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The Latest Housing Law News

The new Assured Tenancies: the UK Government has established a Frequently Asked Questions webpage for landlords and tenants on the implications of the change to the annual rent ceiling made on 1 October 2010 which has created thousands more assured tenants. To access the FAQ pages, click here.

Private Rented Sector Regulation: while no further action is being taken towards the regulation of the private rented sector in England, in Scotland the government has laid a Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Bill before the Scottish Parliament designed to improve standards of service for consumers in private rented housing. For a copy of the Bill, click here. For the Explanatory Notes, click here. For the Policy Memorandum which explains why further regulation is being sought, click here.

'Localism' hits Housing: in another step towards reducing the perceived burden of regulation on local authorities in England, the UK Government has made The Housing Renewal Grants (Prescribed Form and Particulars) (Revocation) (England) Regulations 2010. They repeal a whole swathe of regulations which prescribe the forms in which applications for housing grants (including disabled facilities grants) have to be made and now leave it to councils to draw up their own forms. For the regulations, click here. For the Explanatory Memorandum, click here.

The Latest Housing Case Law

R (A) v London Borough of Lambeth (Rev 1)
[2010] EWHC 2439 (Admin)
7 October 2010
In the course of judicial review proceedings, the council produced a new Pathway Plan for a young man to whom it owed duties under the Children Act 1989. The new plan was criticised as inadequate in respect of accommodation. The judge said that the new document was unlawful because it did "no more than state the present position of the Claimant so far as accommodation is concerned. It does not amount to a detailed operational plan dealing with the Claimant's accommodation needs. It does not specify where it is considered that it would be safe for him to live ... It does not consider whether, for example, he can live in supported accommodation and whether this would be in the public or private sector. [It]... does not analyse with sufficient precision what the Claimant's needs currently are and what they are likely to be as regards accommodation and how and by whom those needs will be dealt with." For the full judgment, click here.

Taunton Deane BC v Packman
[2010] EWHC 2437 (QB)
5 October 2010
Without obtaining planning permission, a group of Irish Travellers established a mobile home site on land in the council's area. It served an enforcement notice. The Travellers repeatedly applied for planning permission but were unsuccessful. The council sought an injunction to end the encampment under Town & Country Planning Act 1990 section 187B. The High court found that there were clear and powerful reasons for granting the injunction in order to bring to an end over four years of unauthorised occupation of the land. For the full judgment, click here.

Housing Law Articles

Don't down tools
(Advocating retention of tools to tackle anti-social behaviour in housing)
T. Doyle
[2010] 8 October Inside Housing p17
To read the article, click here.

Tackling Gang Violence
J. Plant
[2010] 8 October Inside Housing p24
To read the article, click here.

Giving notice
(The new rules on notice to tenants of borrowers)
K. Neald
[2010] 8 October Inside Housing p24
To read the article, click here.

Update: Residential Property
J. Armstong-Fox
[2010] 154 Solicitors Journal No 37 p25

Housing Law Books

Defending Possession Proceedings
The new (seventh) edition of Defending Possession Proceedings by Jan Luba QC, John Gallagher, Derek McConnell and Nic Madge runs to over 1000 pages and was published last month. Price: £55.00. For full details, click here.
To watch an independent review, click here.

Housing Allocation and Homelessness
The new (second) edition of Housing Allocation and Homelessness: Law and Practice by Jan Luba QC and Liz Davies has been published. Price: £50.00.
For full details, click here.
To read an independent review, click here.

Repairs: tenants' rights
The new (fourth) edition of Repairs: tenants' rights by Jan Luba QC, Deirdre Forster and Beatrice Prevatt has been published. Price: £45.00. For full details, click here.
To watch an independent review, click here.
To read an independent review, click here.

Housing Law Handbook - 10% off
The Housing Law Handbook, edited by Stephen Cottle and written by other members of the Garden Court Housing Team, covers possession proceedings, homelessness rights, the allocation of social housing, and other routes into housing. To claim your 10% discount, order online and quote promotion code GCTHLH when prompted.
To read an independent review, click here.

Housing Law Events

This Week

14 October 2010
Judicial Review Conference
A leading team from Garden Court Chambers will give an up-to-date overview of all aspects of judicial review including housing law, together with practical advice on how to apply the law successfully.
For full details, click here.

14 October 2010
Anti-social Behaviour and Social Housing Conference 2010
A Lime Legal event in London
For more details, click here.