The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016 have (finally) been made to come into force on 30 October 2016. These sort out the anomaly highlighted in Romans v Southwark LBC and SSDCLG and Alabi v SSDCLG...
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot
Property guardian companies. Just when you think that most of the firms involved have managed some form of legality around their possession and eviction practices, they go and disappoint you. Way back in 2012, we noted the widespread failure of property...
Vulnerability, ‘significantly’ and equality duties
S Butt v London Borough of Hackney. County Court at Central London. 22 February 2016 (PDF of judgment) This was another in a number of county court judgments on section 204 Housing Act 1996 appeals which turned on the question of vulnerability after the...
‘Solicitor’s agents’ and rights of audience again
We had a look at this issue many years ago, and now, with thanks to Gordon Exall at Civil Litigation Brief, there is information on a county court case on the point. This is of significance, and potential use, as the appearance of 'solicitor's agents' for...
Right to be Forgotten?
When does temporary accommodation become settled so as to break the chain of causation of intentional homelessness? The appeal in Huda v LB Redbridge [2016] EWCA Civ 709 concerned a homeless applicant and his family, who were effectively forgotten about by...
Short term lets and private residences
Nemcova v Fairfield Rents Ltd [2016] UKUT 303 (LC) We've seen a First Tier Tribunal case on breach of lease by use of the property for short term lets through Airbnb. Here the Upper Tribunal weighs in on the significance of lease covenants for short term...
Circumstances and consequences. Accommodation pending appeal.
Our thanks to Garden Court chambers and Justine Compton for their note of this case. Where a homeless application has requested a s.202 review of the local authority's decision on duty, the authority has a power, but not an obligation to provide temporary...
A compendium of vulnerability cases
Following on from our post on Mohammed v Southwark LBC, here are notes on a further three appeals to the County Court under section 204 Housing Act 1996, all related to decisions on priority need (or lack of it) through vulnerability. Ward v LB Haringey....
Weekend Miscellaneous
Various bits and pieces on subletting and homelessness. (Edited 15 September 2016 This post originally went into detail about an article on Property 118 setting out a Rent to Rent arrangement where the rent to rent tenant would have an assured shorthold...
Perversity in Brent
Our thanks to Garden Court Chambers, Hackney Law Centre and Liz Davies for their note of this case. Cieicierska v Brent LBC. Central London County Court, 5 September 2016. Ms C, a single parent with 3 children, was owed the full housing duty by Brent and was...
Please sir, can I have some more?
This is really a costs issue, though it was on a leasehold disrepair claim. A county court decision, so not binding, but as we'll see, consonant with a High Court decision and on an issue on which there appears to be some debate. This was an application...
The agreements that weren’t
Publity AG v Chesterhill Properties Ltd [2016] EWHC 1994 (Ch) (Not on Bailii. Judgment on Lawtel) Every now and again there is a reminder of the problems of a contractual tenancy. In this case, the difficulties involved a deposit of £52,000 and a weekly rent...