HOUSING LAW NEWS
Policy
Issues in Housing Law
Homelessness
On 23 December 2014, the charity CRISIS published new
research from Cardiff University on homelessness among single people and
couples without children. It shows that nearly 50% of single homeless
people first became homeless aged 20 or younger. The median average age
was 22. For a copy of the full report, click
here
On 11 December 2014, the UK Government published the latest official
statistics on homelessness applications made to local councils in England.
The figures cover July to September 2014. For the statistical report, click
here
For the homelessness statistics for Wales for the same period, click
here For
an analysis by Shelter (Scotland) of the latest homelessness statistics in
Scotland, click
here
On 8 December 2014, new research was published - based on freedom of
information requests to local authorities - on the use of emergency
accommodation for young people aged under 16 who run away from their
homes. For a copy of the report Reaching
Safe Places, click
here
Another new report - The
Door is Closed - suggests that failure by councils
in England to comply with their legal duties to protect homeless
teenagers is leaving them at risk from abuse. For a copy of that report, click
here
Social housing lettings and evictions
The latest official statistics on social housing lettings in England show
that, while the 270,659 lettings by housing associations in 2013/14 were
more than double those made by councils (126,238), there was a small
increase in the number of local authority lettings. For the full figures, click
here
Local authorities have reported that in 2013-14 court bailiffs carried out
6,870 evictions from their properties - an increase of 12% compared to
2012-13. For the full local authority housing statistics for the year
ending March 2014, click
here
Housing & anti-social behaviour
On 12 January 2015 the Secure Tenancies (Absolute Ground for Possession
for Antisocial
Behaviour)
(Review Procedure) (Wales) Regulations 2014 came into force. They detail
the procedure to be followed if the landlord of a secure tenant of a
dwelling in Wales gives notice of intention to use the new mandatory
ground for possession and the tenant seeks a review. For a copy of the
regulations, click
here
Private renting
In
early January 2015, the organisation CIVITAS published a discussion paper
on The Future of Private Renting:
Shaping a fairer market for tenants and taxpayers. For a copy, click
here
On 30 December 2014 the House of Commons Library published an updated
briefing note relating to retaliatory ('revenge') eviction and evidence
around the extent to which it occurs. The note reviews the recent measures
to legislate to tackle the problem. For a copy, click
here
Earlier, on 15 December 2014,
the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Private Rented Sector had
published its report on tackling retaliatory evictions. For a copy of that
report, click
here
On 23 December 2014, the National Housing Federation published findings
from a YouGov poll showing that around one in 12 private renters (8%)
struggle to afford their rent every time it’s due – the equivalent of
over 700,000 people. For more details, click
here
On 22 December 2014, Citizens Advice launched a new report which shows
that, while private tenants do have statutory rights to a safe home in
good repair, they face substantial barriers to having these rights upheld
in practice. For a copy of the report, click
here
Based on information obtained from the Ministry of Justice (after a ruling
from the Information Commissioner) in December 2014, the Guardian
newspaper and Environmental Health News jointly published an alphabetical
dataset of companies convicted of housing-related offences. For the
background detail, click
here and
here
For the full dataset, click
here
On 4 December 2014, the Housing Minister provided a table of results for
adjudication of disputes between private landlords and tenants over
tenancy deposits undertaken by the various tenancy deposit protection
agencies. For the table, click
here
The initial introduction of immigration status checks for prospective
tenants on 1 December 2014 is being monitored by Movement Against
Xenophobia. It has initiated a coalition that has designed a joint survey
to monitor the scheme and to assess the impact on tenants and landlords.
For further details, click
here
Housing Benefit
On 5 January 2015, the Valuation Office published the
latest updated official list of local reference rents, listed by broad
rental market areas and property size. For the details, click
here
On 18 December 2014, the DWP published the latest data on the likely
impact of making direct payments to social housing tenants of their
benefits paid to meet housing costs. For a copy of Direct
Payment Demonstration Projects: The longitudinal survey of tenants and
other research reports on the ‘pilot’ projects, click
here.
‘Bedroom Tax’
On 8 January 2015 the National Housing Federation
published their final report on the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’ and
other welfare reforms on housing associations and their tenants. For a
copy, click
here
On the same day, the Wales Audit Office published its report on the impact
of the ‘bedroom tax’ and welfare reform changes on social housing
tenants in Wales. For a copy, click
here
On 30 December 2014 the House of Commons Library published an updated
briefing note on the fate of the Affordable Homes Bill - which was
intended to introduce three new exemptions from the ‘bedroom tax’. For
a copy, click here
On 29 December 2014 the House of Commons Library published an updated
version of its ‘bedroom tax’ briefing note providing information on
who is affected, summarising a selection of legal challenges and
discussing responses by landlords and tenants. For a copy, click
here
On 15 December 2014 the House of Commons Library published an updated
version of its ‘bedroom tax’ briefing note summarising key findings of
studies into the impact of the ‘bedroom tax’. For a copy, click
here
On 12 December 2014 the DWP issued a Housing Benefit Urgent Bulletin (HB
U6/2014) covering two Upper Tribunal decisions from Scotland (CSH/41/14
and CSH/42/14) on the ‘bedroom tax’. For a copy of the Bulletin, click
here
For commentary on the two decisions, and on the Bulletin, click
here
Discretionary housing payments
On
19 December 2014 the UK Government released the latest official statistics
on local authorities' use of Discretionary Housing Payment funds. They
cover the first six months of the 2014/15 financial year and suggest that
the majority of councils were underspending on DHPs. For the figures, click
here For a commentary
on the figures, click
here
Shared ownership
On
15 December 2014 the Orbit Group and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH)
released a report exploring how an overhaul of shared ownership could
double supply to 30,000 homes. For a copy of the report, click
here
Long leases
The
Competition and Markets Authority has published the findings and
recommendations from its study into the residential property management
services sector in England and Wales. For a copy, click
here
Social Housing
The
National Housing Federation has updated its guidance in relation to
consumer credit authorisation which sets out what housing associations
need to know about the application of the updated consumer credit
legislation and the change of regulator. For a copy of the guidance note, click
here
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NEW
HOUSING LAW CASES
Birmingham City Council v
Satinder Kholi
7
January 2015
The
defendant regularly played loud music in her house and garden. The council
served abatement notices requiring her to stop the nuisance. Between
September 2013 and August 2014 council officers made three seizures of
audio equipment at her home. At Birmingham Magistrates’ Court she was
found guilty of three offences under the Environmental Protection Act
1990, in a second successful prosecution. She was fined £400 with costs
of £1,757 and a £40 victim surcharge. For details of the prosecution, click
here
Health & Safety Executive v Matthew Congdon
19
December 2014
The
defendant, a director of Coastal Plumbing and Heating Ltd, claimed to be
on the Gas Safe Register long after his registration had expired. He
undertook a number of landlords’ gas safety checks for a managing agent,
making them believe that he was a member of the Gas Safe Register. At
Bodmin Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to three breaches of the
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and a single breach of
the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was fined a total of £5,000
with costs of £418 and £700 compensation. For details of the
prosecution, click
here
Burgess v Director of Housing
17
December 2014
The
claimant and her teenage son lived in public sector housing in Australia.
She was a drug addict. Following execution of search warrants, she was
convicted of trafficking heroin. On release from prison she returned to
the property, removed squatters from it, redecorated it and kept off
drugs. The Director obtained an outright order for possession. As soon as
it was received, an application was made for a warrant to execute it. The
claimant sought judicial review of the decision to enforce the order. The
claim was allowed by the Supreme Court of Victoria. The Director had
failed to consider the claimant’s health, her well-being and her human
rights (and those of her son) before deciding whether to apply for the
warrant. For the judgment, click
here
P (a child)
16
December 2014
A
child aged 5 had been in foster care for over two years. He was ready to
re-join his parents but they had no home in which they could live
together. Their local housing authority was Greenwich council (RBG). In
litigation concerned with the child’s welfare, the judge said the
evidence suggested that “there has been a complete and utter failure of
the RBG to meet its responsibilities to provide housing to this family or
even allow them to apply as a family such that these parents are prevented
from bringing to an end the 2 ½ years (half of his life) that P has spent
as a 'looked after' child. Indeed the information that I have received
suggests that the RBG has acted in bad faith and has sought to engineer a
situation in which they would be freed of the obligations I might
impose…”. She adjourned the hearing so that a senior RBG housing
officer could attend. That produced a council nomination to a housing
association and a tenancy was accepted. The judge said: “this family was
only ever going to be top of the list when they were recognised as an
emergency and it had taken my order that he attend a hearing for them to
be so recognised. That is not an acceptable way of working by public
authorities in my view”. For the judgment, click
here
Barnet LBC v Steven Gregory
16
December 2014
In
April 2014, the council let a flat to the defendant. Within weeks he had
advertised for, and found, a sub-tenant willing to pay £600 a month. He
moved out but continued to claim housing benefit. On a guilty plea at
Willesden Magistrates’ Court, he was sentenced to 8 weeks imprisonment,
suspended for 12 months, required to undertake a 12 month supervision
order, ordered to pay £100 towards the council’s costs and made liable
for an £80 victim surcharge. For more details of the prosecution, click
here
Charalambous v Ng
16 December 2014
Tenants took a one year tenancy of a flat expiring in August 2003. They
paid a deposit of £1,560. The tenancy was renewed in August 2003 and
again in August 2004, in each case for a further year. Under each
agreement the same deposit was required to be paid. No further money
actually changed hands. Instead, the original deposit was carried over and
credited against the renewed tenancy. When the last of the tenancies came
to an end in August 2005, a statutory periodic tenancy arose under the
Housing Act 1988. Seven years later, the landlady served a section 21
notice. In the possession claim, the tenants said that the notice could
not be valid because the landlord had not complied with the tenancy
deposit protection provisions in Housing Act 2004 section 215. The Court
of Appeal held that section 215(1)(a) was expressed in the present tense.
If the deposit was not currently protected (and it was not) no section 21
notice could validly be given. For the judgment, click
here
Thanet Council v Rudolph Pink
16 December 2014
The council had designated certain parts of its district as a selective
licensing area. The defendant was a private landlord who rented-out homes
in the area. He failed to obtain a licence. On a first offence, he was
fined £15,000. The council brought a prosecution in relation to a second
property for which he had no licence. At Canterbury Magistrates’ Court
he was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay £120 costs and a victim
surcharge of £120.
Northern Ireland Housing Executive v Gary Campion
12
December 2014
The defendant was a tenant of social housing. He sub-let the house for £350
a month but continued to claim another £250 a month in housing benefit
towards his own rent. The income enabled him to move into more expensive
accommodation elsewhere. Belfast Magistrates' Court imposed a sentence of
three months imprisonment, suspended for a year. For more details of the
prosecution, click
here
R(Regas) v Enfield LBC
11
December 2014
The council decided in April 2014 and again in November 2014 to extend
selective licensing of private landlords to all properties in its borough
and to require all HMOs to be licensed. The claimant, a private landlord,
sought judicial review. The High Court held that the April 2014 decision
was flawed because it was based on a consultation that only involved those
in the borough and not those in adjacent areas who were likely to be
affected. The November 2014 decision was flawed because an insufficient
time had been allowed for consultation responses. In those circumstances,
the additional requirements could not be imposed based on either decision.
For the judgment, click
here
Aquilina v Malta
11
December 2014
The applicant owned a property let to longstanding tenants. They enjoyed
statutory security of tenure and paid a protected rent of less than 5% of
their income. The applicant could not recover possession or increase the
rent. The restrictions had been lifted for new tenancies in 1995, the
country had no housing shortage, and less than 2% of the population sought
social housing. The European Court of Human Rights held that in the
circumstances the continued application of the security and rent control
provisions was such a degree of control over the applicant’s property as
to amount to an infringement of his human rights under Article 1 of
Protocol 1. For the judgment, click
here
Health & Safety Executive v Barclay Ltd
10
December 2014
The defendant company was the private landlord of a number of properties
in respect of which it failed to carry out annual gas safety inspections. At
Westminster Magistrates’ Court it was fined a total of £6,500 and
ordered to pay £1,822 in costs after admitting two breaches of the Gas
Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and a charge of
non-compliance with an enforcement notice. For details of the prosecution,
click
here
Health & Safety Executive v Keith Downie
9
December 2014
The defendant had never been Gas Safe registered and was not competent to
carry out gas safety certification work. He supplied fraudulent gas safety
records to the landlords of at least three properties in the Darlington
area between February and May 2012. At Darlington Magistrates’ Court he
pleaded guilty to six breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act
1974 – three each of sections 3(2) and 33(1)(m). He was sentenced to 16
weeks imprisonment (suspended for 12 months), ordered to carry out 200
hours unpaid work and required to pay £500 costs. For details of the
prosecution, click
here
R(Turley) v Wandsworth LBC
8 December 2014
The council granted a secure tenancy of a flat (before 1 April 2012 when
succession rules for secure tenancies changed). The tenant died. He had
had an on-off relationship with the claimant and they had four children.
They were not married. After a period of separation, they lived together
again in the flat for only three months prior to his death. The claimant
could not fulfil the 12 month rule contained in Housing Act 1985 section
87(b). She complained of unlawful discrimination because she was treated
differently from a spouse or civil partner who was not subject to that
rule. The High Court dismissed her claim. The rule did discriminate but it
had an objective and reasonable justification. For the judgment, click
here
Hillingdon LBC v Shalini Largey and McKane Holdings
8 December 2014
The defendants were prosecuted as part of the council’s strategy to
tackle unauthorised “beds in shed” in its district. At Uxbridge
Magistrates' Court the first defendant was fined £18,000 with costs of £2,505
after pleading guilty to failing to comply with an enforcement notice
requiring her to cease the illegal use of an outbuilding. The council
demolished the outbuilding and is seeking to recover the costs of that
work. The second defendant company was fined nearly £15,000 for similar
offences relating to another illegal outbuilding. For details of the
prosecutions, click
here
R(C) v Buckinghamshire CC
8 December 2014
The claimant – aged 14 - wanted to establish that the council had been
accommodating him for the purposes of Children Act 1989. He had lived with
his mother (and younger brother) in her flat. In 2009 she left the flat
and they all moved to live with the maternal grandparents in their house.
In March 2010 the mother left the claimant and his brother with the
grandparents and returned to live in her flat with her then partner. The
council was content for the children to remain with the grandparents but
would have intervened had they returned to the mother. The High Court held
(see [2014] EWHC 4072 (admin)) that the circumstances had not triggered a
duty under section 20 and the arrangement for the children to live with
the grandparents had been a private one rather than one arranged by the
council.
Brighton & Hove CC
v Antony
Paul Martin
5 December 2014
The defendant was a private landlord of an unlicensed HMO. At Eastbourne
Magistrates' Court he pleaded guilty to managing an HMO without the
required licence and to four breaches of HMO management regulations
(failure to ensure that that the internal structure in each part of the
HMO that is used as living accommodation is maintained in good repair;
failure to ensure that all means of escape in case of fire were kept free
from obstruction and maintained in good repair; failure to ensure that the
yard was maintained in repair, good order and clean condition; and failure
to ensure that his name, address and telephone contact number - as the
person managing the HMO - was displayed at the property). He was fined £2,000
for the failure to licence and £1,000 for each of the four management
offences with costs of £600 and a £120 victim surcharge.
Ealing LBC v Bhupinder Singh Gill
5
December 2014
The defendant was a private landlord. Without planning consent, he was
using his property as five self-contained flats and its garden outbuilding
as another flat. The flats
could have been used to accommodate more than 12 people. An enforcement
notice required him to remove all en-suite kitchens, internal partitions
and the doors being used to separate the flats. An appeal against the
notice failed but he still did not comply. At
Isleworth Crown Court he was made subject to a conditional discharge for
18 months and ordered to pay £4,765.57 towards costs and a £15 victim
surcharge. The court also made a confiscation order for £66,325 in
respect of the rent he had collected. He was given six months to pay with
18 months in prison if he defaults. For more details of the prosecution, click
here
Crossfield v Jackson
4
December 2014
The defendant was a council tenant. She exercised the right to buy her
flat. The claimant was her brother. He paid the legal fees, cleared the
arrears and paid the purchase price. The defendant became the legal owner
but the parties entered into a deed of trust by which the claimant became
the beneficial owner. Later, the defendant said that the arrangement had
been an interest free loan or that, if the deed was genuine, it had been
procured by undue influence. A judge rejected her case on its facts. The
Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal. For the judgment, click
here
Newham LBC v Priptal Sira and Anjum Rashid (of AJ Properties Ltd)
3
December 2014
The first defendant was a private landlord. The second defendant was his
agent. They let and managed a house which had been converted into an HMO
without planning consent. A council inspection found no working fire
detectors, mould on the walls and dirty communal areas. At Thames
Magistrates’ Court, the first defendant was convicted of 12 breaches of
housing regulations and was also found guilty of one planning regulation
breach. He was fined £2,700 with costs of £3,000 and a £40 victim
surcharge. The second defendant was convicted of 13 offences relating to
managing an HMO. He was fined a total of £32,500 with £1,321.30 costs
and a £120 victim surcharge. For more details of the prosecution, click
here
Yianni v Shakeshaft
3
December 2014
The claimant owned a flat. From 2007 it was subject to intermittent
flooding of the bathroom caused by water coming from the flat above. That
flat was owned by the defendants but let to tenants. In June 2011 the
cause of the flooding was traced to a fracture of a waste pipe and
remedied. The claimant sued in nuisance for damages. A judge rejected her
claim holding that the defendants had acted reasonably in the
circumstances in their efforts to detect and rectify the problem. The
Court of Appeal dismissed a renewed application for permission to appeal
([2014] EWCA Civ 1639) as it had no real prospect of success.
Oxford CC v Juan Zaide Avila
1
December 2014
The defendant was a private landlord renting out an HMO that was
unlicensed and in a poor state of repair. At Oxford Magistrates' Court he
pleaded guilty to being in control of an unlicensed HMO and was fined £7,500.
He also pleaded guilty to five breaches of the Management of Houses in
Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006. He was fined £500 per
offence for four offences relating to disrepair and £2,000 for a lack of
fire detection equipment and fire doors. He was ordered to pay costs of £1,124.
For more details of the prosecution, click
here
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