Issue 22 - 26th June | News | Garden Court Chambers | Leading Barristers located in London, UK

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Specialist Advice & Support with Housing Law Cases

Free specialist help and support with housing cases and housing law queries is still available from

Garden Court Chambers Housing Line
Tues to Thurs
2 - 5pm
020 7993 7666

Calls are taken direct by barristers specialising in Housing Law and the free service is available to solicitors firms and other organisations holding:

a LSC General Civil Contract;
a LSC Specialist Quality Mark;
a Quality Mark for General Help with Casework; or
a LSC General Criminal Contract doing Mental Health or Public Law work

Similar LSC funded services in Housing Law are available from:

(England) Shelter Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm 020 7505 4688
(Wales) Morgans and Shelter Cymru Mon to Fri 10am - 12.30pm and 1 - 3.30pm 0845 602 3449

Cases

Walker v Birmingham City Council [2006] EWCA Civ 815 , 22 June CA. Mrs Walker and her husband became joint tenants of a council house in 1965. Mr Walker died in 1969, so Mrs Walker became the sole tenant by survivorship. When Mrs Walker died in 2004, her son wanted to succeed to the secure tenancy. Succession was denied on the grounds that Mrs Walker's becoming the sole tenant in 1969 amounted to a succession (Housing Act 1985 s.88(1)(b)) and the Act only allows for one succession. The Court of Appeal dismissed that argument. Since secure tenancies, and the right to succeed to one, did not exist in 1969, the current law could not act to retrospectively transform an act of survivorship into one of succession. Click Here to read the full judgement

Church Commissioners for England v Meya[2006] EWCA Civ 821, 21 June CA. The claimant landlords sought possession against a statutory periodic assured shorthold tenant who had held-over after her one-year fixed term tenancy expired. A two-months notice under s.21 HA 1988 had been served. The issue was the 'period' of the tenancy for the purposes of s.21. The tenant argued that it was the same period as her last tenancy i.e. one year, so the notice was invalid. The Court of Appeal held that it was the last period for which rent was payable and paid i.e. one quarter. Click Here to read the full judgement

Parry v Derbyshire Dales DC [2006] EWHC (Admin) 988 and 1481, 20 June Admin Crt. Mr Parry took a job in Spain. He let-out his house on a two-year tenancy agreement to cover his period of absence. The tenant left after only one year. Mr Parry neither returned nor re-let. The council claimed Council Tax at 75% on the basis that the house was his 'sole or main residence' during that period. Its decision was upheld by a valuation tribunal but quashed on appeal. Stanley Burnton J's judgment offers helpful guidance on the 'residence' test. Mr Parry's claim for over £70,000, as his costs for the appeal (brought in person), was referred to detailed assessment. Click Here to read the full judgement

Putans v Tower Hamlets LBC [2006] 20 June, LAWTEL 21 June ChD. Mr Putans came to the UK from Latvia (an accession state). After a period of work, he was unemployed and applied to Tower Hamlets as homeless. The council decided that he was not eligible and upheld that decision on review. Mr Putans lodged a county court appeal (under Housing Act 1996 s204) and asked for accommodation pending appeal. When that was refused, he appealed under s204A. Pending that appeal he obtained a without-notice injunction but a judge discharged it. Mr Putans appealed. The High Court dismissed that appeal. An accession state national who was not working was prima facie not 'eligible' and the council had no power to accommodate pending any appeal against that decision (save on human rights grounds) because of the prohibition in Sch 3 Nationality, Immigration & Asylum Act 2002.