The ramifications of Jones v London Borough of Southwark (2016) EWHC 457 (Ch) (our report) rumble on. Following the finding that Southwark were a water reseller for the purposes of The Water Resale Order 2006 in adding water rates to the tenants' rent, it is...
Rent increases and rent lawfully due
This is a guest post by Prof. Ian Loveland of Arden Chambers, first published in Legal Action June 2016, and gratefully posted here with permission. A few years ago now, I was instructed by Luton Law Centre in a series of possession cases brought by BPHA (a...
On having a petard and being hoist by it
Toogood v McCourt and others Medway County Court, 6 November 2015 Mr Toogood is a landlord of some 200 properties and runs the Student Lettings Agency in Canterbury. The Defendants were the parents (and guarantors) of three students of five who had had...
Asked, but not necessarily answered
After the excitements of Kay v UK, the LSC Judicial Review and the coming into force of (bits) of the Equalities Act - on which we will have a post shortly - there is a bit of a lull before the floods of new housing case law start up again. So, time for...
Suspended Possession Orders and Insolvency: with benefit of transcript
And as if by magic (thanks J) we have a transcript for the permission hearing judgment in Godfrey v A2 Dominion [2010] EWCA Civ 941, following our earlier note here. Brief facts - the assured tenant ran up rent arrears. A2 began possession proceedings....
Bankruptcy and possession – permission granted
North British Housing v Sharples [2010] EWCA Civ 539 [Not on Bailii or Lawtel] This is the second permission to appeal hearing on this topic that we have reported recently, after Godfrey v A2 Dominion (on which we are still seeking more detail). Sadly the...
Suspended possession orders and insolvency: request for info
We've been told that on 29 July 2010, the tenant appellant in Godfrey v A2 Dominion North Ltd was granted permission to appeal. Quite what permission has been given is less clear - our source says Court of Appeal, but the case was elsewhere listed as being...
Rent arrears management – boring title, excellent report
Is it too much to hope that - finally - the Government might take steps to ameliorate and / or prevent the use of Ground 8? During the passage of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008, the Government gave a commitment to look again at the use of inter alia,...
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear
We all knew that Lambeth Housing was in a bit of a self imposed mess, and this is an outline of what it amounts to. I'm not going to add much in the way of comment, but anyone who acts on occasion for Lambeth tenants or leaseholders or homeless applicants...
Discretionary Housing Payments
R (Gargett) v LB Lambeth [2008] EWCA Civ 1450; on appeal from [2008] EWHC 663 (Admin). A Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) is a discretionary payment made by a local housing authority to a person who is (a) in receipt of housing benefit or council tax...
On the Naughty Step
Very firmly esconsed on the step are Sutton Estates, managing agents on Merseyside. These charmers came up with the idea of putting notice boards outside the homes of tenants in rent arrears, proclaiming it to be the home of a 'rent dodger'. Sutton Estates...
Public funding and rent payable
I meant to post about this one a month ago but got sidetracked. A case for any civil legal aid people to note. Funding Certificates are means-tested. Funding issued by practioners under devloved powers can be and is yanked by the Legal Services Commission if...