Lime Legal's
Housing Law Week

General Editor: Jan Luba QC

29th July 2015 Update

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Allocations Conference 2015
London 16 October 2015

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POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW

Possession Cases
The UK Government has concluded a consultation exercise on whether to increase the fees charged to landlords and others to issue possession claims. 92% of respondents were opposed to the proposed increase. The Government has decided to make the increase in any event. The fee for possession claims filed manually will increase from £280 to £355. The fee for claims issued online will increase from £250 to £325. Because the fees more than cover the courts’ own costs in processing the claims, the changes will be made using the new power to levy fees higher than the actual costs. The Government is now consulting on a general increase in most court fees of 10% (including an increase in the fee for issuing a possession warrant from £110 to £121). For all the details, click here  For the impact assessment on the changes, click here The House of Commons Select Committee on Justice has decided to hold an inquiry into the effects of the levels of these fees and charges. The deadline for written submissions to be made is 30 September 2015. For more details on the inquiry, click here

Social Housing Fraud (1)
The London Boroughs Fraud Investigators Group and The European Institute for Combatting Corruption and Fraud have jointly published Protecting the London Public Purse 2015: fighting fraud against London boroughs. The report reviews work to recover social housing tenancies unlawfully obtained and/or illegally sublet. It also records that right-to-buy fraud cases detected in London have more than doubled to 300, while their value has increased by more than 185% to almost £26 million. For the full report, click here

Social Housing Fraud (2)
Last week, the BBC ran a series of daytime TV programmes under the tile Council House Crackdown. The series follows housing fraud investigators working with London councils. To see the full series of five episodes on iPlayer, click here

Criminal Private Landlords & Letting Agents
Successful FoI requests made by Environmental Health News to the Ministry of Justice have produced the data for convictions of landlords and letting agents for offences relating to housing standards in rented property. For the data, click here   For media comment on it and analysis of it, click here

Letting Agents (1)
Since October 2014, letting and property management agents have been required to register with one of three Redress Schemes set up to resolve problems between agents and their customers. Sheffield City Council is believed to be the first council outside London to enforce the new requirements.

In the last six weeks it has fined 11 letting agents a total of £37,000 for non-membership of a redress scheme. For more details, click here  

Letting Agents (2)
MT Properties Central Limited (MTPC), a sales and letting agent operating in Birmingham, has been expelled from membership of The Property Ombudsman (TPO) Service for a minimum of two years after failing to comply with parts of the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents. It also failed to co-operate with an Ombudsman's investigation and had not paid the award made of £2,300. For more details, click here

Housing & Anti-social Behaviour
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary is conducting a survey to gather information from community safety partners, like local authorities and social landlords, as to what they think about how police forces are working with those partners to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour. To take part in the survey, click here

Homelessness
Following the resolution of industrial action by homelessness caseworkers at Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Housing Regulator has called on that council to prioritise improvements to its services to homeless people. For more details, click here For the Regulator’s recent guidance How we assess risk in local authorities' landlord and homelessness services, click here

Extra Funding for Councils to spend on poorer tenants
Swindon Council led the way in obtaining UK Ministerial consent for local authorities in England to use Housing Revenue Account monies to fund additional DHPs for struggling tenants of social housing. In a Commons Written Answer on 20 July 2015, the Housing Minister listed the scores of councils that have since followed suit. For that list, click here

Legal Aid in Housing Cases
On Monday 27 July 2015, new legal aid regulations came into force to extend (slightly) the scope of the civil legal aid scheme. The amendments mean that, in housing cases where an application for representation is subject to an assessment of its prospects of success, legal aid may now be provided for those cases assessed as having “borderline” or “poor” prospects of success. The Legal Aid Agency will need to be satisfied that it is necessary to provide legal aid to prevent a breach (or the risk of a breach) of the applicant’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights or enforceable EU rights. For the amending regulations, click here For the explanatory memorandum, click here  For a commentary, click here

Social Housing Allocation
On 13 July 2015, Havering Council announced that it had cut by half the period its council homes stand empty before being re-let. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the average time a property was empty between tenants was 16.3 days compared to the same quarter of last year where the average was 32.98 days. For the statement, click here

Service Charges
The Housing (Service Charge Loans) Regulations 1992 state that, provided certain conditions are met, some right to buy leaseholders have the right to request a loan from the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) towards the cost of service charges for major repairs. The HCA has recently published the arrangements for loans up to 1 April 2016. For a copy, click here

Social Landlords
On 21 July 2015, the Chair of the Homes & Communities Agency wrote to chairs and chief executives of large social housing providers setting out the steps the HCA expected housing providers to take following the Budget and requiring assurance for the regulator that they are adapting to the changed operating environment. For a copy of the letter, click here

Housing Benefit
On 13 July 2015, the DWP published a slightly amended version of one of its guides on Housing Benefit overpayments. For the updated and complete suite of overpayment guidance documents, click here

Property Guardians
A research project, directed by Professor Caroline Hunter, is seeking to: (i) explore the location of properties occupied by property guardians; (ii) analyse the claims made by property guardian companies about the rights of tenants; and (iii) find out the extent of actions taken by local authorities in relation to such properties. As part of the research, a survey is being undertaken to ascertain whether local authority private sector housing teams are aware of – and taking action in relation to – properties occupied by ‘property guardians.’  To complete that survey, click here

Tenants of Social Housing
The National Housing Federation has published Worklessness, welfare and social housing, a new report on the barriers to employment that social housing tenants face. It offers a range of potential solutions. For the full report, click here For the executive summary, click here  

Housing Review 2015 Briefing
This free briefing note is an update from the Chartered Institute of Housing to the UK Housing Review 2015. It contains an analysis of housing issues and statistics across the UK. For a copy, click here

Ombudsmen & Housing
Given the increased jurisdiction of the Housing Ombudsman, the proportion of the Local Government Ombudsman’s (LGO) caseload which comprises housing complaints has fallen from 12% to 9% in the past year. For the LGO’s Annual Report, published on 15 July 2015, click here

Help to Buy
The UK Government has modified the rules for lenders offering the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme. For the latest documents on the rules, click here

Social Housing Rents
On 21 July 2015, the Local Government Association released new figures indicating that proposals to reduce rents paid by tenants in social housing in England by 1% a year will cost councils £2.6 billion by 2019/20. For more details, click here

Selling Social Housing
On 17 July 2015, the Welsh Government published a statistical report on the number of social housing sales in Wales and their impact on dwelling stock. It covers sales of council housing and sales of registered social landlord dwellings. For the report, click here

English Housing Survey
On 17 July 2015, the UK Government published The future shape of the English Housing Survey: government response to the consultation. The paper summarises the 66 responses received to a consultation on restructuring the survey and sets out the Government’s response. For a copy, click here

 

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

NB. The UK Parliament is now in Summer Recess. Both Houses return on 7 September 2015. For the rest of the recess dates for this Parliament, click here

Welfare Reform and Work Bill
This UK Government Bill was published on 9 July 2015 to make provision about: (1) the benefit cap; (2) social security and tax credits; (3) loans for mortgage interest; and (4) social housing rents. It had its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 20 July 2015 and will now be considered in detail by a public bill committee. For the Bill, click here For the explanatory notes, click here To follow the progress of the Bill, click here. For the briefing prepared by the House of Commons Library, click here  For the Second Reading debate itself, click here Several briefings were prepared for the Second Reading debate by a range of organisations. For the CRISIS briefing click here, for the CAB briefing click here, for the Z2K briefing click here To see the amendments already put down for debate in committee, click here  A programme motion has scheduled the Committee stage to conclude by 15 October 2015. The Committee which will review the Bill has issued a call for written evidence. For the details, click here  Those intending to submit evidence may wish to address the UK Government’s own detailed impact assessments on the Bill. To see those, click here and scroll down

Housing Bill
This UK Government Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 28 May 2015 but has yet to be published. For the official outline of its content, click here The official briefing about the Queen’s Speech contains the details at pages 27-29. For that, click here For a commentary on the likely content of the Bill, click here  On 4 July 2015 the Chancellor and the Prime Minister released a joint statement indicating that their plans, “which will form part of the Housing Bill to be introduced this autumn, include steps to build discounted homes for first time buyers on all reasonable sized developments, unlock public land for hundreds of thousands of new homes and back small builders with planning changes” (emphasis added). For the statement, click here

Renting Homes (Wales) Bill
This is a Welsh Government Bill introduced in the Welsh Assembly. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the Explanatory Memorandum, click here To monitor the progress of the Bill, click here The Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee has recently completed its examination of the Bill and has made 37 recommendations. For a copy of its report and for a summary of its conclusions and recommendations, click here and scroll to the foot of the webpage where it is listed under ‘Documents’. The Assembly debated the general provisions of the Bill on 7 July. For the record of the debate, click here For the amendments tabled for discussion at Stage 2, click here and scroll to the ‘Document’ section at the foot of the page. For the latest amendments up those published on 16 July 2015, and a statement of the purpose and effects of those published on 8 July, click here and scroll to the ‘Documents’ section at the foot of the webpage.

Housing (Amendment) Bill
This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 30 June 2015 by the Northern Ireland Executive. It would make provision for the better sharing of information relating to empty homes or to anti-social behaviour and provide for the registration of certain loans as statutory charges. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the explanatory memorandum (listed under ‘All associated documents and links’), click here  For a letter of 2 July 2015 inviting submissions about the Bill by 4 September 2015, click here For a commentary on the Bill, 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. It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled for 16 October 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill, click here For a commentary on its content, click here

Local Government Finance (Tenure Information) Bill
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. It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled for 30 October 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill, click here

Crown Tenancies Bill
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Mark Pawsey MP. It would provide that Crown tenancies may be assured tenancies for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988, subject to certain exceptions, and modify the assured tenancies regime in relation to certain Crown tenancies.  It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled for 11 September 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill, click here For a consultation on its proposals, see below.

 

NEW HOUSING CASES

Chaplair Ltd v Kumari
27 July 2015
A dispute about service charges began in the county court on the small claims track. It was transferred to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal and there determined. In the usual way, the LVT made no order for costs. The landlord restored the county court claim in order to recover its costs of both that claim and the LVT proceedings. The Court of Appeal held that because the claim for recovery of costs was not made under the Civil Procedure Rules but was brought under the terms of the lease it was not limited by the small claims cap on costs. The normal rule would be that any discretion in relation to costs was to be exercised by upholding the provisions for repayment of costs set out in the lease. For the judgment, click here

Bagum v Hafiz
22 July 2015
A house was bought using the right to buy. It was transferred into the names of a mother and her two adult sons who had contributed to the purchase price. The three were then co-owners. Following a family dispute, a court was asked to make orders for the disposal of the house and division of the proceeds. The Court of Appeal’s judgment reviews the powers available to the courts in this class of case. The order for sale made by the judge (with a first option to purchase granted to one of the sons) was upheld. For the judgment, click here

Health & Safety Executive v Christopher Shaw (aka Christopher Parker)
21 July 2015
The defendant was a trader using several aliases and operating as SOS Express Plumbing. In 2010 and 2011 he had carried out unsafe gas work to properties managed by Leeds Housing Concern, a charity providing housing and support to vulnerable homeless people. The HSE had served a notice prohibiting him from carrying out further gas work. However, he later installed a boiler at a family house – breaching the prohibition notice. The boiler installation was found to be unsafe, exposing the family to the potential risks of carbon monoxide poisoning, fire and explosion. On a prosecution, the defendant initially failed to attend and was arrested. He then pleaded guilty to breaches of regulations 3(3) and 26(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations and of section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act. At Bradford Magistrates’ Court, he was given a six month custodial sentence for each of the three offences, to run concurrently. For details of the prosecution, click here

Guerroudj v Rymarczyk
14 July 2015
An unmarried couple were granted the joint tenancy of a council house. Some years later, the relationship broke down. An application was made under Family Law Act 1996 Part 4 for the tenancy to be transferred into one of their names. A judge ordered that it be transferred into the woman’s name. The man appealed. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. The judge had looked at which of them would be able to secure rehousing if they had to leave. He had been entitled to find that the man had a disabling condition which was likely to result in him having a priority need, whereas the woman was unlikely to be rehoused as homeless. For the judgment, click here

Poplar HARCA v White
15 July 2015
The defendant was disabled by mental illness. He fell behind with his rent. The claimant, a social landlord, sought possession. The defence was that the arrears were caused by an inability of the tenant to manage his financial affairs and that the claim for possession was not only brought in breach of the claimant’s own policies but amounted to unlawful discrimination on grounds of disability. A district judge dismissed the possession claim with costs and awarded damages for discrimination of £4,500. He was particularly critical of the landlord’s failure to follow its own policy. For further details, click here

Reilly v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
15 July 2015
The claimant was an elderly Irish Traveller living in a caravan, together with his wife and a friend who was a Romany Gypsy, on one of ten pitches on a site for which temporary planning consent had been given for three years following an appeal to a planning inspector. When that expired, the council issued an enforcement notice. It refused further planning permission. Appeals were dismissed by a further planning inspector. The claimant appealed. The High Court dismissed the appeal. The new planning inspector had been entitled to reach a different conclusion from the earlier one in light of highway considerations (including a fatal accident). There was no error in the decision. For the judgment, click here

Friendship Care and Housing Association Ltd v Awotula
14 July 2015
In 1999 the defendant was granted an assured tenancy by Places for People. In 2013 the house was sold to Friendship Care and Housing Limited, another social landlord. The defendant fell into rent arrears and a possession claim was issued. After numerous applications and appeals, a possession order was made and executed. The defendant then made a series of applications to the High Court arising out of the claim, contending (in part) that Friendship was not his landlord. The applications were all dismissed as being totally without merit and a civil restraint order was made. For the judgment, click here

R(Regas) v Enfield London Borough Council
9 July 2015
The council had adopted a selective licensing scheme for private landlords in its area. On a claim for judicial review, the decision to adopt the scheme had been quashed. The council appealed and was granted permission to appeal by the Court of Appeal. On 9 July 2015, the council announced that it would not be continuing with the appeal. For its statement of reasons, click here

AT v Broxstowe Borough Council
8 July 2015
The claimant entered into a tenancy agreement and made a claim for housing benefit. The benefit was paid to him but not passed to the landlord. Once eight weeks’ worth of arrears had accrued, the council decided to pay the benefit direct to the landlord. The claimant appealed on the grounds that he had a set-off against the arrears which reduced their value to less than eight weeks’ worth. The Upper Tribunal dismissed the appeal. The judgment reviews the various forms of set-off. The equitable set-off relied upon by the claimant did not reduce the rent unless and until it had been the subject of litigation and been proven. For the judgment, click here

Guinness Partnership Limited v Louise Gardner
7 July 2015
The defendant was subject to an anti-social behaviour injunction. Following imprisonment for earlier breaches, she was released but almost immediately caused further noise nuisance. The court, being satisfied that the breach was proved, sentenced her to ten weeks immediate imprisonment. For the judgment, click here

Cordiner v Al-Shaibany
9 June 2015
Under the terms of an assured shorthold tenancy, the tenant was not asked for a deposit but instead was required to pay the rent in advance in respect of both the first and last month of the tenancy. The landlord received those sums but did not protect them in a deposit protection scheme. In a later claim, Sheriff LA Drummond QC held that the sums paid did not constitute a ‘deposit’ which had to be protected. For the judgment, click here

R(SD) v Oxford City Council
28 May 2015
A husband, a wife and their four dependent children became homeless. The wife applied for accommodation for them all. The council decided that she had become homeless intentionally. That decision was upheld on review and there was no appeal. The husband then applied for accommodation for them all. The council decided that he had become homeless intentionally. That decision was upheld on review and there was no appeal. The dependent 16 year old son then applied for accommodation for them all. The council declined to accept the application and the son sought a judicial review of that decision. He contended that he had an independent right to apply and was in priority need by virtue of being 16 (see Article 3 of the Priority Need (England) Order). The rest of the family were people with whom he normally resided and accommodation had to be provided for them all. The High Court refused permission to apply for judicial review. The Priority Need Order was not addressing 16 year olds who were dependent children. The council should have taken the application but its enquiries only needed to determine whether the applicant was dependent or not. As he accepted that he was dependent, he had no priority need on account of his age. The only duty was to provide advice and assistance. That duty had been performed. The judgment is available under reference [2015] EWHC (Admin) 1871 on WESTLAW.

Southwark LBC v Majid Saniinejad and Hertford (UK) Limited
22 May 2015
The defendants were a private landlord and his company. They owned a ground floor property which had been illegally converted into two self-contained flats providing cramped living space for tenants. At Croydon Magistrates’ Court, a district judge found the defendants guilty of ‘misleading omissions’ when they entered into one tenancy and renewed another, contrary to the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The first defendant was also found guilty of an offence under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for ignoring an enforcement notice to return the two flats back into one unit. The case was sent to Croydon Crown Court for sentencing and the making of a confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act. For details of the prosecution, click here

Birmingham City Council v Gemma Wale
12 May 2015
The council obtained a without notice, interim, anti-social behaviour injunction. After it was served, the council applied to commit the defendant for contempt in respect of seven alleged breaches. The court found six breaches were proven. Although this was the first application for committal, a sentence of immediate imprisonment was warranted. The defendant was sentenced to 14 days for each breach to run concurrently. For the judgment, click here


 
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Crown Tenancies
In July 2013, the then UK coalition government announced that it would amend the law to ensure that crown tenants are provided with the same statutory rights as the majority of tenants in the private rented sector. This is being taken forward in the Crown Tenancies Bill (see above) which will amend provisions of the Housing Act 1988 to bring crown tenants within the assured tenancy regime. A new consultation invites comments on the detail of proposed changes. For the consultation paper, click here Responses should be made by 10 August 2015.

Local Courts for Housing Cases
The Ministry of Justice is consulting on the closure of 91 courts and tribunals across England and Wales, and the integration or merger of 31 more. This represents a reduction in capacity by 139 county court rooms (17% of all county court rooms) and 63 tribunal rooms (13% of all tribunal rooms). For the consultation documents, click here The consultation closes on 8 October 2015.

Private Renting
On 17 July 2015, the UK Government launched a consultation on the reform of the ‘Wear and Tear Allowance’ applicable to property businesses. The reform is designed to improve the consistency and fairness in the taxation of residential property businesses. For the consultation paper, click here Responses are due by 9 October 2015.

Homelessness
A consultation paper from the Welsh Government  seek views on establishing a National Pathway for Homelessness Services for Children, Young People and Adults who are in care or  custody and will otherwise become homeless. The closing date for comments is 24 September 2015. For the consultation arrangements and the consultation paper, click here

NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Recent Developments in Housing Law Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2015] July issue Legal Action magazine. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the article, click here

Supreme Court redefines vulnerability in homelessness cases Stuart Hearne [2015] July issue Legal Action magazine. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the article, click here

Housing benefit update 2015 Bethan Harris, Desmond Rutledge and Kevin Gannon [2015] July issue Legal Action magazine. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the article, click here

Possession proceedings and the best interests of children Toby Vanhegan, Christopher Baker and Sam Madge-Wyld [2015] Local Government Lawyer 23 July To read the article, click here

Gangbos and Article 6 Samantha Broadfoot [2015] Local Government Lawyer 23 July To read the article, click here

A Draft Standardised Form of s21 Notice David Smith [2015] Anthony Gold Solicitors Blog 22 July. To read the article, click here

I can't even afford to be a property guardian
Maya Oppenheim [2015] New Statesman Blog 27 July. To read the article, click here

Homeless family: falling through ‘sieve’ with nothing to cling to Sarah Neville [2015] Financial Times UK Blog 19 July. To read the article, click here

How green belt traveller appeals are being decided in the wake of a landmark court ruling Ben Kochan [2015] Planning Resource 24 July. To read the article, click here

What is the government’s five-year vision for social housing? Colin Wiles [2015] Guardian Housing Network 22 July. To read the article, click here  

What are the implications of the budget for EHPs in local authorities and the PRS? Dr Stephen Battersby [2015] UK Housing Professionals Forum Blog 21 July. To read the article, click here  

Looking beyond falling numbers (of homelessness applications in Scotland) Dr Ben Sanders [2015] Crisis Blog 23 July. To read the article, click here

The price of cold homes
Llinos Griffiths [2015] Environmental Health News 15 July. To read the article, click here

Dumbing down (the section 21 notice) Daniel Dovar [2015] 19 Landlord & Tenant Review 135.

The absent tenant: the "only or principal home” test Philippa Seal [2015] 19 Landlord & Tenant Review 156.

Implications of the Mexfield ruling for housing co-operatives Piers Harrison and Christopher Bernard [2015] 19 Landlord & Tenant Review 148.

Holding deposit agreements: pre-tenancy obligations and rights Samuel Beswick [2015] 19 Landlord & Tenant Review 143.

Recognised tenants' associations: Part 1 Rebecca Cattermole [2015] 19 Landlord & Tenant Review 151.

Housing and the local plan Alec Samuels [2015] 9Journal of Planning & Environment Law 994

THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

10 August 2015
Consultation closes on the Crown Tenancies Bill (see above)

9 October 2015
Lime Legal’s Social Housing Tenancy Agreements Conference 2015 in London. For details click here

16 October 2015
Lime Legal’s Allocations Conference 2015 in London
For details click here

RECRUITMENT

Community Care/Housing Solicitor Vacancy

TV Edwards Solicitors LLP are recruiting someone of 0-3 years’ PQE. This vacancy is in our Whitechapel office, we have 3 other offices across London.  Experience in advising clients on all areas of community care, court of protection and homelessness advantageous.

Hours - 9.30 - 5.30 Mon – Fri. 

Salary according to experience.  

Download an application pack at: http://www.tvedwards.com/site/careers/opportunities.

Closing date - 17th August 2015

Completed applications together with equality monitoring data must be sent by email to:  Christine.woolfenden@tvedwards.com

 

Vacancy – Paralegal/Trainee Solicitor

Hopkin Murray Beskine, a long established North London firm of solicitors is looking for two paralegals to assist in our busy housing, public law and/or family teams.

We are looking for candidates with an interest in and enthusiasm for public law and housing work and/or family law work. We provide a collaborative workplace where you will be well supported and supervised by experienced lawyers and have the opportunity to work on a variety of different cases.

You will be expected to work hard, be flexible, produce excellent written work and establish relationships with a range of clients, from privately paying clients to vulnerable homeless people. We expect applicants to have a law degree or to have completed the CPE/GDL. Previous relevant experience is desirable but not essential.

The appointments will be for a fixed term of one year. For candidates who have completed the Legal Practice Course, this will be with a view to a training contract commencing after a year if performance meets expectations.

Closing date: Tuesday 1st September

We expect to interview shortlisted applicants on Tuesday 22nd September.

To apply to join our enthusiastic and successful team, download our application pack at www.hmbsolicitors.co.uk

 

Housing Solicitors/Caseworkers

Edwards Duthie is a large, well respected firm with a number of offices in East London and Essex.  Named in the Legal 500, we have a diverse range of both privately and publicly funded work

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 and has brought a number of significant cases in recent years.  The team is proud to hold 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 our legal teams. 

Salary according to experience. 

Applications by CV and covering letter to:

Coral Joyce, Human Resources Manager, at Bank House, 269-275 Cranbrook Road, Ilford IG1 4TG

or by email to coral.joyce@edwardsduthie.com

No Agencies please

 

Housing Team Leader vacancy

Avon and Bristol Law Centre
are looking for an experienced Solicitor / Caseworker with a proven track record in income generation under an LSC/LAA contract to lead the Housing Team as part of our dedicated and friendly staff in our thriving city centre office.

35 hours per week

Salary £32,000

30 days’ leave per year and 7% employer pension contribution

For an application pack go to www.ablc.org.uk or telephone 0117 924 8662

email:  mail@ablc.org.uk

Deadline for receipt of applications: 12 noon Monday 24 August

Interviews: Wednesday 2 September

 

Housing/Community Care Solicitor/Caseworker

Avon and Bristol Law Centre is looking to appoint a Housing/Community Care Solicitor/Caseworker

35 hours per week

We will also consider applications for part-time working in either the housing or community care team.

We are looking for an experienced Solicitor / Caseworker with a proven track record in income generation under an LSC/LAA contract to be part of our dedicated and friendly team in our thriving city centre office.

Salary £30,011 pro-rata

30 days’ leave per year pro-rata and 7% employer pension contribution

For an application pack go to www.ablc.org.uk or telephone 0117 924 8662

email:  mail@ablc.org.uk

Deadline for receipt of applications: 12 noon Monday 24 August

Interviews: Wednesday 2 September

 

South West London Law Centres

Housing Caseworker / Solicitor Vacancy

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 Kingston Branch.

There is considerable demand for housing work. There are currently 12 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.

We are looking to recruit to cover an existing post for a solicitor is who is retiring and are willing to consider applicants at the start of their career as well as those with significant experience. 

Salary: Up to £33,510 p.a. according to experience (NJC Scale 35)
Reports to: Team Leader
Term: Permanent
Based at: One of our offices in Morden, Kingston, Wandsworth or East Croydon but will be initially based in our Kingston office.

Closing date: noon on 10 August 2015 at 12pm with interviews soon after that.

The post is available for an immediate start. If you would like to discuss the post further, please email recruitment@swllc.org

Applications should be made at http://www.swllc.org/Vacancies.php

 

Paralegal Vacancy

SSP Law is a specialist Property and Housing firm with a long-standing legal aid housing contract and an expanding property department based in North Finchley. 

We have a fantastic opportunity for someone who would like to start a training contract in the near future. Experience in Property or Housing work essential as is ability to be self-supporting.

Salary dependant on experience.

Applications: In the first place please send your CV by 31st July 2015 to info@ssplaw.co.uk  and come join our friendly and dedicated team in our new offices!

 

RCJ Advice

Fixed Term Preventive Housing Solicitor/ Paralegal

Salary: £33,000 - £35.000 p.a. pro rata depending on experience and qualifications

Hours: 35 per week

Contract Type: Fixed term up to end of March 2016

Fixed term post initially to join housing team and work closely with FIT money team to prevent homelessness though working with both landlords and tenants to negotiate effective solutions. This includes providing specialist housing advice through our legal aid contract and to work on legal help and certificated cases.

To be successful in this role you will need:

  • A minimum of 2 years’ experience of housing law casework including experience of working under a LAA contract
  • Strong interpersonal skills
  • Ability to work effectively in small team including self-supporting administration and across sites
    Commitment and understanding to diversity and equal opportunities

Request an application pack from admin@rcjadvice.org.uk

Please complete the application form and return it by the closing date, Tuesday 4th August no later than 10am.

Interviews will be held on 10th August in the Royal Courts of Justice. 

RCJ Advice & Citizens Advice Islington is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all applicants who meet the person specification irrespective of sex, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy and maternity, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, age, or disability.

 

Housing Project Worker (part time) YMCA EAST SURREY

Job Purpose:
To assist in the day to day running of the NextStep project for those in housing need, providing support, advice, and long-term solutions through private rented sector and resettlement.

Hours of Work:
We are looking for someone to work part time, either 16 or 20 hours per week which is the equivalent of 2 or 2.5 days per week.  (Occasional evening and weekend work may be necessary to fulfil the needs of the role but time off in lieu will be given.) Preferred hours of work will be discussed at interview with shortlisted candidates.

Salary: £23,156.28 per annum (pro rata)

Benefits: The post holder will be entitled to free use of the YMCA fitness centre and half price
childcare for dependents. There is free parking available at Hillbrook House.

Closing Date for returned application forms is Monday 14th September 2015 at 9am.

Interviews are planned for Friday 18th September 2015.

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