Archive for October 2010
Court of appeal to decide what is a protected caravan site
In Brightlingsea Haven v Morris [2008] EWHC 1928 (QB), the High Court considered whether Haven Village in Brightlingsea was a “protected site” within the meaning of the Caravan Sites Act 1968. This is an important question because the Mobile Homes Act 1983 grants a degree of security of tenure to residential occupiers of mobile homes [...]
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Two More Housing Act 2004 Appeals Reach the Lands Tribunal
Relatively few appeals to the RPT reach the Lands Tribunal. However decisions in two have recently been published on their website. Hanley v Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council is an appeal against the service of a Prohibition Order. These Orders are made under the HHSRS, in Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004, and prohibit the [...]
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Pathway plans and duties
In R(A) v Lambeth LBC [2010] EWHC 1652 (Admin) (Claim 1) and [2010] EWHC 2439 (Admin) (Claim 2), Kenneth Parker J considered first whether it was proper for a personal advisor to complete a ChIldren Act 1989 pathway plan, and, secondly, the degree of specificity required in such a plan. A had a troubled upbringing, having been involved [...]
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HMOs and Council Tax
A different definition of HMOs Did you know that the definition of an HMO for council tax is different from the one that is used for licensing and similar purposes under the Housing Act 2004. The definition is in Regulation 2 Council Tax (Liability for Owners) Regulations 1992. This states: The following are the classes…
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Landlord wins compensation claim against surveyor
I was interested to see in the Observer on Sunday, a report about Emmett Scullion, a buy-to-let landlord, who has won £72,000 compensation from a surveyor who overestimated the rental income the landlord’s property would generate. However although this is a worrying decision for surveyors, it doesn’t mean that landlords can now go out and [...]
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“Could have gone better” corner
Just a brief note on a couple of tangentially housing-related cases, both of which serve as illustrations of how not to go about things as claimants and in one case, as a defendant as well. A little cruel, perhaps, as to be human is to err, but the oops factor is irresistible. London Borough of [...]
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Accommodating ‘formerly relevant children’
SO, R (on the application of) v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham [2010] EWCA Civ 1101 I’m a bit slow in getting to this one (and the rest of our backlog). We’re all more than a little busy. My apologies. This is the Court of Appeal hearing of a case that first surfaced as [...]
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Power to the people!
NL doesn’t have a vote in the New York gubernatorial election but, if we did, we’d probably cast it for the “Rent is Too Damn High” party. The performance of Jimmy McMillan in the recent gubernatorial debates has become something of a Youtube hit (available here; see also here for a more considered interview). I’m [...]
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Agents renewal commission is unfair says Judge
After the Foxtons case, many landlords wondered how the courts would treat renewal commission clauses in landlords contracts with their letting agents. A recent case reported in the Legal Action Magazine is interesting. The case is Chesterton Global Ltd v. Finney, Lambeth County Court, 30 April 2010 (it has been previously reported on the Pain…
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Fair limit on damages for ex-TTs?
Chase v Islington LBC Clerkenwell & Shoreditch County Court 30/07/2010 This case is reported in the October 2010 ‘Recent Developments’ in Legal Action. It is an interesting case on the use of applications under Schedule 11, 21(3) Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 to have a period of tolerated trespasser-hood treated as a continuous tenancy with [...]
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