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Housing Law Blog

Our housing law specialists regularly write about related legal topics and breaking news, we welcome your comments on our posts. If you would like more information on our services, please don't hesitate to get in touch on 01616 966 229.

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New homelessness and domestic violence guidance

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New guidance has been published by the government this week to ensure that victims of domestic violence can more easily access safe long term accommodation. The guidance is subject to a ten week consultation process which will run until 5 th ...

Universal Credit applicants left without income for six weeks

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Local food banks are currently seeking to increase their supplies (some up to an extra 15 tonnes) in order to prepare for more demand following the hardship being caused by new Universal Credit applications. Ministers have already called on the...

Permission required for warrant of possession

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Landlords and mortgagees will now need to act very carefully before they try to enforce a possession order against their respective tenants/mortgagors following the recent decision by the Court of Appeal in Cardiff County Council –v- Lee. The Court...

Supreme Court dismisses application to appeal anti-social behaviour test

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The Supreme Court refuses permission for a further appeal in the case of City West Housing Trust v Lindsay Massey [2016] EWCA Civ 704. On the 2 nd November the Supreme Court (Lord Neuberger, Lord Carnwath and Lord Hodge) dismissed the appellant...

The changing legal landscape for charities

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Charities are facing a changing legal landscape and are under increasing scrutiny from law makers and the media alike. Relatively recent, high profile scandals – such as the closure of Kids Company and allegations of pressurised fundraising tactics...

Is 'generation rent' here to stay?

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According to a recent study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies, those born in the early 1980s have only half the wealth of those born in the 1970s had at the same age. As a result, those born in the early 1980s have an average household wealth of...

Landlord pays price for changing locks on rented property

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A private landlord was recently prosecuted by Halton Council for changing the locks on a property he was letting to a tenant and refusing to allow that tenant access to that property. The incident which occurred in January 2016 resulted in the tenant...

The unkown risks of Airbnb

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In a time of economic uncertainty people are looking to supplement their income by either taking a second job or setting up a small business. One way for people to supplement their income which is becoming increasingly popular is Airbnb. Airbnb is a...

Lack of legal aid housing advice hits vulnerable the hardest

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Research undertaken by the Law Society shows that the number of legal aid housing advice providers in England and Wales is reducing dramatically creating legal aid ‘advice deserts’. The research shows that almost a third of legal aid areas have...

The Law Society reveals housing advice 'deserts'

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The Law Society Gazette has today (July 29th) revealed what they call ‘advice deserts’ for housing matters in the UK. Their heatmap shows that a third of legal aid areas have just one housing solicitor present. Regions such as Surrey,...

What is the cause of rising eviction rates in England and Wales?

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In 2015, the Ministry of Justice reported that household evictions in England and Wales reached record levels, with 42,728 renters forcibly removed from their homes. In the first three months of 2016, 10,636 households were evicted from rented accommodation...

Supreme Court hands down important judgment on landlords repairing obligations

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Edwards v Kumarasamy [2016] UKSC 40 - The case concerned a claim for damages for personal injury sustained as a result of alleged disrepair at a property. The tenant (Mr Edwards) had been taking rubbish from the flat to the communal dustbins when he...

Worrying increase in illegal evictions

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Research carried out by the Citizens Advice Bureau shows that there has been a 50 per cent rise in tenants seeking help following an illegal eviction. In order to obtain possession of a property a landlord must first serve a valid notice seeking...

Universal credit implications for landlords and tenants

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Many social housing organisations have called on the Government to review the universal credit scheme as recent statistics show that more than three quarters of tenants receiving universal credit are in rent arrears. The Association of Retained Council...

No Article 8 defence for private landlord possession claims

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On 15 June 2016, the Supreme Court handed down a landmark ruling which prevents tenants, who rent their property from a private landlord, raising Article 8 defences to possession proceedings. Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights is...

One in ten private landlords have no formal tenancy agreement with their tenants

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Research which has been complied by one of the companies which provides insurance for landlords, Direct Line, has revealed that one in ten private landlords do not have a formal tenancy agreement in place with their tenants. It appears that an alarming...

The legal aid residency test

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The legal aid residency test was a new regulation set out in the 2013 Transforming Legal Aid Consultation paper which the Ministry of Justice was proposing to bring into force. The proposed residency test would mean that you must have lived in the UK for 12...

Knowsley Housing Trust axes face to face services

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Social housing provider, Knowsley Housing Trust (‘KHT’) has axed the face to face services it previously offered at One Stop shops across the borough. From 01 April 2016, the services which were located in the Knowsley Council’s offices in...

Private landlords get tougher

Joanne Ellis
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The annual possession statistics have been published and once again it is said that possession cases are going down. Whilst the amount of possession cases started at court have fallen (hardly a surprise given a hike in the issue fee), the number of...

One in ten local authorities are criminalising homelessness

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Research shows that one in ten local authorities across England and Wales are using new powers introduced under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 to criminalise homelessness. Local authorities are using Public Spaces Protections Orders...

The vicious circle - housing

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Social housing tenants can end up struggling with their finances for many reasons, from getting into debt or seeing their benefits cut. A major challenge faced by low-income tenants is managing money effectively to keep on top of monthly financial...

Landlords delay repairs to furnished properties pending 'wear and tear' tax break

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Tenants may face longer waits for repair works to be completed to furnishings and fittings by their landlords as a consequence of new tax rules coming into force later this year.  A recent study has revealed that almost a third of landlords have...

Tenant narrowly avoids being evicted from her council property

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A tenant has narrowly avoided being evicted from her council property for anti-social behaviour. Sheffield City Council started Court proceedings against the tenant due to her repeatedly causing a nuisance to her neighbours by threatening them and even at...

Woman prosecuted for falsely obtaining social housing property

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A woman from West Oxfordshire has been prosecuted by the criminal courts for falsely obtaining a social housing property. The woman was convicted of false representation on 05 January 2016 after she had failed to disclose in her application to West...

Renters at risk if interest rates rise

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Thousands of tenants who rent from a private landlord face eviction at short notice when their homes are repossessed by their landlord’s mortgage company. Recent statistics published by the Citizens Advice Bureau show that up to 6,800 tenants are...

Public Spaces Protection Order criminalises rough sleepers

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Some Local Authorities in London have recently introduced the Public Spaces Protection Order (‘PSPO’) which is designed to deter antisocial activity. This allows authorities to ban and regulate certain activities in some public places. The Local...

Legal Aid - Is it really gone?

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With the media’s portrayal of the cuts to Legal Aid you could be forgiven for thinking that Legal Aid no longer exists, however this is not the case. Housing law is an area of law in which Legal Aid is still available for specific types of cases. The...

What to do if your landlord issues you with a notice

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There are a number of types of notice your landlord may issue you with, the most important thing is not to panic. You should always seek independent legal advice straight away if you are served with any type of  notice. The main type of notice that you...

Retaliatory eviction - a thing of the past?

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When a landlord evicts a tenant, for asking for repairs to be completed at their property, this is known as retaliatory eviction. Although many landlords are keen to keep their properties in good repair a few either don’t want to or cannot afford the...

Suspending statistics - possession orders

Joanne Ellis
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Statistics show that 42 per cent of possession orders made in the first quarter of the year were suspended. That means that a court was convinced to give the tenant an opportunity to prove they could turn the situation around. In our experience...

Supreme Court does away with the ordinary homeless person

Joanne Ellis
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On 14th May the Supreme Court made a huge decision which is set to have a significant impact on homeless people. In order for a local authority to accept a duty to provide accommodation to anyone a vulnerability test has to be met. Until now, that test...

OCD Action Conference

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Recently I attended at the OCD Action Conference in Manchester where I sat on the panel as a housing solicitor for the question and answer session. It was a very interesting and eye-opening day. Unlike some other mental health disorders, OCD isn't...

Tenant faces eviction because of rare medical condition

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A tenant who claims that he is allergic to electricity faces eviction from his home in South Wales which he rented privately from his landlord.  The tenant is likely to find himself living on the streets after his landlord told him that she wasn't...

What to make of the homeless statistics?

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According to governments statistics produced by the Department for Communities and Local Government in March 2015, the number of homeless applications made to Local Authorities between 1st October 2014 and 31st December 2014 rose by one per...

Positive requirements and the new Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction

Joanne Ellis
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We still await the introduction of the new Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions which can be granted by the County Court under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.  The word was they were expected to come into effect in January 2015,...

Is that party really worth getting an Anti-Social Behaviour Injunction?

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It is quite easy to get carried away when you’re having a house party and many of us may not think twice about turning up the volume of our music as it gets into full swing. However, persistent and intrusive noise can have a negative impact on a...

New injunctions could lead to many more evictions in 2015

Joanne Ellis
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The new Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions which can be granted by the County Court under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 are expected to come into effect in January 2015.  The injunctions can be made against individuals where...

New laws will extend powers for housing providers to deal with anti social behaviour through injunctions

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By Ria Stevens ,  solicitor in the Housing  team Housing law practitioners and housing providers are waiting with baited breath for the introduction of the new Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions as set out in Part 1 of the Anti-Social Behaviour,...

Team from Stephensons completes the Liverpool Legal Walk 2014

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By Jessica Knott, graduate paralegal in the Housing  team The third annual Liverpool Legal Walk took place on 25th September 2014. The walk was organised by the North West Legal Support Trust to raise awareness of the Trust’s Access to...

New anti-social behaviour injunctions delayed

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By Amy Tagoe, Housing law solicitor There has been a Home Office announcement that the commencement of the new anti social behaviour injunctions set out in Part 1 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 will be delayed until...

They think its all over, maybe not!

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Often when a tenant has a Possession Order made against them they think there is nothing more they can do to save their home. This isn’t always the case. A landlord is required to enforce a Possession Order by obtaining a Warrant for Eviction. A...

New law will see anti-social behaviour injunctions for children

Joanne Ellis
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A new law has been passed which allows injunctions to be obtained by housing providers, amongst others, against children as young as 10. The civil injunctions will replace ‘ASBOs’ which are currently dealt with in the criminal courts. Housing...

Retaliatory eviction law under review

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In the last couple of weeks, at a conference at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, the Communities and Local Government department is considering introducing legislation to stop ‘retaliatory eviction’, where tenants’...

Revenge eviction for the complaining tenant?

Joanne Ellis
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At present there is no housing legislation in place to protect private renting tenants facing eviction from vengeful landlords. The term ‘Retaliatory Eviction’ has often been used to describe a situation where a tenant raises a complaint to...

The (not so) shocking disappointment in the bedroom tax results

Joanne Ellis
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BBC News has recently reported, after receiving information requested through the Freedom of Information request from 331 social housing providers, only 6% of those households who have been affected by the bedroom tax have actually moved homes. For those of...

The bedroom tax: A disaster for both landlords and tenants?

Joanne Ellis
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The bedroom tax was introduced in April 2013 with promises from the Government that it would save the taxpayer £1 million per day and increase the availability of larger properties to families that need them. However, the BBC has reported that 28% of...

Tenant almost evicted after dead dog found in rented home

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A tenant of Salix Homes allegedly kept her dead pet dog in the kitchen for several days. This almost led to her eviction from her home.  In April 2013 Margaret Martin was found to be allegedly keeping her dead dog in the kitchen of her rented...

Mutual exchange: an under-used option for social tenants

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The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) published Guidance on 10th February 2014 on promoting mutual exchange. Mutual exchange occurs when two tenants of social landlords swap properties. The guidance suggests that not enough tenants are...

Never mind the turkey, it's eat or stay warm

Joanne Ellis
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The results of the second round of Real Life Reforms study were published in December deepening concern for those in social housing accommodation. The study aims to track the impact of welfare reform across 70-100 representative social housing households...

Manchester woman unlawfully evicted

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The Manchester Evening News reported recently that a woman had come home from her holiday to find her house had been stripped bare by a local housing association. Unfortunately this story is not all that unique. However, in this instance there had been a...

Section 20 Notices still haunting landlords

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I recently represented a client who had been the tenant of the same landlord since 1994. The client had moved properties during this time but his landlord remained the same. The landlord had served a Section 21 Notice and issued accelerated possession...

Tenants beware of your friendly landlord

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In the current climate of bedroom tax, welfare cuts, high unemployment levels and the global recession, more and more social landlords and local authorities are issuing possession proceedings against tenants for relatively low levels of arrears. In...

Legal aid cuts 2013 - Can you still get legal aid for housing cases?

Joanne Ellis
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The Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) introduced sweeping cuts to legal aid from April 2013. As a result, the social welfare law category (consisting of welfare benefits, debt, employment/discrimination, community care and housing)...

Single man granted tenancy of three bedroom house due to impact of 'bedroom tax'

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In a recent case, a local housing association brought trespass proceedings against a single man occupying a three bed roomed property. Prior to the proceedings, the man lived at the property with a relative, the tenant. The tenant left the property, leaving...

Over half of people affected by bedroom tax are at risk of losing their homes

Joanne Ellis
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The bedroom tax’s spiralling consequences have plunged over half of those affected by the new charges into arrears. The bedroom tax which was introduced in April 2013 applies a 14% deduction in housing benefit where the claimant lives in social housing...

Threat of eviction increases as families feel the hit of the bedroom tax

Joanne Ellis
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National Housing Federation figures published this month suggest that a quarter of tenants hit by the bedroom tax are unable to pay their rent for the first time ever. It is estimated that over 50,000 families are in rent arrears and facing eviction as...

UN and Shapps in dispute over bedroom tax

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On 11th September 2013, a UN special rapporteur released her preliminary findings on social housing policies and procedures in the UK.  Rachel Rolnik has told the government it ought to suspend and review its policy on the bedroom tax. It is...

Three bedrooms or one?

Joanne Ellis
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The first-tier tribunal in Scotland has allowed an appeal against the bedroom tax cut for a tenant. Fife Council decided to cut Annie Harrower-Gray’s housing benefit in accordance with the bedroom tax. Annie appealed the decision on the...

Not so simple...

Joanne Ellis
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In 2012 there were over 150,000 possession orders granted by the courts. This number is expected to increase this year following the introduction of the ‘bedroom tax’ in April 2013. However, is enough being done to help people who find...

Rioter removed

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Last week, on August 8th 2013, for the first time a rioter from the 2011 London riots was evicted from their Council property. Jonathan Mason, a tenant of Wandsworth Council was evicted from his property. The eviction, coincidentally, took place...

Universal Credit rolls out

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Universal Credit is finally upon Wigan claimants now. It is a new benefit aimed at single claimant jobseekers within the region. Cast your minds back to 29th April when the Government initially proposed to roll-out Universal Credit across six North West...