It ain’t what you do, but the way that you do it – property guardians...
(1) Camelot Property Management Ltd, (2) Camelot Guardian Management Ltd v Greg Roynon. County Court at Bristol, 24 February 2017 (copy of Judgment) We’ve noted the issues bubbling away between Camelot...
View Article“Perverse Incentives”
Osman, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Harrow (2017) EWHC 274 (Admin) A challenge to Harrow’s allocation policy, specifically on the ‘downgrading’ of allocation priority for overcrowded...
View ArticleErratum – s.21 flowchart
I am surprised it had not happened sooner, because there had to be some, but today someone spotted an error in the section 21 notice flowchart – specifically in the end-note about s.21(4)(a) notices...
View ArticleAndy Gale, misuse and me. FAO housing options officers
I didn’t want to have to write this, but sadly I have to, to protect my and our own position here on NL. Because Andy Gale (known to many in homelessness services) and Locata Housing Services have made...
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Water and youth
Not, I hasten to make clear, a Daily Mail style piece on the health giving properties of drinking expensive water, but a couple of quick notes. First, a Southwark rent arrears possession case,...
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Aesthetics, unlawful kitchens and warehousing bus drivers
A triplet of brief notes. Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring won a judicial review of the Magistrates and Crown Court decisions upholding RB Kensington & Chelsea’s Notice under s.215 Town and County...
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One Million Pounds!
Diaz v Karim [2017] EWHC 595 (QB) The schedule of special damages – never straightforward. The belongings that had to be thrown out, or were taken and not returned. The difficulty in evidencing them,...
View ArticleWarrant on Suspended order – What do you think?
Following the judgment in Cardiff City Council v Lee (2016) EWCA Civ 1034 (our report) and the subsequent appearance of new forms, at least for rent arrears suspended possession order cases, the Civil...
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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...
View ArticleSubletting and defamation – a novel approach
There is a queue of significant and serious cases waiting to be written up. For time and personal reasons, this may not happen for a while. Instead, here is an insignificant case of no wider...
View ArticleFitness for Habitation 2.0 – Q&A and call to arms
If you haven’t already heard, Karen Buck MP got fourth place in the 2017 ballot for private members bills. And she has taken this opportunity to bring forward a new version of the ‘Fitness for...
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Hide and Seek with Justice – A Rant
(Updated 26/10/2017 – at the bottom) Access to justice is one thing. Actually being able to find it another. This is the sorry, sad, truly pathetic tale of the fall out of the closure of Lambeth County...
View ArticleDeposits, Lies and Unlawful Evictions
Zeeshan v Mahmood, County Court at Manchester, 27 October 2017. (Our grateful thanks to Amy Tagoe of Stephensons Solicitors for the following note of this unlawful eviction case) The Claimants were the...
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‘I’m not racist, I just won’t let to them’. Fergus Wilson meets the Equality Act
Fergus Wilson (for it is he) has managed to cap such highlights of a landlording career as being convicted of assaulting his letting agent, and evicting tenants (including single mothers or ‘battered...
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Universal Credit – here comes the homelessness
Social landlords have been panicking about Universal Credit for a bit, particularly those with experience in the pilot areas. But private landlords have been panicking too, and their panic takes a...
View ArticleTime to contact your MP – Homes Fit For Habitation
As I may have reminded you once or twice already (and no doubt will again), the second reading of Karen Buck MP’s Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation and Liability for Housing Standards) Bill is on 19...
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Accelerated but longer
HMCTS have released a new N5B claim form – the claim form for accelerated possession proceedings after service of a section 21 notice. The new form (finally?!) takes into account all of the post 1...
View ArticleDoing the same thing all over again
Walcott v Jones & Jones. Central London County Court, 15 November 2017 (Not on Bailii. A note on Lawtel) A county court appeal, on an issue that quite a few (though mostly not practitioners) have...
View ArticleCat amongst the pigeons
In an interview in the Independent, Jeremy Corbyn has apparently announced that it will be Labour policy to end ‘no fault’ private sector evictions: Asked whether abolishing the “no fault” evictions...
View ArticleFewer 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...
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