Lime
Legal's General Editor: Jan Luba QC |
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25th November 2015 Update |
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POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW
National licensing scheme for landlords and agents
On
23 November 2015, the new national licensing scheme for private sector
landlords and their agents took effect in Wales. Landlords and agents have
12 months to complete training and registration processes before a
sanctions regime takes effect. For the Ministerial announcement, made on
commencement day,
click here
Homelessness
On
23 November 2015, the House of Commons Library published an updated
version of its comparison of the legal duties to tackle homelessness and
assist people presenting as homeless in England, Wales, Scotland and
Northern Ireland. For a copy,
click here
On
23 November 2015, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published its annual
state of the nation report
Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion written by the New Policy
Institute. It records that: (1) there are now 53,000 homeless households
in the UK, 13,000 more than five years ago. The growth is due to families
being unable to find a suitable new home when they reach the end of their
tenancies in the private rented sector; and (2) the proportion of people
living in poverty who live in the private rented sector has nearly doubled
over the last 10 years to 4.2 million. The numbers living in other sectors
have fallen, to 4.4 million in the socially rented sector and 4.1 million
owner occupiers. For the full report,
click here
Right to Buy
On
21 November 2015, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published new research
which explores the likely impact of Right to Buy for housing association
tenants in need of low-cost rented homes. It also explores the likely
impact on housing supply. For a copy of the research report,
click here For its part, the UK Government reports that
among housing association tenants there is “Huge interest in Right to Buy
with thousands registering every week”. For its press release,
click here
Housing Benefit
On
18 November 2015, the DWP issued its latest bulletin on developments
relating to Housing Benefit issues. For a copy of HB Bulletin
G11/2015,
click here
Gypsies & Travellers 1
On
19 November 2015, the UK Government published data from the count of
Traveller caravans in England which took place on or around 16 July 2015.
The twice-yearly count takes place in January and July, recording the
number of caravans on both authorised and unauthorised sites across
England. For the latest statistics,
click here
Gypsies & Travellers 2
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HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE
Housing and Planning Bill
This is a UK Government Bill about social and private rented housing,
estate agents, rentcharges, planning and compulsory purchase. For a copy
of the Bill, which only applies to housing in England,
click here For the
Explanatory Notes,
click here To
follow the progress of the Bill,
click here The
Bill passed its Second Reading on 2 November 2015. To read the debate,
click here
For the House of Commons Library
Briefing Paper for Second Reading,
click here The official Impact Assessment of the Bill is
also now available. For a copy,
click here For a
media commentary on the Impact Assessment,
click here
For the CIH briefing on the Bill (members only),
click here for the Local Government Association’s briefing on the Bill,
click here For
a summary from Citizens Advice,
click here For the
LAG Housing Law commentary on the Bill,
click here
For a commentary by Dr Stephen Battersby,
click here. The Bill is now being scrutinised in a Public
Bill Committee. That Committee has issued an invitation for evidence on
the Bill and will receive written evidence until
10 December 2015. For details of how to submit evidence,
click here To see
the record of the public proceedings of the Public Bill Committee
- including the two evidence
sessions with witnesses on 10 November 2015 – and to access all the
written evidence the Committee has received,
click here
Welfare Reform and Work Bill
This UK Government Bill makes provision about: (1) the benefit cap; (2)
social security and tax credits; (3) loans for mortgage interest; and (4)
social housing rents. It has completed all its House of Commons stages and
is now passing through the House of Lords. For a commentary on the final
Commons Stage,
click here For the Bill, as amended in the Commons,
click here For
the Explanatory Notes for that version of the Bill,
click here
To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here. For the documents relating to the Bill
(including several impact assessments),
click here For a
briefing for Lord’s Second Reading prepared by the National Housing
Federation,
click here For the House of Lords Library Note providing
background reading in advance of the Lords Second Reading,
click here Detailed examination of the Bill in the Lords
starts with the first day of the Committee Stage on
2 December 2015.
Immigration Bill
This UK Government Bill would create four new offences to target those
landlords and agents who repeatedly fail to comply with the ‘right-to-rent
scheme’ by letting to tenants subject to immigration restrictions or fail
to evict tenants who they know or have reasonable cause to believe are
disqualified from renting as a result of their immigration status. For the
official Impact Assessment,
click here
To follow the progress of the
Bill,
click here The Bill is now completed its Commons Public
Bill Committee Stage. For the schedule of evidence received and debates
for that Committee,
click here The
Housing Law Practitioners Association has prepared a briefing on clauses
13 and 14 which deal with repossession of tenanted homes. For a copy of
that briefing,
click here The Commons Report and Third Reading stages of
the Bill are expected to take place on Tuesday
1 December 2015. For a copy of the Bill as amended in Committee,
click here
This is a Government Bill introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 7
October 2015. For a copy of the Bill, the Explanatory Notes and related
official documents,
click here For the final Business and Regulatory Impact
Assessment on the Bill,
click here
For the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment on the Bill,
click here
For the final Equality Impact Assessment for the Bill,
click here For the Briefing on the Bill produced by the
Scottish Parliament Information Centre,
click here The Bill is now awaiting the report of
Lead Committee on the Bill, the
Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee. For the evidence
submitted by the Chartered Institute of Housing (Scotland),
click here
Renting Homes (Wales) Bill
Housing (Amendment) Bill
Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill
This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 7 September 2015 by the
Northern Ireland Executive. It
would make provision for and in connection with the licensing of houses in
multiple occupation in Northern Ireland. For a copy of the Bill,
click here For the explanatory memorandum,
click here
To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Karen Buck MP. It would amend
the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented
accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human
habitation. For a copy of the Bill,
click here
It had its Second Reading on 16 October 2015 but was talked-out. It
is again listed for a Second Reading on
29 January 2016. For details on
the (unlikely) future progress of the Bill,
click here For a lawyer’s commentary on its content,
click here For the
Shelter Blog on the Bill and its importance,
click here For a commentary from Dr Stephen Battersby,
click here For the House of Commons Library Briefing on
the Bill,
click here
For the MP’s own perspective on her
Bill being talked-out,
click here For the response of the MP who talked-out the
Bill,
click here
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Dame Angela Watkinson MP. It
would amend the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make provision for
collecting information about tenure and the details of private landlords.
For a copy of the Bill,
click here
It
had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading has been
re-scheduled for 22 January 2016.
For details on the progress of the Bill,
click here For the Briefing Paper prepared by the House of
Commons Library,
click here
Crown Tenancies Bill
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Breaking News:
To find out more just
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NEW HOUSING CASES
Regulatory Notice to Orbit Group Limited
24
November 2015
As a
social landlord, Orbit has a statutory duty under the Regulatory Reform
(Fire Safety) Order 2005 to identify and assess the risk of fire in its
properties. Having identified the hazards and people at risk, it has a
duty to take precautions to prevent the risk of fire. In July 2015, Orbit
reported to the social housing regulator – the Homes & Communities Agency
(HCA) – that it believed it was in breach of the statutory duty to take
precautions, through failure to implement “high risk” actions arising from
Fire Risk Assessments. Following a further investigation, it told the
regulator that there had been several hundred actions categorised as high
risk, relating to hundreds of properties, and that had been outstanding
for periods exceeding two years. The HCA considered this to be a ‘serious
detriment’ to tenants and issued a regulatory notice for breach of the
Home Standard. For a copy of the notice,
click here
Regulatory Notice to Redditch Borough Council
24
November 2015
The
council owns and manages around 6,000 homes. The Homes & Communities
Agency (HCA) has issued a Regulatory Notice to the council having received
evidence of its failure to adhere to the Gas Safety (Installation and Use)
Regulations 1998 (which require that gas safety checks are undertaken
annually by a gas safe engineer). The necessary inspections were overdue
in a large number of cases. The HCA considered this clear evidence of a
breach of the statutory obligation to carry out gas servicing and thus of
the Home Standard in respect of the requirement to meet all applicable
statutory requirements that provide for the health and safety of the
occupants in providers’ homes. The breach exposed a number of tenants to
the potential of serious harm for lengthy periods. For a copy of the
notice,
click here
R
v Jay Liptrot
20
November 2015
The
defendant was a firefighter and a private landlord of 11 properties in the
Prestatyn area of Wales. In 2012, a downstairs tenant in one of his
properties set a fire which spread and killed the tenants of the upper
part. She was convicted of murder. Instead of a proper fire door, a
“woefully inadequate” door made of glass and thin wood failed to act as a
barrier between the communal hallway and stairs leading to the upstairs
flat, and instead funnelled heat and smoke upwards “like a chimney”. The
defendant pleaded guilty to failure to take proper safety precautions at
the house. He was sentenced to 15 months immediate imprisonment and
ordered to pay £4,200 costs and a £100 victim surcharge. For details of
the prosecution,
click here
R
v Lakhbir Jaspal
20
November 2015
The
defendant was a qualified accountant and the deputy chief executive of the
Accord Group of social landlords. He stole £325,000 from his employers by
presenting false invoices. He had used the money to buy two sandwich shop
franchises and was in the course of buying a third. At Birmingham Crown
Court, he pleaded guilty to eight offences of fraud.
He was sentenced to three years immediate imprisonment. For details
of the prosecution,
click here
R
(Gitere) v Secretary of State for the Home Department
19
November 2015.
The
claimant was a destitute asylum seeker. He was provided with accommodation
in Plymouth. He was asthmatic and complained that: (1) the house was
occupied by smokers; and (2) it was too far away from where his severely
disabled child lived (with his mother) in Yeovil, Somerset. In December
2013, he brought a claim for judicial review. In August 2015, the
Secretary of State provided alternative self-contained accommodation in
Bristol and agreed to pay reasonable travel costs between Bristol and
Yeovil so that the claimant could maintain contact with his son (as well
as offering to pay the costs of the claim). Although the claimant wished
to press the claim, the High Court dismissed it as it had become academic.
For the judgment,
click here
Murray v Lancashire Constabulary
18
November 2015
The
police sought and obtained interim and final gang injunctions against
alleged members of the "Deepdale Gang" or "Deepdale Gangsters", operating
in the north of Preston. The evidence in support of the applications
indicated that members of a gang were involved in the illegal drugs trade,
using firearms and other weapons to control and intimidate gang rivals and
others who might stand in their way. On appeal, it was argued that the
gang injunctions ought not to have been made in the terms granted.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. It said the judges “were
amply justified in concluding that an exercise of the power to grant
interim injunctions was appropriate on the materials before them and at
the particular time when they each had to consider the applications. They
were not confined to restraining particular conduct attributed to the
appellant in the past. I consider that once one appreciates that it is
gang related violence that is targeted by the Act, it is clear that the
court is entitled to consider the conduct attributed to the gang as a
whole and to impose such orders as it considers appropriate in the case of
each alleged gang member.” For the judgment,
click here
Garwood v Bolter
18
November 2015
A
bankrupt owned three houses. Although held on mortgages, there was some
equity in them. The trustee in bankruptcy applied for orders for
possession and sale. In the course of the claim, it became clear that the
houses were occupied by tenants. The claim was adjourned so that they
could be served with notices under Housing Act 1988 section 21. That
having been done, the trustee restored the claim. The judge held that the
tenants should be made parties to, and be properly served with, possession
claims under CPR Part 55. Vacant possession was refused. The High Court
dismissed the trustee’s appeal. The judgment is noted on LAWTEL and
WESTLAW. For a legal commentary,
click here
R
(AM) v Havering LBC and Tower Hamlets LBC
R(AK) v Bristol City Council
16
November 2015
The
claimant was a victim of trafficking. As an EEA national awaiting a leave
to remain decision, she was not eligible for housing or welfare support
and could provide for her most basic needs only by engaging in
prostitution. She claimed that her situation was inhuman, degrading and
contrary to the UK’s duties under Article 11 of the Anti-Trafficking
Convention and Article 12 of the Convention Against Trafficking, as well
as Article 3 or Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The
council refused to provide her with accommodation and subsistence-level
financial support. In April 2015, on a claim for judicial review, the High
Court granted an interim injunction requiring the council to pay her £50pw
and accommodate her pending trial. On the eve of that trial, the council
accepted that, until the claimant could find her own accommodation, it was
responsible for providing her with support and assistance to avoid a
violation of Convention or EU rights. For a copy of the Court’s order
reflecting that concession,
click here For further
information about the claim,
click here
X
v A local authority (CH 2391/2015)
16
November 2015
This was
one of a group of housing benefit (HB) appeals concerning decisions to
apply ‘bedroom tax’ reductions to benefit awards. The fact that most HB
awards are running awards has caused difficulties for tenants who did not
immediately dispute decisions to apply reductions to their claims. This
judgment from the Upper Tribunal clarifies the position on ‘late’ appeals
for both councils and tribunals. For the judgment,
click here
Health & Safety Executive v Michael John Bull
13
November 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Having turned on the heating in one of
his properties, the tenants and their family suffered carbon monoxide
poisoning and were taken to hospital. At North Avon Magistrates’ Court,
the defendant admitted breaching regulations 36(2)(a) and 36(3)(a) of the
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £2,360
with costs of £1,532. For details of the prosecution,
click here
JSC BTA Bank v Zharimbetov
13
November 2015
The
claimant bank held a charging order over a property. It applied for orders
for possession and sale. The property was worth more than £5m. The third
defendant claimed that he had previously held a one year assured shorthold
tenancy at a rent of £125,000. Before that expired, he took at 50 year
lease at a rent of £50,000pa. He explained that the owners had wanted a
long term tenant. The bank claimed the lease was a sham. The fact that a
50 year term was unusual and was the maximum allowed by the Law of
Property Act 1925 section 99 suggested that it had been deliberately
created to defeat the claim. The High Court
made possession and sale orders “not be enforced for two months” so
that the tenant: (1) could make arrangements for moving out; and/or (2)
make an application for a hearing at which he could give evidence and be
cross-examined in person about whether the lease was made in good faith.
The judgment is noted on LAWTEL and WESTLAW.
Health & Safety Executive v David Stott
12
November 2015
A
landlord commissioned the defendant to install a new boiler in a tenanted
cottage. The way the boiler was fitted caused excessively high levels of
carbon monoxide to be emitted into the kitchen area and the void where it
could escape into other parts of the cottage. The tenant, his family and
his pets suffered serious carbon monoxide poisoning. At Forfar Sheriff
Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to breaching sections 3(2) and
33(1)(a) to the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was sentenced
to 200 hours community payback to be completed within one year.
For details of the prosecution,
click here
Herefordshire Council v Barclay Julian Rogers
10
November 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Officers from the council’s
environmental health housing team, accompanied by officers from Hereford &
Worcester fire and rescue service and the West Mercia police, entered his
property under warrant on 31 March 2015. They found it was a four storey
HMO occupied by eight persons over three floors, including a basement with
inadequate fire precautions.
At
Hereford Magistrates’ Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to operating an
unlicensed HMO and was fined £3,000 with £1,035 costs and a victim
surcharge of £120. For details of the prosecution,
click here
R
v Ibrahim Bundu
9
November 2015
The
defendant had been employed by Southwark Council to deal with homelessness
applications. In 2014, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment for
abusing his position by allocating 23 properties using forged and
fraudulent documentation. He was ordered to pay £100,000 compensation to
the council. By November 2015, only £1,600 had been paid and he had not
sold his property to cover the debt. He was sentenced at Woolwich Crown
Court to an additional two years imprisonment for that default. For
further details,
click here
Gloucester City Council v Saqib Rasul
8
November 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord of an HMO. On inspection, council
officers found the house to be damp, in disrepair and unfit for living in.
It had damaged and dangerous electrical fittings, as well as broken
bathroom and kitchen facilities. Common areas of building were dirty and
there was evidence of a serious mouse infestation. At Cheltenham
Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was fined £2,500 for failing to manage
the property. He was also fined £1,000 for failing to provide gas and
electrical safety certificates, He was also ordered to pay £1,500 costs.
For details of the prosecution,
click here
6
November 2015
The
defendants were secure tenants. A possession order was made in 2009 when
rent arrears were £1,058. Enforcement was stayed on terms as to payment by
instalments. The terms were breached and successive applications for
warrants resulted in further stays which were again repeatedly breached.
The latest stay was granted in September 2014 when the arrears were
£1,669. The terms of the stay were not complied-with. The council applied
to transfer the proceedings to the High Court so that it could utilise the
enforcement procedures of that court. By the date of the hearing of that
application, the arrears had reached £2,382.50. The tenants cross-applied
for permission to bring a counterclaim for damages for disrepair. That
application was allowed, rendering the application to transfer academic.
But the judgment goes on to examine the basis for, and merits of,
applications to transfer to the county court for enforcement. For the
judgment,
click here For a legal
commentary
click here For the press
release issued by the tenants' solicitors,
click here
Zakharov v Russia
5
November 2015
In 1999,
the applicant moved-in with his partner, B. She had a room in a communal
council flat held under a social tenancy agreement. The applicant and B.
lived together in that room for the following ten years. They never
married but lived together as husband and wife. In 2009, B. died. Her
neighbours locked the applicant out of the flat. The local housing
authorities told the applicant that he had to vacate the room since he had
no legal right to occupy it. The legal code only recognised succession by
a “member of the family”. A Regional Court rejected the applicant’s claim
to the room and he applied to the European Court of Human Rights. It asked
the parties: (1) has there been an interference with the applicant’s right
to respect for his home, within the meaning of Article 8(1); if so, was
that interference in accordance with the law; did it pursue a legitimate
aim; and was it necessary in terms of Article 8(2)?; and (2)
alternatively, has the State fulfilled its positive obligations in the
present case to ensure that the applicant’s right to respect for his home
under Article 8 was exercised effectively? For the official statement of
facts,
click here
Dzaurova v Russia
3
November 2015
In
December 1994 the applicant was granted the status of “internally
displaced person” (IDP). In 2003 she moved into a flat which had been
allocated to her in a municipal temporary housing facility for IDPs. The
applicant lived there until 2013 when the village council sought her
eviction. She had no security of tenure. The local court granted
possession and its decision was upheld by the Supreme Court. Both hearings
were conducted in her absence. She was evicted and applied to the European
Court of Human Rights. It has asked the parties: has there been an
interference with the applicant’s right to respect for her home, within
the meaning of Article 8(1) of the Convention? If so, was that
interference necessary in terms of Article 8(2)? For the official
statement of facts,
click here
Ealing Council v Balwinder Singh Kahlon
30
October 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord of a house in multiple occupation (HMO)
licensed for use by 10 individuals in seven households. A warrant was
obtained to enter the property. Council officers discovered 20
individuals, including two babies, making up 10 households residing at the
address. Some people were living in two windowless rooms that were
unsuitable for residential occupation. Other issues included blocked means
of escape, dirty and unmaintained bathrooms and kitchens, unclean common
parts, and poor maintenance of the emergency lighting. At Ealing
Magistrates’ Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to 18 offences of failing
to comply with the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England)
Regulations 2006 and one offence of breach of section 72(2) of the Housing
Act 2004. The 19 fines imposed totalled £69,100. He was also ordered to
pay costs of £3,180.43 and the victim surcharge of £120. The court made a
collection order for the fines and ordered payment of £25,000 by 27
November 2015 and the balance within three months. For details of the
prosecution,
click here For media comment,
click here
Plymouth City Council v John Mayer
30
October 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Following action by the council to
address poor conditions at his properties, he pleaded guilty to four cases
of failing to apply for a licence to operate a house in multiple
occupation (HMO) as required by the Housing Act 2004. He also failed to
comply with improvement notices under the Housing Act 2004 requiring
adequate heating in tenanted accommodation. He was fined £23,000 with
costs of £1,554.38 and ordered to make payments at a rate of £2,000 per
calendar month. For details of the
prosecution,
click here
Equity Housing Group v Keith Wade
28
October 2015
The
defendant’s mother was a tenant of one of a group of 14 properties for
elderly residents. There was a history of nuisance and disturbance at the
property involving the defendant between April 2014 and February 2015 with
38 police call-outs. In March 2015 an injunction was granted to end that
anti-social behaviour by imposing an exclusion area. There had been a
number of breaches. This was the sixth breach.
The last term of imprisonment was imposed on 31 July for 24 weeks.
Immediately upon his release from that term of imprisonment, the defendant
returned to his mother's property. Having given credit for the early
admission of a further breach, the judge imposed an immediate term of
imprisonment of 36 weeks. For the judgment,
click here
R
v David Kohali
6
October 2015
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS
Houses in Multiple Occupation
On
6 November 2015, the UK Government published a technical discussion paper
setting out options for extending the scope of mandatory licensing of
Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in England. It also sets out our
proposals to streamline the HMO licensing process. The closing date for
comments is 18 December 2015.
For a copy of the consultation paper,
click here For the on-line response form,
click here
Private renting in Northern Ireland
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NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS
Recent Developments in Housing Law
Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2015]
November issue of Legal Action magazine. Available in print and
on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the
article on-line,
click here
For back-issues of this series
of articles,
click here
Homelessness, Austerity and Public Law
David Cowan [2015] UK Constitutional
Law Association Blog 19
November. To read the article,
click here
Change in the
private rented sector
Tessa Shepperson [2015]
Solicitors Journal, 10 November. To read the article,
click here
The Benefits of Positive Requirements
(in injunctions) Chloe Morgan [2015]
24 Dash.Com Housing 19 November.
To read the article,
click here
How can we fix a problem as complex as homelessness?
Naomi Larsson [2015] Guardian
Housing Network 19 November. To read the article,
click here
George Osborne, get your beady eye off the housing benefit budget
Dawn Foster [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 20 November. To read the article,
click here
Who lives in the 4.1m social homes in England and Wales?
Dawn Foster [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 18 November. To read the article,
click here
Four ways housing associations can engage with their tenants
Zoe Wilkins. [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 16 November. To read the article,
click here
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THE HOUSING LAW DIARY 1 December 2015 2 December 2015 9 December 2015 10 December 2015 18 December 2015 2 February 2016
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RECRUITMENT
Social Housing
Solicitor Vacancy with Stephensons Solicitors LLP
Stephensons is an award-winning top 150 law firm, with over 470 staff based
in ten offices across the country.
We are a
national, full-service firm, providing legal services to individuals,
businesses and government organisations. We apply our expertise in publicly
funded work to all areas of the firm, which translates to efficiencies for
each of our clients. We’re proud of our firm, improving access to justice
wherever possible. We’re sustainable, ethical and socially responsible.
We have an
opportunity in our Social Housing team based at our Closing date:
16th December 2015
Hodge Jones & Allen
LLP
Vacancy for a Social
Housing Law Solicitor
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a solicitor with up to 2 years PQE to
join our award winning, dedicated and dynamic social housing team.
To be successful in this role it is essential that you have good
experience of social housing law.
You will be expected to be competent in litigation with excellent client
care skills. In addition, you will have excellent communication and
written skills, be a good team player and be able to work well under
pressure.
Ideally, the successful candidate is likely to have previous experience and
good knowledge of legal aid funding in the context of social housing law.
The firm offers a competitive salary & benefits, as well as excellent career
prospects, broad training, first-class IT facilities and comprehensive
administrative support.
Closing date for applications:
30 November 2015
Please apply by sending a covering letter and CV to Jinal Patel at
recruitment@hja.net.
SOUTH WEST LONDON LAW CENTRES
Vacancy for Housing Caseworker / Solicitor
South West London Law Centres (SWLLC), one of the largest and most
progressive Law Centres in the country, is seeking a Housing
Solicitor/Caseworker to be based in our Wandsworth Branch with some outreach
in our other offices.
There is considerable demand for housing work. There are currently 10
solicitors in the housing team and one trainee. We run a wide range of
housing cases covered by Legal Aid including a significant amount of
representation work as part of the housing court duty schemes. We are
considering looking further at a range of fixed fees and conditional fee
agreements for areas that have now gone out of scope of Legal Aid. We are
also interested in candidates that can combine their housing experience with
any of community care, public law or welfare rights.
Salary:
Up to £33,510 p.a.
according to experience (NJC Scale 35) Housing Law Paralegal Vacancy Sternberg Reed is a well established
Lexcel Accredited law firm with offices in Essex and A vacancy has arisen for a Paralegal to
join our Housing Law Department to support and assist the fee earners in the
preparation and conduct of cases. The role will include undertaking
administrative tasks. This position will be based in our Barking
office but the successful candidate may be expected to work from any of our
other offices as and when required The job would offer excellent experience
of working in a busy legal practice to a Paralegal or Law Graduate who has
passed the LPC and has a keen interest in making a career in this area of
law. The successful candidate will have the
following attributes:
Please apply to:
julie.young@sternberg-reed.co.uk with your CV and a covering letter
stating why you are interested in this role and how your experience and
skills match the requirements for this role. We are an Equal Opportunities Employer
Housing
Solicitors/Caseworkers
Edwards Duthie is a large, well respected firm with a number of offices in
East London and
Our Community Law Team has expertise in all areas of social welfare law,
including housing & debt, welfare benefits, community care and mental
health. The team has a
particularly strong reputation for housing law The team holds Housing
Possession Court Duty Scheme contracts with the Legal Aid Agency at Bow,
Edmonton and Romford County Courts.
We now wish to recruit experienced
housing caseworkers or solicitors to join our Community Law Team.
Successful applicants will have a sound knowledge of housing law and
litigation and ideally will have experience of acting as a duty advisor
under the LAA’s Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes.
We have dedicated Human Resources, IT and Facilities Teams to develop and
support all of our legal teams.
Salary according to experience.
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