MHCLG has published a new 'How to Rent Guide' today, 10 December 2020. I've added it to the archive. As a reminder, for any post 1 October 2015 assured shorthold tenancy, or 'renewal' tenancy (where the guide as been updated), the tenant must be provider...
Rent Repayment Orders – the Upper Tribunal is firm
Chan v Bilkhu & Anor (HOUSING - RENT REPAYMENT ORDER - amount awarded) (2020) UKUT 289 (LC) This was an appeal from an FTT rent repayment order decision. The FTT decision was made before the Upper Tribunal decision in Vadamalayan v Stewart and others...
Rent arrears and RROs.
Awad v Hooley CHI/21UD/HMG/2020/0003 5 August 2020 (link to PDF) This is a First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decision on an application for a Rent Repayment Order (RRO), which unusually deals with the issue of the tenant's rent arrears. Ms Awad was the...
Is a Section 8 notice on rent arrears a demand for rent?
I kindly been sent a couple of county court Circuit Judge decisions on the issue of whether section 8 notices (where the ground is rent arrears) have to comply with the requirements of section 47 Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 by the inclusion of the...
Rent Repayment Orders, criminal standard, and new evidence on appeal
Salva v Singh-Potiwal (HOUSING - HOUSE IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION) [2019] UKUT 307 (LC) This was the appeal of a First Tier Tribunal decision on Ms Salva's application for a rent repayment order. Ms Salva has a tenancy of a room in a property owned by Mr...
Property Guardians and Rent Repayment Orders
Oxley v Live in Guardians Limited LON/00BG/HMF/2019/0037 Thanks to Flat Justice (who represented the applicant) for news of this First Tier Tribunal decision. Ms Oxley occupied a room and shared communal space at a property that was formerly industrial...
Après nous le déluge – rents and water resellers
Royal Borough of Kingston-Upon-Thames v Moss (2019) EWHC 3261 (Ch) Ever since Jones v London Borough of Southwark (2016) EWHC 457 (Ch) (our report), the position on water rates taken as rent by a number of London Councils and Housing Associations under...
Rent payments, unless orders and relief from sanction
This is not really a housing case, being a commercial lease dispute, but there are a couple of points about relief from sanction and rent payments that are worthy of noting. Michael v Lillitos (2019) EWHC 2716 (QB) An appeal from a County Court decision on...
Rent Repayment Orders, limitation and award periods.
This is worth a quick note from some comments and questions I have received after this post on a Rent Repayment Order (RRO). The issue is about the meaning of the requirement that an application for an RRO is brought within 12 months of a relevant offence....
Rent Repayment Orders – who is the landlord?
Our grateful thanks to Alasdair McClenahan of Justice for Tenants for a copy of this decision and his notes. Mrs Elanga Longane et al v Frank Mukahanana and Wealth Harbour Consulting Ltd LON/00AH/HMG/2018/0002 (Copy of decision) This FTT decision on a rent...
The heavens rejoice – Sale and rent back and proprietary estoppel
Sahota v Prior & Anor (2019) EWHC 1418 (Ch) Just a short note, but worth it, because every angel in heaven sings when a 'sale and rent back' set up comes to grief Briefly, Mr & Mrs Prior bought their home 35 years ago. At some point, they got into...
How to rent guides – sneak updates
Many thanks to Rich Greenhill (@RichGreenhill ) for spotting this. The last official update to the MHCLG 'How to Rent' Guide was on 31 May 2019, to take into account the Tenant Fees Act 2019. However, since then, there have been two further changes to the...