A case is reported in the Guardian which apparently extends local authorities' duty to protect tenants from third parties to include vulnerable adults, not only children. A couple, both with learning difficulties, were terrorised in their flat by a group of...
When does enforceability end?
Or, to be precise, when does a Suspended Possession Order for rent arrears cease to be enforceable? In broad terms, the answer is clear - when all sums due under the order have been paid off. But when is that? After Marshall v Bradford MC, it is vital for a...
Hey, you asked 2
More brief but hopefully helpful replies to the civil litigation and housing questions that brought searchers to Nearly Legal. As ever, nothing of what follows should be taken as legal advice and no action should be taken without obtaining full legal advice....
Hodge woz wrong – official
It may have taken nearly a year after Margaret Hodge's 'they come over here taking our housing' outburst, but it turns out that she was wrong (and I was right, so there). The early findings of a major survey into social housing allocation ordered by the...
Discretionary Housing Payments
A short note on Gargett, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Lambeth [2008] EWHC 663 (Admin) which was an application for Judicial Review on Discretionary Housing Payments. The applicant had applied for a DHP to cover rent arrears, being at risk of...
Non-secure tenants
Just a quick comment on Westminster CC v Boraliu [2008] EWCA Civ 1339, which is not on Bailii yet. I was alerted by Housing View at Sweet & Maxwell. This was Court of Appeal decision on the effect of Schedule 1, Housing Act 1985 on exclusions from...
Post mortem revival of tenancy
This is an interesting case that I missed when it came out on Bailii a couple of months ago. It has just been mentioned in Legal Action, so I went to have a look. Austin v London Borough of Southwark [2007] EWHC 355 (QB) concerned an attempt to revive a...
Friday News round-up
The debate on the Housing and Regeneration Bill on 31 March saw clauses on both Ground 8 Possession and tolerated trespassers put forward by the Government. Clause 9 appears to stop RSLs using ground 8 at all and to introduce a reasonableness defence in...
Allocation Judicial Review 2
This is the second of the two judicial reviews of Southwark's allocation scheme and arguably the more significant of the two. (The first case is in the previous post.) R(Faarah) v Southwark LBC [2008] EWHC 529 (Admin) concerned Southwark's managment of the...
Allocation Judicial Review 1
I've been waiting to post on the outcome of two judicial reviews of Southwark's allocation scheme for a while, hoping they would appear on BAILII. They haven't, but Garden Court have briefly set out the cases in their 24 March bulletin. So, here is the first...
HLPA almost live.
As an experiment, nearly live blogging from the HLPA AGM fell foul of having my mobile turned off. So this is 'on the way home from HLPA' blogging instead. Useful talks on Housing Benefit, particularly on the new Local Housing Allowance, in force from 7...
Nothing for the weekend
It is about time for a break - 13 detailed posts in the last two weeks, coupled with a frantic time at work, has left me lacking oomph, as devoid of oomph as an omphless thing on a bad day. So there will be nothing more here until after the holiday weekend....