Housing Law Update 31 October 2021

Introduction

In order to keep up with developments in housing law I try to visit the sources of new information at least once a month and find any new stuff which is there. I am going to try and share this process so as to spread the word about new developments and to try and promote discussion of the issues raised by the new information

The main areas I have been looking into are Law Reports, Webinars and new articles, web sites and blog posts. To find Law Reports I visit:-

Lime Legal is also good for finding out about new articles or other developments in housing law.

For Webinars I make a note of the invitations I get mainly barristers chambers, mainly Doughty Street Chambers, Cornerstone Barristers, 1 Pump Court Chambers  and Garden Court Chambers More recently DG Legal who have been putting out a lot of good quality webinars. One of the most positive effects of coronavirus on my work has been that what were previously seminars held if offices or chambers are now on line webinars which can not only be watched in real time from home but also later on video. I very much hope that providers will continue to put webinars on line in this way in the future even if it is combined with old fashioned type seminars.

This month there have been a lot of top quality webinars, not least because Cornerstone Barristers Housing Law Week has taken place.

If anyone else knows of any interesting information or sources of information which I have missed please let me know with a comment below

Recent Webinars

Cornerstone Barristers

Housing Law Related Judicial Review
Collection and Use of Personal data: a Guide for Social Landlords
Dealing With Vulnerable Tenants
Allocation and Homelessness: What Are The Key Issues Facing Local Authorities?
Housing litigation Post Lockdown: Everything You Need To Know

Doughty Street Chambers

Resisting Anti-Social Behaviour From the Basics To Discontinuance and Committal
Possession Update 

DG Legal

Housing: Public Law Breaches
Best Practice Guide To Anti-Social Behaviour Cases

Notable Cases

Spahi-Shoaib v Kingston upon Thames Royal London Borough Council County Court (Central London), 31 August 2021
A County Court has held that a council had erred in its determination of whether a father was in priority need for housing.
A mother, who had a history of drug use, was unable to look after her teenage children. The children’s father applied to Kingston upon Thames Royal London Borough Council for accommodation and was placed in temporary accommodation outside of the Borough while his application was being considered. The children stayed with a family member. After assessing the application, Kingston upon Thames Royal London Borough Council decided that the father did not have a priority need for housing, as (1) his children were not living with him, and (2) section 189 of the Housing Act 1996 (“priority need for accommodation”) did not apply, as the children were not currently ‘dependent’ on him (as they lived with another family member). The father appealed.
In allowing the appeal, the County Court, held that Kingston upon Thames Royal London Borough Council should have considered whether the children may reasonably be expected to be dependent on their father, rather than whether they were currently dependent on him, and if so, whether it could reasonably be expected that they may live with him at some point in the future.
A transcript of this decision is not available.

Source - Capsticks Website

Local Government Ombudsman award of £27,000 compensation after 9 years of unsuitable accommodation - see Nearly Legal 

Other Useful Information

Domestic Abuse
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021: What does it mean for social housing providers? - By Tara O'Leary at Cornerstone Barristers. This was actually posted in July but is extremely useful so I have included it here. More recently Shelter have posted a summary of all  Court orders to remove the perpetrator and prevent abuse  on the Shelter Website.

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