Housing case law - Rightsnet

8 April, 2024

High Court rules that council’s housing allocation policy relating to reciprocal transfers is unlawful as it indirectly discriminates against women who need to move to escape violence

AK, R (On the Application Of) v Westminster City Council [2024] EWHC 769 (Admin)

5 April, 2024

Local authority failed to follow its allocation policy in considering tenant’s request for parents who had come from Ukraine to be added to her housing application

Kukhtyak, R (on the application of) v The London Borough of Hounslow [2023] EWHC 2914 (Admin)

5 April, 2024

Court of Appeal considers whether the right of first refusal provided to qualifying tenants under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 had priority over the rights of a ‘recalcitrant’ freeholder

Donovan v Prescott Place Freeholder Ltd & Ors [2024] EWCA Civ 298

4 April, 2024

High Court refuses claimant permission to challenge validity of council tax debt recovery methods and the whole council tax charging regime as she had alternative remedies available to do so

Kofa, R (On the Application Of) v Oldham Metropolitan Bolton Council [2024] EWHC 685 (Admin)

4 April, 2024

Court of Appeal finds that where leasehold agreement provided for lessor to pay a 'proportion' of service charge relating to particular estate, landlord was not entitled to apply flat rate charge across all estates

Howe Properties (NE) Ltd v Accent Housing Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 297

3 April, 2024

Court of Appeal upholds council’s review decision that a one-bedroom flat allocated to a homeless, separated parent was suitable despite evidence of a pending shared care order for his children

Querino v Cambridge City Council (Rev1) [2024] EWCA Civ 314

2 April, 2024

Round-up of recent Upper Tribunal housing case law

26 March, 2024

Local authority failed to make effective decision to end duty to provide accommodation and so that duty continued

Bano, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Waltham Forest [2024] EWHC 654 (Admin)

25 March, 2024

High Court upholds decision refusing to grant freeholder relief from sanction for repeated failures to disclose relevant documents and consequent declaration that tenants could acquire freehold

Winchester Park Ltd v 1 Palace Gate Freehold Ltd [2024] EWHC 661 (Ch)

22 March, 2024

High Court dismisses claimant’s deposit penalty claim despite landlord failing to comply with specific requirements about information provision under statutory scheme

Lowe v Governors of Sutton's Hospital In Charterhouse [2024] EWHC 646 (Ch)

19 March, 2024

High Court rules that Secretary of State’s failure to collect statistical monitoring data in relation to accommodating pregnant and new mother asylum seekers breached PSED

DXK, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 579 (Admin)

19 March, 2024

High Court rules that equitable doctrine of proprietary estoppel prevents assertion of a right to possession under a lease of part of a building that was subsequently extended and occupied by the claimant

El Massouri v Omani Estates Ltd [2024] EWHC 534 (Ch)

5 March, 2024

Court of Appeal rules that the Right to Manage applies to any configuration of ‘premises’ with no need to specify the smallest possible configuration within those premises

Assethold Ltd v Eveline Road RTM Company Ltd [2024] EWCA Civ 187

1 March, 2024

Round-up of recent Upper Tribunal housing case law

19 February, 2024

High Court considers whether a house in multiple occupancy should be assessed as a single dwelling or separate dwellings for council tax purposes

Stanuszek v Bunyan (Listing Officer) [2023] EWHC 3275 (Admin)

12 February, 2024

High Court holds that judicial review was not the appropriate remedy to deal with whether accommodation provided to homeless couple was ‘suitable’

AB & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v Westminster City Council [2024] EWHC 266 (Admin)

9 February, 2024

High Court rules that council acted unlawfully by failing to consider exercising discretion to backdate a housing register application to the date of a previous application

Montano, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Lambeth [2024] EWHC 249 (Admin)

6 February, 2024

Court of Appeal considers whether actions of a landlord and joint tenants could lead to an inference that a joint tenancy had been surrendered and regranted as a new sole tenancy

Rahimi v City of Westminster Council [2024] EWCA Civ 73

2 February, 2024

High Court refuses permission to bring judicial review of council’s allocation scheme despite long delay in finding claimant and her disabled child more suitable accommodation

MJ, R (On the Application Of) v London Borough of Islington [2024] EWHC 159 (Admin)