Feed: Nearly Legal - AggScore: 67.0

Successful gateway (b) defence!

London Borough of Southwark v Hyacienth 22.12.2011 is that incredibly rare, beautiful thing: a successful gateway (b) defence to a mandatory possession claim in relation to an introductory tenancy.  At least, I think it is: unfortunately, it’s not clear whether it is a successful proportionality defence, and the circuit judge (who shall remain nameless as a result) also confuses gateway (a) and (b).  [The relationship between proportionality and gateway (b) seems to me to be an interesting question and one which I've had a bit of a battle with an anonymous academic reviewer about, but that's another story].  But, so what; and thanks to David Thomas, Ms Hyacienth’s solicitor, for … Read the full post

R (R) v Croydon LBC – A call for information

In R. (R) v Croydon LBC, February 10, 2012, Administrative Court [not on bailii - taken from a lawtel note] the Administrative Court was asked to determine whether the applicant was a former relevant child for the purposes of s.23C Children Act 1989.

The applicant was an Afghan national. Upon arriving in the UK he made an asylum application and claimed he was 15 years old. The UK Border Agency did not accept that was his age and referrred him to Croydon for their social services department to carry out an assessment as to his age. Croydon, after assessining the applicant, decided he wasn’t 15 and that he was in … Read the full post

Sale and Rent Back: Closed down!

Many of us believed that once the FSA got its teeth into the sale and rentback market, it would be cleaned up and become effectively a residual (perhaps forgotten) backwater of the impact of debt on home owners.  Unregulated transactions have given rise to complicated issues of property law as a result of the unfortunate ways in which the transactions progressed and which have (so far) been decided against the seller/renters.  But surely the regulated market would be clean and proper.  Not so: the FSA has completed its review of the market and effectively shut it down.  Its findings make for grim reading and regulated sales look likely to … Read the full post

Job Ad

Housing paralegal vacancy

Wainwright Cummins LLP are recruiting for an experienced housing paralegal (with a view to a training contract for the right individual) to work in our social housing team.

Our housing team are members of the Housing Law Practitioners’ Association and have been recognised as a ‘leading practice team’ for our social housing tenant work in the recent edition of the ‘Legal 500’. We advise tenants on all aspects of housing law and endeavour to provide a high quality service striving to ensure clients achieve the best possible outcome possible in their cases.

We are referred many of our clients through community and voluntary advice organisations and frequently … Read the full post

Job Ad

Tower Hamlets Law Centre

Tower Hamlets Law Centre is seeking both a permanent Housing Supervisor and a Housing Caseworker (6 months fixed-term) for its busy office in Whitechapel.

The closing date for applications is Monday, 20 February 2012 at 9am. Details and application materials can be found at the Law Centres site at:

Caseworker

Supervisor… Read the full post

HB and necessaries

Wychavon DC v EM  is a double decision, so to speak, by Judge Mark on a housing benefit matter, with broader implications regarding incapacity.  In essence, EM is profoundly disabled (mentally and physically).  Her parents moved her from a care home, with the support of Worcestershire CC (which also encouraged the understanding that entitlement to HB would follow), to an annex they constructed at their home.  EM had previously lived in the garage at their home, but this was unsuitable as EM required round the clock care from three carers, who needed their own accommodation.  EM’s parents could not afford this new arrangement without housing benefit.  EM’s dad entered into … Read the full post

“I could be a lawyer with stratagems and ruses”*

Wasted costs orders are scary things. There is the censure by the Court, of course, but worst of all, the solicitors then have to pay and, no matter how much or how little, that rips shreds out of the very essence of their being.

Threats to pursue wasted costs tend to be waved around rather too often by some solicitors, perhaps overly convinced of their own rightness. Usually what is at issue is actually a valid point of dispute. Personally, I think these threats tend to backfire, at least if the recipient is reasonably sure that an application would fail. Nothing shrieks of a lack of strength in a position … Read the full post

Section 20B again…

Om Property Management Ltd. v Burr [2012] UKUT 2 (LC) [not yet on bailii - we've got a transcript] was another case concerning the interpretation of s.20B, Landlord and Tenant Act 1985. Section 20B is of course the provision that renders service charges irrecoverable if the landlord does not demand payment, or at least warn the tenant that a payment will be required, within 18 months of the service charge costs being incurred. Here the Upper Tribunal was required to consider at what point in time service charge costs became incurred.

In November 2007, through no fault of its own, the Appellant management company found itself with a gas bill … Read the full post

Vexatious litigants in the LVT

In Attorney General v Singer & Singer, Divisional Court, January 24, 2012 [taken from a lawtel note - not on bailii], the Attorney General sought a civil proceedings order, under s.42, Senior Courts Act 1981, against Mr & Mrs Singer. The effect of such an order is that no civil proceedings or civil applications may be made by the person subject to the order without the leave of the High Court. The High Court may make such an order, on an application by the Attorney General, if satisfied that a person has habitually and persistently instituted vexatious civil proceedings or applications in either the High Court or any inferior court.… Read the full post

I sublet an apartment on the 99th floor of my block

No prizes for guessing what I was listening to when I decided to write this. I bring you two important cases from the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) about sub-let fees and administration charges:Holding & Management (Solitaire Ltd) v Norton and other appeals [2012] UKUT 1 and Re: Bradmoss Ltd [2012] UKUT 3 (LC). In all cases:

(a) the tenant sought to sub-let their flat; and,

(b) the leases prohibited this without the consent of the landlord/management company.

In some of the leases, there was a further express provision requiring the tenant to pay the costs of the consent and/or a registration fee. In all cases, the landlord/management company sought … Read the full post