Nottingham City Council v Parr & Anor [2018] UKSC 51 It is not every day you see the Supreme Court setting HMO licence conditions, but today is that day. This was Nottingham’s appeal from the Court of Appeal (and before that, the Upper Tribunal, and the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber)) on the issue of […]
Tag Archives: HMO
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 […]
Forthcoming law (and informed consent)
The Tenant Fees Bill has had its second reading. The current Bill and its progress are here. There is a lot to digest in the Bill and I suspect there will be amendments on route. There are a whole new range of civil penalties, possible offences and restrictions on service of a section 21 forthcoming. Meanwhile, […]
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 […]
On the naughty step – Physician heal thyself edition
If Nearly Legal has a mantra, it is this: “Everyone should have a housing lawyer with them at all times”. Or, at the bare minimum, a landlord and tenant lawyer. We had taken the reasonableness of this to be self-evident. However, it seems even this basic safety net might not be enough. Meet Lewis Perry, […]
Property Guardians & tangled webs (Camelot. Again)
There is a bit of a thing unfolding in Bristol involving property guardians, Bristol City Council and Camelot, one of the larger property guardian firms, upon whom we have had cause to remark upon several times in the past. Several former nursing homes, owned by the Council, were standing empty. The Council went with Camelot to […]
PRS enforcement corner
Three items relating to PRS licensing/HMO regulations and property management enforcement, with some added harassment of tenants thrown in. Thanks to Dean Underwood at Cornerstone for news of this Magistrates Court case. London Borough of Waltham Forest v Tuitt 11 November 2016 Mr T owns the freehold of a mid terrace house, converted into 4 […]
Cities behaving badly and other bits
A remarkable note on the Community Law Partnership site sets out what may possibly amount to a mass unlawful eviction of secure tenants by Birmingham City Council. Birmingham CC have been using High Court Sheriffs for evicting secure tenants after a possession order. This is often quicker than county court bailiffs and importantly, there is […]
You Didn’t Tell Me or How Ignorance of the Law is no Defence
Thanet DC v Grant LTL 2/11/2015 EXTEMPORE (only on Lawtel) This case deals with a small point relating to HMO licensing and prosecutions. It is only on Lawtel as an extempore judgement but is a pretty clear statement of the law. When making an HMO licensing designation there is a duty under s83 of the […]
