encamped on Forestry Commission land. Some of the travellers had previously camped on a nearby patch of Forestry Commission...
Having regard…
M & M Savant Limited v Brown and others LRX/26/2006 It is a shame that this case was decided in 2008, and not in 1998 when it would have had a much greater relevance. It contains a comprehensive analysis of s.20 Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 prior to the...
So what
Seven and a half years on, the Law Commission has now completed its work on the reform of housing law with the publication of its final report, Housing: Encouraging Responsible Letting. The Consultation Paper, on which this report is based, voted in favour...
Why are we waiting?
Now that it's the silly season and there's not much happening out there, there's an opportunity to reflect on what's not happening with the Code of Guidance on Choice-Based Lettings, or more accurately, why it hasn't been issued. Is CLG on the naughty step?...
Surely your best point is…
Swanlane Estates Ltd v Woods and others LRX/159/2007 (.pdf) This case concerns the not uncommon situation of a court or tribunal (in this case, a Leasehold Valuation Tribunal) taking a point which the applicant / claimant had not expressly pleaded and the...
Nearly Legal 2.0
Having posed some questions about this blog's future a couple of weeks ago, I am delighted to be able to announce the next stage for Nearly Legal. First and most importantly, you will notice case notes, news and opinion pieces by other people appearing from...