I meant to post about this one a month ago but got sidetracked. A case for any civil legal aid people to note. Funding Certificates are means-tested. Funding issued by practioners under devloved powers can be and is yanked by the Legal Services Commission if...
Brownfields to Brown homes?
I've been adopting a wait and see approach to the Brown government, but if this report in the Observer is true, it is most certainly a good thing. Councils are apparently to be permitted to build more housing stock and possibly have rent income released back...
Publawyer on public function
Just a quick note that Publawyer has posted an excellent discussion of YL v Birmingham and the broader impact on thinking about functional public authorities for the purposes of the Human Rights Act. Sure, it's a bit late, but he's been away. It makes a good...
The horse's mouth
I was delighted to see some comments from members of the Community Law Partnership on this blog today, adding to my notes on some of their Court of Appeal cases. The comments are detailed and very helpful, adding a lot to my scanty commentary, so, for the...
Be good to your mother
So, Denton v London Borough of Southwark [2007] EWCA Civ 623. This won't take long, as the case rests almost entirely on its own facts. Applicant, a 21 year old male, applied as homeless after being thrown out by his mother. First decision, upheld on review,...
Shala v Birmingham City Council
How did I miss this one in the Court of Appeal lists? I swear it didn't appear in the Bailii list of recent judgments for 27 June 2007. Shala v Birmingham City Council [2007] EWCA Civ 624 This is a very significant decision on Local Authorities' use of...
Gilby v City of Westminster
A Court of Appeal homeless case, Gilby v City of Westminster [2007] EWCA Civ 604 was handed down on 27 June, but I've been a bit slow to note it, partly because I've been busy and partly because, frankly, it is a bit of a meh of a case. Still, it is a Court...
YL v Birmingham City Council and others
I haven't had a chance to look at the judgment in full (YL (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) (FC) (Appellant) v. Birmingham City Council and others [2007] UKHL 27), but the House of Lords has today decided 3 to 2 (Lord Bingham and Lady Hale...
Waxed Moustaches
I caught someone from the National Citizens Advice Bureau on BBC Breakfast this morning, commenting on a CAB report on the large number of people in private rented properties in bad condition who are promptly evicted if they complain or do anything about the...
Housing Duty – stating the obvious
For once, Birmingham was on the winning side of an entirely predictable Court of Appeal judgment on homelessness law. Omar -v- Birmingham City Council 2007. (7 June 2007. Times Report. Not yet freely available elsewhere) Birmingham had discharged duty to the...
Trouble with tenses
I'm drafting an application and order for the variation of a suspended possession order and revival of secure tenancy under s.85 Housing Act. If the application is successful, the resulting order will immediately cease to have effect because someone else...
EU citizens and social housing
Head of Legal had an interesting post in response to my post on Hodge's outburst (the ramifications of which rumble on, including the BNP noting gratefully that they win whether the ideas become policy or if they are not carried through. Unfortunately true....