Rother DC v Freeman-Loach [2018] EWCA Civ 368 is the latest installment on the interpretation of vulnerability for the purposes of homelessness law, with a sting in the tail about s 204A appeals. Mr Freeman-Loach suffered from ostoarthritis, anxiety and...
Deposits – don’t mislead about compliance. And the multiple breach issue
(14/11/2019 NB, this post has been edited following a complaint from Mr Scott, details of which will be set out below) Thank you to my colleague and fount of wisdom Deirdre Forster for this case note on a tenancy deposit claim. Howard Davies v Scott, County...
On a Housing Court and (not) making things simpler.
A specialist Housing Court is in the air. Sajid Javid, Minister for Housing. Communities and Local Government, has repeatedly mentioned 'discussions' with the judiciary on a housing court, ever since the last Tory conference in October. There has been no...
How late it was, how late
On the death of a tenant (without successor, if there is a possible succession) section 18 Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1994 provides: “Notices affecting land: service on personal representatives before filing of grant. (1) A notice...
Bits and pieces
Yes, I know we still need to write up Rother District Council v Freeman-Roach (2018) EWCA Civ 368 on the approach to 'significantly more vulnerable' in homeless review decisions, and we will, we will. And there are other cases too. I also want to write...
Possession and section 11, Children Act 2004
In Davies v Hertfordshire CC [2018] EWCA Civ 379, the Court of Appeal addressed the question of the relevance of s 11, Children Act 2004 on a mandatory possession claim brought by Herts against Mr Davies, a former school caretaker living in tied...
Promises, promises: Estoppel in the West Country
As we University academics are currently on strike (pension cuts - see today's report and this Guardian article), I can catch up on a little blogging as a form of "teaching out". While Bristol Combined Court was flooded, HHJ Matthews, an academic judge,...
Oh the Humanity!
'Humanity Torbay' is apparently a charitable incorporated organisation, and one that has worthy, if semi literate, aims. So it would be a little surprising to find Humanity Torbay being described as vigilantes by the local council and told to stop their...
‘No DSS’ and discrimination
The BBC ran a new report today on a case in Birmingham. The headline - "Landlords who say 'no DSS' breaking equality laws" - was, as we shall see, somewhat misleading, but the report did indeed cover a discrimination claim against a letting agency who had...
There can be only one!
The MHCLG have announced a consultation 'Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market', which primarily about reviewing and reforming Ombudsman schemes in the housing sector, with the proposal floated for a single Ombudsman/redress scheme across the...
‘Can’t Pay..’ will have to pay.
Ali and Aslam v Channel 5 Broadcast Ltd (2018) EWHC 298 (Ch) I won't go into detail - do read the judgment for the oddest mashup of housing law, media law and privacy law we have encountered (so far) - but suffice it to say that a husband and wife evicted by...
Homelessness Reduction Act Code of Guidance (mostly) out
MHCLG has published the Statutory Code of Guidance for the implementation of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017, with just over a month to go until it is in force (3 April 2018). 25 chapters and one annex are here (with no downloadable version in evidence...