GT Stewart  Solicitor – Housing Team We are a renowned multiservice law firm committed to access justice. Our lawyers specialise in criminal defence, family law, housing, civil liberties and human rights. We are a Legal 500, and Chambers UK recommended firm who are currently recruiting an experienced full-time Solicitor to join our housing team. This is a supervisory role based at East Dulwich Office and you will oversee a small team of junior staff members. Main Duties and Responsibilities Professional pro-active approach, strong client care skills and a sensitive and sympathetic unders ..read more

Regular readers will no doubt recall this remarkable case, in which Notting Hill Genesis sought and obtained a freezing injunction against a disbarred barrister, Katrina McCarthy for tortiously inducing a breach of contract by getting NHG’s tenant to pay the rent money to her in what she claimed was a ‘court rent account’ for a disrepair dispute, thus giving rise to arrears and a possession claim. Katrina McCarthy then had the chutzpah to purport to be the tenant’s McKenzie Friend in the possession proceedings (without, obviously, turning over any of the money she had taken, some £23,000.) The ..read more

A couple of case reports are on the go, but maybe significantly delayed, I’m working up to moving house next week, and physically and mentally, everything is all over the place and probably in the wrong box. But we have to note the King’s Speech and the apparent government legislative agenda for housing and leasehold. It is, sadly (though not entirely sadly) notable for what is not in it. The speech confirmed the carrying over of the Renters (Reform) Bill – soon heading into committee stage. But as we now know from the DLUHC response to the select committee report on the bill proposals, the re ..read more

Harrow Law Centre Solicitor – Housing 35 hours per week (part time considered) Salary                 £47,080 per annum plus pension Annual Leave    26 days per annum plus bank holidays Location             Hybrid Harrow/some remote working Deadline for application:    Noon Monday 13th November Harrow Law Centre is a small, effective, and forward-thinking Law Centre which provides specialist legal advice & representation to com ..read more

We already know that there will be a (residential) leasehold reform bill as part of the King’s Speech, but the Sunday Times today (29.10.23) has some more details about what might be included. Leasehold houses The most eye-catching proposal is probably the least important. We’re told that “All new houses in England and Wales will have to be sold as freehold properties”. That’s hardly new. It’s been government policy since Sajid Javid was (briefly) housing minister (i.e. back in 2016/17) and, frankly, the announcement of the policy has already largely destroyed the market in leasehold houses (s ..read more

Global 100 Ltd v Jimenez & Ors (2023) EWCA Civ 1243 This was the Court of Appeal judgment in the latest of Global 100 (and Global Guardians) attempts to get out of properties occupied by guardians being subject to local auhtority licensing requirements, and the consequences of that. It was a second appeal from the Upper Tribunal decision in Global 100 Ltd v Jimenez & Ors (HOUSING – HOUSE IN MULTIPLE OCCUPATION – RENT REPAYMENT ORDER – “property guardians”) (2022) UKUT 50 (LC) (our note) which upheld Rent Repayment Orders for failure to licence. It was also the joined appeal of of the U ..read more

Szorad & Anor v Kohli (2023) EW Misc 12 (CC) A county appeal to a circuit judge on the perennial question of how many deposit regulations breaches can be claimed for in respect of the same deposit. (To be honest, I’d though that although we don’t have a higher court judgment on the point, some sort of consensus had been reached. It appears not. Some of the history is here, and here, and here and here and here. ) Mr Szorad and Ms Kozmar were the assured shorthold tenants of Mr Kohli initially on a 12 month tenancy from July 2019, then on a statutory periodic until they left in December 2020 ..read more

Ayinla v London Borough of Newham. Central London County Court. 29 September 2023 (copy of judgment) Our thanks to Haroon Sarwar of TV Edwards for the judgment in this section 204 appeal. The key issue was whether LB Newham had met the requirements of satisfying itself that a private sector tenancy offered in discharge of duty was suitable, with regard to the judgment in Hajjaj v City of Westminster (2021) EWCA Civ 1688 (our note) and the conditions in Article 3 of The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2012. There is a lengthy history to the appeal, which itself follo ..read more

Anthony Gold Solicitors are seeking a Property Disputes Paralegal who will be responsible for supporting fee-earners in the property disputes team based at our London Bridge office. The role would involve supporting Solicitors in a varied range of property disputes and housing related personal injury claims for tenants, leaseholders and homeowners against landlords and developers. The claims mainly relate to housing conditions and building defects. Alongside this work, the solicitors also act for landlords, tenants and letting agents on residential landlord and tenant disputes and advising on ..read more

After a lot of concern that the Bill was going to be lost, the Government announced that the second reading of the Renters (Reform) Bill will take place on Monday 23 October, so enabling it to be carried forward into the next parliamentary session after the King’s Speech in November. Hurrah?? Well no. Not at least as far as the implementation of the end of section 21 (and with it, the whole apparatus of changed possession grounds) goes, or so it seems. In the government’s response to the Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee report on the published Renters (Reform) Bil ..read more