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CN & Anor v Poole Borough Council (2017) EWCA Civ 2185 What, if any, duty is owed by a local authority to children to protect them from abuse and harassment by neighbours? This court of appeal decision suggests none in negligence. CN and GN lived with...
I was going to do the usual roundup of the year post, but frankly, it was all too depressing. You all know what has happened, hasn't happened and ought to have happened. About that best that can be said is that the awful bits of the Housing And Planning Act...
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council v RH and Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2017) UKUT 471 (AAC) A very interesting (and perhaps surprising) Upper Tribunal 3 judge decision on the issue of 'what is a bedroom' for the purposes of Housing Benefit...
The Housing Minister, Alok Sharma, has confirmed that the Government will be going ahead with its proposals to change the conditions for a mandatory license for HMOs to any property with 5 or more occupants in 2 or more households, regardless of the layout...
In an interview in the Independent, Jeremy Corbyn has apparently announced that it will be Labour policy to end 'no fault' private sector evictions: Asked whether abolishing the “no fault” evictions would be part of the next Labour manifesto, he replied:...
JKMK Consultancy Ltd v Goldie Properties Ltd, QBD, 18 December 2017 (Note on lawtel, otherwise unreported) The run up to Christmas in any housing practice is usually awash with interim injunction threats and preparation. Lack of heating, hot water,...
In a week of depressing, worrying news on homelessness - of which more below - there were at least two bits of good news. First, in Gureckis, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2017] EWHC 3298 (Admin) the Government's...
A Local Government Ombudsman Report on the actions of Maidstone Borough Council towards a homeless household makes for depressing reading. Both for the actions (and inactions) of the Council and for what it lays bare about the attitude to the homeless. Mr...
Whilst winding my way home this evening, I chanced across a piece from Inside Housing in which is was reported that the Secretary of State, (Sajid Javid) had suggested that private freeholders should pick up the costs associated with fire-safety works and...
A couple of quick notes on forfeiture of leases. Cheerupmate2 Ltd v Calce (2017) UKUT 377 (TCC) Forfeiture for ground rent arrears was not valid because: a) The wrong notice under s.166 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 had been served. The notice was...
London Borough of Haringey v Ahmed & Anor (2017) EWCA Civ 1861 This was Haringey's appeal of a High Court decision dismissing Haringey's claim for possession against Ms Ahmed (our report here). A factual precis is that in 1988 two tenancy agreements...
Under section 20B(1) Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, a service charge must be demanded of the tenant within 18 months of the relevant cost having been incurred by the landlord. But what happens when there is a head landlord demanding a charge from an...