Archive for September 2009
Accommodation pending review: Mohammed in action
R (Gebremarium) v City of Westminster [2009] EWHC 2254 (Admin)
Thanks to the Garden Court housing bulletin for pointing to this one. We had to look around as the judgment is not yet available anywhere except casetrack.
This was the permission hearing of an application for judicial review of a decision by Westminster not to exercise its [...]
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Welcome to the High Court …
Welcome, Kenneth Parker QC, to the High Court. In a case which has more of the surreal about it, Kenneth Parker QC, sitting then as a Deputy Judge, had to decide whether to grant leave to a litigant in person to challenge Octavia Housing and Care’s allocations policy as it applied to that particular litigant [...]
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Taking in a lodger may invalidate your insurance
This is the subject of an excellent (if worrying) article in today’s Observer. Were you aware that failing to make proper enquiries, or taking in students (which some insurers find particularly objectionable “because the lifestyle of students – bringing friends home and perhaps leaving doors unlocked – poses a greater risk” according to the [...]
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Fraudsters target student tenants
Most students living away from home will need to find living accommodation. And where better to do this than one of the many online property services advertising properties to rent? There is just one problem though. That property you really love, may not actually exist!
There is a growing problem of criminals advertising [...]
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Allocations: Risk v Need
In R(M) v Hackney LBC [2009] EWHC 2255 (Admin), Cranston J was faced with a difficult case which “… raises the issue of reconciling individual rights with the rights of the community”. The rights concerned were the Claimant’s rights to an allocation of a property which was suitable for him, but unlikely to be [...]
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The Housing Law Website – DemotedTenancy
The demoted tenancy, introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, enables Local authorities and housing trusts to deal more effectively with anti-social behaviour. It instigates a two-stage regime entitling such landlords to apply to demote an otherwise secure tenancy; and then, during this demoted period, the landlord may seek possession of the property as of right (provided it follows the statutory procedure.)
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The Housing Law Website – Secure Tenancy
Secure Tenancies are the most common form of tenancies provided by local authorities. The relevant provisions are found in Part IV of the Housing Act 1985 (HA 1985). Amendments have been made by the HA 1988 and HA 1996. To gain possession of a secure tenancy, the landlord must prove one or more of the statutory grounds.
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The Housing Law Website – Introductory Tenancy
Section 124 of the Housing Act 1996 introduced a new regime specifically aimed at Local Authorities and Housing Action Trusts. Under the scheme, such bodies can elect to operate an introductory tenancy regime. Once such a regime has been elected, every periodic tenancy entered into (barring some exceptions) will be an Introductory Tenancy.
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The Housing Law Website – Non-Secure Tenancy
Although not a true legal classification; the phrase ‘non-secure tenancy’ is often used to refer to a tenancy which would otherwise be secure, (i.e. the landlord and tenant conditions are satisfied), however fall within one of the statutory exceptions. (HA 1985 Sch 1). A landlord may gain possession of a non-secure tenancy with relative ease.
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The Housing Law Website – Assured Tenancy
The Housing Act 1988 introduced into the private sector two new types of tenancy; the assured tenancy and the assured shorthold tenancy. Further, in consequence of this Act, most tenancies granted by Housing Associations were removed from the remit of HA 1985 (Local Authority tenancies), and instead fell within HA 1988, with the Housing Association becoming a Registered Social Landlord.
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