Herefordshire Council v Rohde 2016 UKUT 039 (LC) The power for a local authority to make an HMO declaration under s255, Housing Act 2004 is not commonly used. This power arises where a property appears to be an HMO in all respects save that it is not being...
Promises, promises
A sad county court case that raises questions over the way in which some housing associations approach ground 8 possession claims and evictions. Christian Action (Enfield) Housing Association Ltd v L Walters, Edmonton County Court, 7 December 2015 (Not...
Help the aged*
Retirement housing issues aren't something we cover much on NL, but in late December 2015, there were two interesting** developments. By way of background, many retirement properties/retirement villages sell the flats/bungalows/dwellings on long leases....
A scandal unfolds: High Court enforcement again
Since our previous post on this topic, it has become apparent that there are significant and widespread issues with evictions of tenants by High Court writ, specifically by some High Court Enforcement Officer firms. In our last post, we dealt with the issue...
You don’t know what you’re doing
January 5, 2016, sees the Housing and Planning Bill return to the House of Commons for the Report stage (if you want to read about how the Committee stage went, the excellent House of Commons library analysis is here and our comments are here). Now, as...
Mortgage possession and disability discrimination
Southern Pacific Mortgage Ltd v V [2015] EW Misc B42 (CC) (19 November 2015) This is county court case, but a very interesting one on the issue of disability discrimination in mortgage possession proceedings. Ms V had a £96,000 repayment mortgage from...
Just walk away (beforehand)
A very belated (and brief) note on Arnold v Britton & Ors [2015] UKSC 36, as I have just realised we didn't cover it. A shameful omission. Our note on the Court of Appeal decision is here. Briefly, the issue was that lease clauses for some (but not all)...
Forthcoming Attractions
Happy new year, if at all possible. Some things to await - if not necessarily look forward to - in 2016 (mostly in England). January Possibly will see the Supreme Court judgment in Samin v Westminster CC on EU eligibility for housing. Heard in March 2015....
Fugit inreparabile tempus*
As 2015 comes to a dark, stormy close, with the roof making ominous noises and the sofa surrounded by sandbags, it is with a grim inevitability that we come to the 'end of year post'. The end of the year may customarily reek of gin and regrets, a time of...
Clarity and contractual costs in leases
Geyfords Ltd v O'Sullivan & Ors [2015] UKUT 683 (LC) The issue of the recovery of lessors' costs of county court and/or Tribunal proceedings from lessees under the service charge has been a hot topic of late. And it seems that there is something of a...
Freeholders behaving badly and FTT managers
Queensbridge Investments Limited v Lodge & Ors [2015] UKUT 635 (LC) There was quite a simple question at issue in this Upper Tribunal (Land Chamber) appeal - could the FTT appoint a manager to the whole of a building which contained a leased commercial...
Discretion, lip service and s188(3)
Barrett, R (On the Application Of) v City of Westminster Council [2015] EWHC 2515 (Admin) We're very late with this one for reasons which are no doubt entirely reasonable, but currently escape me. A judicial review of a refusal (or repeated refusal) to...