Lime
Legal's General Editor: Jan Luba QC |
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18th November 2015 Update |
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Speakers - an outstanding line-up of some of the country’s top experts:
Jan Luba
QC,
(Garden Court chambers) Chairman and
lead speaker,
Peter Marcus,
barrister, Zenith Chambers, Jonathan Hulley,
Clark Willmott LLP Solicitors, Ben Taylor, WTB Solicitors LLP
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POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW
Landlord Possession Claims
On
12 November 2015, the latest official statistics for county court
possession claims were published, covering the three months July, August,
and September 2015. In that period, 38,662 landlord possession claims were
issued. Although the bulk was social landlord cases, the proportion has
fallen from 83% in 1999 to 61% now. Over the three months, 11,267 actual
repossessions were carried out by county court bailiffs in landlord cases,
up 1% on the same period last year. For the full figures,
click here
Execution of Possession Orders
Having obtained possession orders in the county court, some landowners and
landlords seek to transfer their cases to the High Court for enforcement.
A firm of solicitors in Birmingham has drawn attention to the use of this
practice by Birmingham City Council. For the press release,
click here
For a legal commentary on the practice of seeking High Court
enforcement in these cases,
click here or
click here
Imprisonment for Breach of Injunction
All orders made in the civil courts for committal for contempt of court
are published. For the database,
click here The
most common order results from breach of an injunction obtained by a
council or housing association. Those repeatedly breaching such
injunctions are receiving significant sentences. In the most recent
example, an immediate custodial sentence of 70 days was imposed for a
repeat breach involving threatening residents. For the details,
click here In another case, an immediate custodial
sentence of three months was imposed for a repeat breach which involved
harassing and causing nuisance to a neighbour (loud music and shouting).
For more detail,
click here
Council Enforcement against Bad Landlords
On
11 November 2015, the UK Government announced a new £5m fund to enable
local councils to increase inspections of properties, carry out more
‘raids’, initiate more enforcement action, bring more prosecutions, and
demolish sheds and buildings that are unlawfully used as accommodation. It
has written to the 65 local authorities eligible to apply for the
additional funding, inviting them to set out the action they propose to
take with the additional money. For more details,
click here In Manchester, the city council has published
an updated database of the local landlords it has already successfully
prosecuted. For the details,
click here For the equivalent Liverpool City Council list,
click here
Housing Benefit Backdating
As
announced in the Summer Budget, from April 2016 the maximum period for
which a Housing Benefit claim can be backdated will be reduced from six
months to one month, even in the most exceptional cases. In October 2015,
the Social Security Advisory Committee had suggested that the period
should be three months. For the UK Government’s response published on 9
November 2015, rejecting that recommendation,
click here For a
short briefing on the likely impact of this change on some housing
providers,
click here For the
regulations which make the change,
click here For the
memorandum, which explains them,
click here
Private Renting in England
On
11 November 2015, the UK Government published a collation of the responses
received to its technical discussion document
Tackling rogue landlords and improving the private rental sector. That document covered a range of measures designed to help improve
standards in the private rented sector and received over 500 responses.
The new publication summarises the views expressed and outlines the
Government’s response. For a copy,
click here
Redress against Letting Agents
Two more agents, A S Moon & Partners, a sales and letting agent based in
Northumberland, and CityWest.co.uk Limited, a sales and letting agent
based in Hounslow, have been expelled from membership of The Property
Ombudsman (TPO) scheme for a minimum of two years. Both had failed to
comply with parts of the TPO Codes of Practice, failed to co-operate fully
with the Ombudsman’s investigations following complaints, and failed to
pay awards made. For more details,
click here
Sales of Social Housing
On
12 November 2015, the UK Government published the latest statistical
tables providing data on the sales of social housing stock – both for
local authorities and private registered providers. The most common sales
are by operation of the Right to Buy (and Preserved Right to Buy) scheme
and there are separate tables for sales under that scheme. For access to
the tables,
click here
Helping Gypsies and Travellers
The Gypsy and Traveller National Advice Line is now back in action on 0121
685 8677. Monday to Friday. 9am to 5pm. For more details,
click here
Regulation of Social Landlords
Fiona MacGregor has been appointed as permanent Director of Regulation for
the Homes & Communities Agency, which regulates social landlords in
England. She took up her role with immediate effect, having
been interim Director since August 2015. For more details of the
appointment,
click here
Right to Buy & Housing Associations
On
12 November 2015, the House of Commons Library issued a new briefing which
explains the proposals to extend the Right to Buy to assured tenants of
housing associations on a voluntary basis. For a copy,
click here
Tenancy Deposits
On
11 November 2015, the UK Government announced that it has awarded a new
contract to the Deposit Protection
Service to continue providing a custodial tenancy deposit scheme from
1 April 2016. It has also awarded contracts to the
Dispute Service Ltd and
Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (trading as
MyDeposits) to run two new
custodial deposit protection schemes in England and Wales from 1 April
2016. For the announcement,
click here and scroll to the foot of the announcement.
Housing Support
A
new free briefing - A 1% Rent Cut,
the Privatisation of Social Housing & a Redefinition of Supported Housing:
Challenges & Opportunities – has been published by Support Solutions.
For a copy,
click here
Housing Benefit
On
11 November 2015, the DWP released the latest Housing Benefit caseload
statistics. They offer data up to August 2015 covering the number of HB
claims, tenure of tenants, and amounts paid. The figures are broken down
by local authority and region. To access the statistics,
click here
Finding a Housing Lawyer/Adviser
The GOV.UK web service provides a dedicated portal to help members of the
public find a Housing solicitor or adviser. Results are sorted by
geographic location and then by proximity. Click “Housing” under the
“Category of Law”. To access the portal,
click here
Members of the public wanting to go direct to a
barrister can use the Advanced Search facility to get the “Housing”
category for barristers by
clicking here For an updated alphabetical list of
solicitors’ firms and advice agencies undertaking legal aid and Housing
work,
click here For a list of Housing Law Practitioner
Association members undertaking legal aid housing work,
click here
Private renting in Northern Ireland
On
12 November 2015, the Minister for Social Development in the Assembly
Government launched a discussion document as the first step in a
consultative process which forms part of the Department’s fundamental
review of the private rented sector. For the announcement,
click here For
details of how to respond to the consultation, see
Housing Law Consultations (below).
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HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE
Housing and Planning Bill
This is a UK Government Bill about social and private rented housing,
estate agents, rentcharges, planning and compulsory purchase. For a copy
of the Bill, which only applies to housing in England,
click here For the
Explanatory Notes,
click here To
follow the progress of the Bill,
click here The
Bill passed its Second Reading on 2 November 2015. To read the debate,
click here
For the House of Commons Library
Briefing Paper for Second Reading,
click here The official Impact Assessment of the Bill is
also now available. For a copy,
click here For a
media commentary on the Impact Assessment,
click here
For the CIH briefing on the Bill (members only),
click here
For the Local Government Association’s briefing on the Bill,
click here For
a summary from Citizens Advice,
click here For the
LAG Housing Law commentary on the Bill,
click here
For a commentary by Dr Stephen Battersby,
click here
The Bill is now being scrutinised in a Public Bill Committee. That
Committee has issued an invitation for evidence on the Bill and will
receive written evidence until 10
December 2015. For details of how to submit evidence,
click here To see
the record of the public proceedings of the Public Bill Committee
- including the two evidence
sessions with witnesses on 10 November 2015 – and to access all the
written evidence the Committee has received,
click here
Welfare Reform and Work Bill
This UK Government Bill makes provision about: (1) the benefit cap; (2)
social security and tax credits; (3) loans for mortgage interest; and (4)
social housing rents. It has completed all its House of Commons stages and
is now passing through the House of Lords. For a commentary on the final
Commons Stage,
click here A Second Reading in the Lords was scheduled for
Tuesday 17 November 2015.
For the Bill, as amended in the
Commons,
click here
For
the Explanatory Notes for that version of the Bill,
click here
To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here. For the documents relating to the Bill
(including several impact assessments),
click here For a
briefing for Lord’s Second Reading prepared by the National Housing
Federation,
click here For the House of Lords Library Note providing
background reading in advance of the Lords Second Reading,
click here
Immigration Bill
This UK Government Bill would create four new offences to target those
landlords and agents who repeatedly fail to comply with the ‘right-to-rent
scheme’ by letting to tenants subject to immigration restrictions or fail
to evict tenants who they know or have reasonable cause to believe are
disqualified from renting as a result of their immigration status. For a
copy of the Bill,
click here For
the Explanatory Notes on Clauses,
click here
For the official Impact Assessment,
click here
To follow the progress of the
Bill,
click here The Bill is now completing its Commons Public
Bill Committee Stage. For the schedule of evidence received, meeting dates
and debates for that Committee,
click here The
Housing Law Practitioners Association has prepared a briefing on clauses
13 and 14 which deal with repossession of tenanted homes. For a copy of
that briefing,
click here
This is a Government Bill introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 7
October 2015. For a copy of the Bill, the Explanatory Notes and related
official documents,
click here For the final Business and Regulatory Impact
Assessment on the Bill,
click here
For the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment on the Bill,
click here
For the final Equality Impact Assessment for the Bill,
click here the Committee considering the Bill has issued a
call for written evidence to be submitted by
19 November 2015. For the details,
click here For the
Briefing on the Bill produced by the Scottish Parliament Information
Centre,
click here
Housing (Amendment) Bill
Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill
This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 7 September 2015 by the
Northern Ireland Executive. It
would make provision for and in connection with the licensing of houses in
multiple occupation in Northern Ireland. For a copy of the Bill,
click here For the explanatory memorandum,
click here
To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Karen Buck MP. It would amend
the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented
accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human
habitation. For a copy of the Bill,
click here
It had its Second Reading on 16 October 2015 but was talked-out. It
is again listed for a Second Reading on
29 January 2016. For details on
the (unlikely) future progress of the Bill,
click here For a lawyer’s commentary on its content,
click here For the
Shelter Blog on the Bill and its importance,
click here For a commentary from Dr Stephen Battersby,
click here For the House of Commons Library Briefing on
the Bill,
click here
For the MP’s own perspective on her
Bill being talked-out,
click here For the response of the MP who talked-out the
Bill,
click here
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Dame Angela Watkinson MP. It
would amend the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make provision for
collecting information about tenure and the details of private landlords.
For a copy of the Bill,
click here
It
had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading has been
re-scheduled for 22 January 2016.
For details on the progress of the Bill,
click here For the Briefing Paper prepared by the House of
Commons Library,
click here
Crown Tenancies Bill
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NEW HOUSING CASES
R(Omar) v Wandsworth LBC
11
November 2015
The
claimant was a single woman in part-time work. Her asthmatic condition had
led to recent in-patient treatment for an asthma attack and she was taking
medication. On her homelessness application, the council decided that she
was not ‘vulnerable’. She sought a review and asked for accommodation to
be provided pending the review. That was refused. The High Court refused
an application for an injunction requiring accommodation to be secured.
The grounds for obtaining such an injunction has not been made out. The
judgment is noted on LAWTEL and on WESTLAW.
AI
v Crown Prosecution Service
10
November 2015
The
owner of a house had been convicted and imprisoned for drug-dealing. The
CPS obtained a confiscation order for his assets, which included a
matrimonial home. His wife and three children faced the seizure of their
home and applied for an order transferring it from the husband’s name to
the wife’s. The application was refused. The Family Court found that: (1)
it was bought in the sole name of the husband with the intention that it
would be treated as his; (2) it is highly probable that it was bought with
a deposit that was tainted (i.e. funded) by his drugs related offending;
(3) the wife knew from the word ‘go' that the household was being funded
at least in part by the husband's criminal activity; and (4) the mortgage
payments were made from money tainted by the husband's criminal
activities. For the judgment,
click here
Toogood v McCourt and others
6
November 2015
The
claimant landlord let a house to five students for a fixed term. After one
of the students was found dead in the house, some of the others were too
traumatised to continue in occupation and moved out. The landlord brought
a claim against the tenants and their parents (as guarantors) for the
unpaid rent for the remainder of the term of the lease. In the County
Court at Medway, the claim failed. In a reserved judgment, the judge held
that by his action in renovating and re-letting the property after the
tenants had moved out, but before the expiry of the term, the landlord had
accepted the tenants’ implied offer of surrender. For news coverage of the
case,
click here and for reporting of
the judgment,
click here
Southwark LBC v Clark
6
November 2015
In 2003,
Mr Clark bought his council flat under the right to buy. In 2006 he was
served with an interim demand to pay estimated service charges relating to
the cost of major works. He did not pay. In 2008, he transferred the flat
to his daughter. The council sent her a final demand for over £6,000 for
her share of the actual cost of the works. When that was not paid, the
council sued. The claim was transferred to a Tribunal. It held that the
demand was not payable because of the terms of the lease and the effect of
the interim demand. The council’s appeal was allowed by the Upper Tribunal
and the final demand was upheld. For the judgment,
click here
R
(MG (Iran)) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
5
November 2015
The
claimant was a failed asylum seeker. He successfully applied to the
Secretary of State for accommodation and support because he was destitute.
He was found accommodation in Portsmouth. His child (and the child’s
mother) lived in Canterbury. He asked to be moved nearer to Canterbury or
for money to cover the expenses of visiting his child. Both requests were
refused. In a claim for judicial review based on the Borders, Citizenship
and Immigration Act 2009 section 55 (welfare of children) and the Human
Rights Act 1998 Schedule 1 Article 8 (right to respect for family life),
the High Court held that the decisions of the Secretary of State were
unlawful. Given the real practical difficulties in finding accommodation
nearer to Canterbury, only the decision to refuse travel costs between
Portsmouth and Canterbury was quashed. For the judgment,
click here
N
J Rickard Ltd v Holloway
3
November 2015
A
landlord sued for unpaid rent. The tenant counterclaimed for breach of
covenant and disrepair. The matter culminated in a trial and a
consequential appeal about legal costs. While the Court of Appeal judgment
is primarily concerned with which party should pay the costs and the
effect of an intended Part 36 offer, it is noteworthy not least because
the landlord and tenant said that they had incurred costs of £85,000 and
£100,000 respectively. The judgment is noted on LAWTEL and WESTLAW. For a
legal commentary,
click here
Watford Council v Zuo Jun He
2
November 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord with a licence to operate a House in
Multiple Occupation (HMO) in a flat above a Chinese restaurant. The
licence contained a condition restricting the number of occupiers to five.
Up to 12 were occupying. At Watford Magistrates’ Court, the defendant
pleaded guilty to 11 offences under the Housing Acts, including two of
allowing more people to live in the property than permitted. He was fined
£30,000 with £5,326.54 costs, a criminal court charge of £150 and a £120
victim surcharge. For details of the prosecution,
click here For media comment on
it,
click here
Brent LBC v Vijay Kara
29
October 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Without planning consent, he converted
two properties into flats and let them. Planning enforcement notices,
which required him to restore the properties to their original condition,
were served by the council. On a prosecution for non-compliance, the
defendant pleaded guilty. At Harrow Crown Court, he was fined £10,000 with
costs of a further £10,000. A confiscation order was made for £187,600,
representing the rental income made from both properties. For details of
the prosecution,
click here
William P Harrison v HM Revenue & Customs
28
October 2015
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS
Renting Social Housing
Houses in Multiple Occupation
Private renting in Northern Ireland
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NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS
Recent Developments in Housing Law
Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2015]
November issue of Legal Action magazine. Available in print and
on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the
article on-line,
click here
For back-issues of this series
of articles,
click here
Protecting tenants from serious disrepair: the use of injunctions
Natalie Wilkins [2015] Garden Court North Housing
Team’s November Bulletin. To read the article,
click here
How are children affected by poor housing?
Dawn Foster [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 11 November. To read the article,
click here
Vulnerable people will be hardest hit by social housing rent cut
Denise Hatton [2015] Guardian
Housing Network 12 November. To read the article,
click here
The economics of scale: how housing became Britain’s biggest political
issue
Andy Beckett [2015] Guardian Housing
9 November. To read the article,
click here
Report backs community control of Hammersmith and Fulham council homes
Dave Hill [2015] Guardian UK 13
November. To read the article,
click here
Housing associations are seeing tenants move from exclusion to real
poverty
Kim Thomas [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 27 October. To read the article,
click here
Government proposes minimum bedroom size for rental properties
Patrick Collinson [2015] Guardian
Money 6 November (revised 13 November). To read the article,
click here
National minimum bedroom size could be implemented to stop overcrowding
Nicola Harley [2015] Daily Telegraph
7 November. To read the article,
click here
Home-grown council Private Rented Sector Alex Peace [2015]
Estates Gazette Residential 7 November. To read the article,
click here
Give away now, pay later
(shared ownership)
Kate Webb [2015] Shelter Blog 12
November. To read the article,
click here
Affordability of previous accommodation
Jonathan Manning and Emily Orme [2015]
Local Government Lawyer, 5
November. To read the article,
click here
New regulations on heating provision in HMOs David Smith [2015]
RLA Blog 10 November. To read the article,
click here
Social landlords in the firing line: rent reduction and the Welfare Reform
and Work Bill
2015 Nick Billingham [2015]
18 Journal of Housing Law 106
Access to justice - mobility, cost and patience Justin Bates [2015] 18
Journal of Housing Law 103
Two rare sightings: disrepair in the Court of Appeal
Andrew Brookes [2015] 18 Journal of
Housing Law 112
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THE HOUSING LAW DIARY 19 November 2015 20 November 2015 23 November 2015 9 December 2015 10 December 2015 18 December 2015
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RECRUITMENTT
Hodge Jones & Allen
LLP
Vacancy for a Social
Housing Law Solicitor
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a solicitor with up to 2 years PQE to
join our award winning, dedicated and dynamic social housing team.
To be successful in this role it is essential that you have good
experience of social housing law.
You will be expected to be competent in litigation with excellent client
care skills. In addition, you will have excellent communication and
written skills, be a good team player and be able to work well under
pressure.
Ideally, the successful candidate is likely to have previous experience and
good knowledge of legal aid funding in the context of social housing law.
The firm offers a competitive salary & benefits, as well as excellent career
prospects, broad training, first-class IT facilities and comprehensive
administrative support.
Closing date for applications:
30 November 2015
Please apply by sending a covering letter and CV to Jinal Patel at
recruitment@hja.net.
SOUTH WEST LONDON LAW CENTRES
Vacancy for Housing Caseworker / Solicitor
South West London Law Centres (SWLLC), one of the largest and most
progressive Law Centres in the country, is seeking a Housing
Solicitor/Caseworker to be based in our Wandsworth Branch with some outreach
in our other offices.
There is considerable demand for housing work. There are currently 10
solicitors in the housing team and one trainee. We run a wide range of
housing cases covered by Legal Aid including a significant amount of
representation work as part of the housing court duty schemes. We are
considering looking further at a range of fixed fees and conditional fee
agreements for areas that have now gone out of scope of Legal Aid. We are
also interested in candidates that can combine their housing experience with
any of community care, public law or welfare rights.
Salary:
Up to £33,510 p.a.
according to experience (NJC Scale 35) Housing Law Paralegal Vacancy Sternberg Reed is a well established
Lexcel Accredited law firm with offices in Essex and A vacancy has arisen for a Paralegal to
join our Housing Law Department to support and assist the fee earners in the
preparation and conduct of cases. The role will include undertaking
administrative tasks. This position will be based in our Barking
office but the successful candidate may be expected to work from any of our
other offices as and when required The job would offer excellent experience
of working in a busy legal practice to a Paralegal or Law Graduate who has
passed the LPC and has a keen interest in making a career in this area of
law. The successful candidate will have the
following attributes:
Please apply to:
julie.young@sternberg-reed.co.uk with your CV and a covering letter
stating why you are interested in this role and how your experience and
skills match the requirements for this role. We are an Equal Opportunities Employer
Housing
Solicitors/Caseworkers
Edwards Duthie is a large, well respected firm with a number of offices in
East London and
Our Community Law Team has expertise in all areas of social welfare law,
including housing & debt, welfare benefits, community care and mental
health. The team has a
particularly strong reputation for housing law The team holds Housing
Possession Court Duty Scheme contracts with the Legal Aid Agency at Bow,
Edmonton and Romford County Courts.
We now wish to recruit experienced
housing caseworkers or solicitors to join our Community Law Team.
Successful applicants will have a sound knowledge of housing law and
litigation and ideally will have experience of acting as a duty advisor
under the LAA’s Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes.
We have dedicated Human Resources, IT and Facilities Teams to develop and
support all of our legal teams.
Salary according to experience.
ARE YOU RECRUITING?
If so,
make sure your recruitment opportunities come to the attention of
outstanding candidates – FREE
Take
advantage of the Housing Law Week free Recruitment service. |
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