Free Webinar - Renters (Reform) Bill

This webinar provided an overview of the Renters (Reform) Bill currently before Parliament, consideration of proposed mandatory grounds for possession, abolition of s.21 no-fault evictions, and higher standards in the private rented sector.

Speakers also covered the Renters (Reform) Bill’s strengths and weaknesses.

Speaker Panel

Nick Bano, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers (Chair)
Nick Bano specialises in representing homeless people, residential occupiers, and destitute & migrant households in both public law and private law disputes. He has acted in many of the most important housing law cases in recent years. The legal directories consistently recognise his expertise in this field, as well as his inventiveness and commitment to his clients.

Nick has a particular specialism in cases where social entitlements overlap with equality and discrimination law.  He has been instructed in many of the key cases in this area, including TM v Metropolitan, Forward v Aldwyck and London & Quadrant v Patrick (on the Public Sector Equality Duty in housing possession claims) and Adesotu v Lewisham (on discrimination against homelessness applicants). Nick is the author of A Practical Guide to the Public Sector Equality in Housing (2023).

Liz Davies KC, Joint Head of Garden Court Chambers 
Liz is a social housing silk ranked in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 and has been ranked as a "star individual" and Tier 1. She specialises in all aspects of housing law, with particular expertise in homelessness and the allocation of social housing. She also practises in areas of community care and Children Act cases, particularly where accommodation might be an issue. 

She acts as a consultant to the homelessness charity Crisis, and has assisted in drafting the Homelessness Reduction Act 2018, and amendments to the Domestic Abuse Bill relating to homelessness. She is the co-author of Housing Allocation and Homelessness (Luba, Davies, Johnston & Buchanan, LexisNexis, 6th ed, 2022). She is Joint Head of Garden Court Chambers.

Kevin Gannon, Barrister, Garden Court Chambers
Kevin practises in housing law, specialising in homelessness, possession, disrepair, illegal eviction and nuisance. In homelessness, he is experienced in dealing with cases involving eligibility, priority need, intentionality and suitability. He has a particular interest in housing cases that involve public law issues and human rights arguments.

Kevin also has experience in housing cases with community care or immigration law aspects. He sits part-time as a social security tribunal judge and has particular expertise in cases involving social security law including Housing Benefit and Universal Credit. Kevin co-writes the Housing Benefit Law Update in the Legal Action journal.