I see that the Master of the Rolls has just issued a practice direction in respect of (what appears to be) many tens (if not hundreds?) of negligence claims arising out of RTB sales (see here). Reading between the lines, a firm called Tandem Law (see here)...
A Less Beneficial Interest
Thompson v Hurst [2012] EWCA Civ 1752 This is a rather fact specific case which shows application of the principles of Stack v Dowden and Kernott v Jones. Our report on Kernott which covers the whole debate is here. Background H was the tenant of a local...
Glad To See Y’Back Again?
Gladysheva v Russia (App. No. 7097/10) Courtesy of the always excellent ECHR blog, comes an interesting Strasbourg decision, particularly in relation to the question of just satisfaction. It has, regrettably, taken me ages to write this up. Any students who...
Laying the foundations (2): RTB
Push the bad news out just before Christmas seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb. Our previous post on the housing strategy, Laying the Foundations, led to a number of comments about the right to buy proposals in that document, which were all pretty...
You’re ‘avin’ a giraffe
Francis v LB Southwark [2011] EWCA Civ 1418 This was a brave attempt to try and get something out a local authority’s mistaken denial of a right to buy application, but it was not one which the Court of Appeal had any truck with. Mr Francis was a tenant of...
Not quite a right to buy
Fineland Investments Ltd v Janice Vivien Pritchard [2011] EWHC 113 (Ch) From Lawtel. Not on BAILII yet. This is a slightly sad tale involving the exercise of right to buy by a council tenant. Ms Pritchard had entered into an agreement with Fineland whereby...
“Could have gone better” corner
Just a brief note on a couple of tangentially housing-related cases, both of which serve as illustrations of how not to go about things as claimants and in one case, as a defendant as well. A little cruel, perhaps, as to be human is to err, but the oops...
Con-Dem housing reform plans
Cameron and Shapps have trailed a consultation paper to be published as early as tomorrow with a "plan to end lifetime council tenancies" (Inside Housing and The Guardian) and a "home swap scheme to help tenants move" (Today Programme and Inside Housing)...
Lets All Move to….Wales*
A small victory for the Welsh Assembly this week. They had been trying to get a Legislative Competence Order past Westminster to transfer a series of powers relating to social housing. This was lost in the sweeping up week prior to the dissolution of...
How binding is a s.125 notice?
Nessa v London Borough of Tower Hamlets [2010] EWCA Civ 559 This is an interesting appeal on the issue of the amendment or replacement of a S.125 Housing Act 1985 notice offering the right to buy at a specified price. The actual case itself is not...
Shake your windows
Craighead v Homes for Islington & LB Islington [2010] UKUT 47 (LC) is a decision of Andrew Trott in the Upper Tribunal on an appeal from the LVT. 21 leaseholders faced bills of £30-40,000 for service charges between 2006 and 2008 relating to "external...
Self Insurance and Right to Buy leases
Mihovilovic v Leicester CC [2010] UKUT 22 (LC) Another Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) case. This was an appeal by the leaseholders of an LVT decision in respect of service and major works charges levied by Leicester City Council, the freeholder. There were...