The post on Caridon Property Ltd v Monty Shooltz (gas safety cert and s.21) now has the approved transcript of judgment attached, which may be useful for anyone arguing such cases. The section 21 validity flowchart wasn’t updated to include Caridon v Shootlz, but – making a rod for my own back – it will […]
Category Archives: Regulation and planning
Property guardians and ‘non-domestic rates’
This is an interesting decision of the Valuation Tribunal on the effect of the occupation by property guardians of a commercial building. Some (though not all) property guardian companies have made a sales feature of the alleged freedom from non-domestic (commercial) rates for a building occupied by guardians, on the basis that it is occupied […]
Mobile home security
In John Romans Park Homes Ltd v Hancock [2018] UKUT 249 (LC), Martin Rodger QC, Deputy President of the Upper Tribunal, made an interesting, tricky, but important distinction concerning the criteria for when a park provides security for a mobile home. Mobile home security is dependent on whether the park is a “protected site”: Mobile Homes […]
Still more on 1 October – HMOs, storeys and rooms.
I thought we’d already covered this, but it turns out we haven’t fully. So, from 1 October 2018, the definition of a HMO subject to mandatory licensing changes, and separately there are new room size requirements. The Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Prescribed Description)(England) Order 2018 removes the requirement that a licensable HMO must […]
Service not included.
The Queen on the application of Mr Peter Gaskin v LB Richmond Upon Thames (2018) EWHC 1996 (Admin) We didn’t report round 1 of this, probably because it was so completely inconclusive, but here is round 2 and a decision that will very significant for every Local Authority landlord/letting licensing scheme. The issue was the upfront […]
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 whole housing sector – social and private landlord, letting agents, tenants and buyers of new build properties. Even, it […]
Breaching licensing and proceeds of crime
(Our thanks to Spencer Turner for this guest post) Brent Council v Shah and Others, unreported 29 January 2018 (Crown Ct (Harrow)) The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’) has been successfully used by Brent Council against landlords for breach of licencing conditions. Background The Defendants were prosecuted by Brent London Borough Council for various […]
Fewer floors for HMOs and minimum room sizes.
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 of the property (previously the property had to be of three […]
Re-classifying housing associations
Slightly under the radar (possibly), but of enormous significance, the ONS has re-classified housing associations (or private registered providers of social housing – in the new language which I can’t get used to) as private sector, and in so doing has wiped around £60billion off the public sector debt. It is this re-classification which has given […]
Closing the Gaps – the failure of the law on health & safety at home
Three months ago we wrote about a research project and report on housing and health and safety law being carried out for Shelter by legal academics from the Universities of Kent and Bristol. Now the report has been completed. The report is here and summary here. It is a fine piece of work, highlighting with […]
