Lime Legal's
Housing Law Week

General Editor: Jan Luba QC

19th August 2015 Update

POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW

Housing Cases – Legal Aid Still Available
Legal aid is still available for many Housing cases including: defending possession proceedings; counterclaims for disrepair; unlawful eviction; homelessness (including asylum support accommodation); anti-social behaviour cases; harassment injunctions; and serious disrepair claims. For a leaflet advertising what legal aid help is available, and how to get it, click here

Possession Claims in the County Court
On 13 August 2015, the latest statistics were published on possession proceedings in the county courts. They show that new mortgage possession claims have reached the lowest quarterly figure since records began (in their current form) in 1999 and there have also been the lowest quarterly numbers of mortgage possession orders, warrants and repossessions since records began. In landlord possession claims, more than a quarter of claims made in April to June 2015 (28%) were accelerated claims made by private landlords and this proportion has risen from 7% in 1999 to 22% in 2014. For the full figures, click here

Overcharging for Works on Social Housing
Circle Housing let a contract to Keepmoat to undertake its social housing repairs. It later commissioned a report from its Executive Director on whistleblowing allegations about alleged overcharging. She found pricing discrepancies were due to initial staffing issues and the widespread usage of subcontractors, as well as the need for the association to fully implement the control processes that were in place. Only 17% of repairs worth over £500 and 0.5% of repairs under £500 were post-inspected by housing association staff. The figures should have been 100% and 5% respectively. Post-inspections on average took 119 calendar days to complete (instead of 28 days) which led to poor quality post-inspections. Keepmoat agreed to pay Circle £173,650. For the full report, click here

Rogue Landlords
On 13 August 2015, in one London council area, council officers along with officers from the local estates’ police team conducted a swoop on three properties thought to be let by ‘rogue’ landlords.  In one, officers discovered 22 people including four children in an illegally converted house with four bedrooms. In another, officers found 18 people including two children living in cramped and dangerous conditions in six bedrooms – although the house was originally designed to hold three. And in a third property, there were 15 people, including five children, living in five rooms in what should be a three bedroom house. Officers also discovered so-called ‘beds in sheds’ outside. In all three properties there were health and safety hazards, including illegal wiring and no fire precautions. For further details, click here

Mortgage Repossessions
On 12 August 2015, the Council for Mortgage Lenders issued its quarterly figures for mortgage repossession. They show that 2,500 properties were taken into possession by CML members in the second quarter of this year, down from 3,000 the previous quarter and 5,400 in the second quarter of last year. Of these, 1,800 were in the owner-occupier market and 700 in the buy-to-let market. For the details, click here

Private Renting & Immigration Checks for New Tenants
On 14 August 2015, ahead of the national roll-out of the new arrangements, the House of Commons Library published a research briefing on the obligation to carry out immigration checks on new private sector tenants. For a copy, click here For media comment on the new arrangements, click here

Problems with Letting Agents
The charity SHELTER has produced a “letting agent dispute tool” through which tenants can complain to an independent redress scheme about a letting agent’s hidden fees, inaccurate charging, poor service, holding deposit disputes and other problems. To access it, click here

Benefits and Rent
On 10 August 2015, the DWP released a new document providing private and social sector landlords with up to date information on Universal Credit. It aims to help them understand what they can do to assist their tenants in preparing for the transition to direct payments. For a copy, click here

Homelessness in England
On 12 August 2015, the House of Commons Library issued an updated version of its briefing on the statutory duties owed by councils in England to the homeless. For a copy, click here

Homelessness in Wales
On 11 August 2015, the Homelessness Monitor: Wales 2015 was published. The Monitor highlights a continuing fall in the number of households accepted as homeless in Wales, with the total in 2014/15 falling to 8% lower than the previous low of 2009/10. The researchers say the recent fall is most likely due to local councils preparing for the new prevention-focused regime rather than an actual reduction in the demand for help. For a copy of the report, click here

From Homelessness to Private Renting
The charity CRISIS has developed a toolkit on how to deliver an information session to support staff who are going to be supporting single homeless clients to move into private rented sector accommodation. For a copy, click here

Heath & Homelessness
The organisation Homeless Link has designed a Homeless Health Needs Audit as a framework for gathering and using information about the health needs of people experiencing homelessness. The audit and the accompanying guidance can be used by anyone with an interest in homeless health. For more details, click here

Discretionary Housing Payments
The DWP has issued an August-2015-update version of its Discretionary Housing Payments
Guidance Manual (including Local Authority Good Practice Guide). For a copy, click here

Housing Ombudsman
On 4 August 2015, the Housing Ombudsman published her annual report and financial statements for 2014 to 2015. There has been a 28% increase in the volume of complaints and enquiries from the previous year, continuing the trend of increased volumes established over the past five years. For the full report, click here

Student Housing
Ahead of the new academic year, the Electrical Safety Council has published a guide for students on potential hazards in their rented homes and the obligations of their landlords. For a copy, click here For media comment on the initiative, click here and here

Housing in England
The English Housing Survey is a national survey of housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. On 13 August 2015, DCLG published Issue 13 of its regular newsletter about the survey and its results. For a copy of the newsletter, click here

Housing in England & Wales
On 5 August 2015, the Office for National Statistics published its Housing Summary Measures. These provide a broad statistical overview of the availability and affordability of privately owned and social housing for local authorities in England and Wales, and also look at the affordability of private rented housing. These summaries can be used to identify the relationships between various measures of housing availability and affordability. For more details, click here

BOOKING NOW!

Social Housing Tenancy
Agreements Conference 2015

London 9 October 2015

Click here for details

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

R v Bolarinwa Odulate
14 August 2015
The defendant was a former social housing officer. She applied for social housing to Richmond-upon-Thames RLBC and was allocated a flat. Her application failed to disclose that she was already the owner of a property in Southwark. She had bought the Southwark property under the right to buy and was letting it to tenants. At Kingston Crown Court she pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud. She was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. For more details, click here  

R(Croydon Property Forum Limited) v Croydon LBC
13 August 2015
The council decided to adopt a selective licensing regime for the private rental sector, covering its whole district. Before doing so, it embarked on several rounds of consultation. Publicity included using the council’s own website, distributing flyers and posters in libraries, leisure centres and community centres, emailing children’s groups, residents’ groups and residents’ associations, listing the issue every week on an email bulletin to over 38,000 subscribers, posting details on the council’s Facebook page, sending regular tweets, placing advertisements in local papers, issuing a press release which was picked up by local newspapers, placing information on the plasma display screens in various places and having it as a standard footer on all emails sent out by the council. The High Court rejected a challenge to the adequacy of the consultation exercise brought by local landlords and property developers. For the judgment, click here

Health & Safety Executive v North Devon Homes Ltd
13 August 2015
The defendant was a landlord. Its employees were investigating damp at a rented property. In an attempt to solve the problem, they removed a chimney and tiled over the resulting hole in the roof. That left the flue terminating within the loft (despite the flue being in use for venting the gas fire and gas boiler). Several weeks later, the tenant went into the loft and found a very strong unpleasant smell. The tenant’s carbon monoxide alarm was also sounding. The tenant called the emergency gas services who classed the situation as ‘immediately dangerous’. At Barnstaple Magistrates’ Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined a total of £6,000 with £833 costs. For details of the prosecution, click here

X v Secretary of State for the Home Department
7 August 2015
Ms X had sought asylum in the UK. Her applications had failed and her appeal rights had been exhausted. The Secretary of State withdrew support and accommodation. Ms X appealed, contending that she had made an application to remain on Article 8 grounds. The appeal was allowed. The First-tier Tribunal (Asylum Support) held that “any application for leave to remain may entitle the applicant to …support where the provision of accommodation is necessary for the purpose of avoiding a breach of a person’s Convention rights, subject to the requirement that the application is not obviously hopeless or abusive.”  The decision was made in appeal number AS/14/11/32141. For a copy of the judgment, contact the Asylum Support Appeals Project by clicking here  

Medway Council v Robert Emery
7 August 2015,
The defendant was the landlord of a first floor flat. It had a number of problems including a lack of insulation (which made the property cold), an inadequate water supply, defective windows and a lack of fire precautions. Council officers served an improvement notice but a subsequent inspection discovered very little had been done. At Medway Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was fined £3,500 with costs of £2,314 after he was found guilty of five offences of failing to comply with an improvement notice issued under the Housing Act 2004. For more details of the prosecution, click here

Health & Safety Executive v Kalimat Ramilingum (also known as David Kalimat, David Badi and David Ramalingum)
6 August 2015
The defendant was not GasSafe registered and had no recognised qualifications to carry out work on gas fittings.  He installed an LPG fuelled boiler at a domestic property. He claimed to be GasSafe registered and filled-out a landlord/homeowner’s Gas Safety Record. At Luton Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty to breach of regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was ordered to wear a tag and was put on curfew for four months between 6.00pm and 8.00am, He was also ordered to pay £450 compensation to the customer and contribute £500 towards HSE costs. For details of the prosecution, click here

Complaint against Lancashire County Council
5 August 2015
Following threats of violence, a 16 year old teenager (S) was bailed to live at whatever accommodation the council provided for him. A YOT worker told his children’s services colleagues that “he would be concerned if [S] was to be placed in B&B because of his level of violence”. The
council’s children’s services department decided to place S in bed and breakfast accommodation. The Local Government Ombudsman said: “The Council was not permitted to place S in a bed and breakfast as either a ‘looked after child’ or as a homeless 16 to 17 year old. Placing S in bed and breakfast, even in an emergency, is a breach of the statutory guidance. This is a significant fault concerning a vulnerable young person.” The council accepted a recommendation that it should “ensure it does not place homeless 16 and 17 year olds in bed and breakfast accommodation (including the use of unsupported hotels) even in an emergency. If the Council decides to act in breach of the statutory guidance, the decision to do so should continue to be made by the Head of Service. The Head of Service’s decision, and the reasons for it, should be recorded on the child’s file.” For the investigation report, click here  For a plain-language guide to the rights of 16/17 year olds relating to housing, click here  

Helm Housing Ltd v Myles Danker Associates Ltd
5 August 2015
Helm, formerly known as Belfast Improved Housing, sought compensation for loss it claimed to have suffered after the purchase of development land in 2007 for £6,525,000 which is now on the market for c.£1m. The defendants (MDA) had valued the site at £10m which had caused Helm to receive public funding and proceed with the purchase. The High Court determined that the valuation was outside the permissible range for a reasonably accurate valuation (which it considered to be + or – 10%). It was also outside the range suggested on behalf of MDA, namely + or – 15%. For the judgment, click here

Wigan Council v Angela Shone
30 July 2015
The defendant was a council tenant. On 3 July 2015 she had been made subject to an anti-social behaviour injunction. At a committal hearing on 30 July 2015 she admitted 23 breaches of the injunction. The first breach occurred within 24 hours of service of the injunction. In total 23 breaches were recorded in 32 days. The breaches had a direct impact on the health and wellbeing of a neighbouring tenant. The conduct was aggravated by drug taking. The defendant was given an immediate custodial sentence of 10 weeks for contempt of court. For more details, click here

Najim v London Borough of Enfield
27 July 2015
The Supreme Court has refused permission to appeal in this intentional homelessness case. It concerns the correctness of a reviewing officer’s decision under Housing Act 1996 relating to loss of accommodation for withholding rent.  For the Court of Appeal’s decision, click here  For a commentary on that decision, click here Permission was refused because “The issue turned mainly on the factual evaluation made by the reviewing officer and the Court of Appeal was plainly right about section 191(2).”

Edwards v Kumarasamy
23 July 2015
The Supreme Court has granted the landlord permission to appeal in this repairs case. It concerns the application of Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 section 11 – and the ‘requirement for notice’ – in relation to defects outside the rented property.  For the Court of Appeal’s decision, click here For a commentary on that decision, click here

Kensington & Chelsea RLBC v The lessees of 1-124 Pond House
21 July 2015
The council proposed major works on an estate. The value of the contracts for the works might reach £130 million over the next four to six years. The council intended to conduct procurement through Framework Agreements – a practice already adopted by a number of local authorities. The council sought guidance on its consultation requirements with residents liable to pay service charges. It said that the requirements were limited. However, the residents contended that the consultation had been and would be inadequate. The council succeeded in the Tribunal on the consultation point but did not obtain certification that the proposed costs were reasonable and recoverable. For the judgment, click here

One Housing Group Ltd v Trisha Clifton
9 July 2015
The defendant had been made subject to an injunction to restrain her anti-social behaviour. On a committal application, the court found 10 breaches had been made out. A sentence of 8 months immediate imprisonment was imposed. For the judgment, click here

Firrozmand v Lambeth LBC
3 July 2015
Mr Firrozmand is a vulnerable homeless person with chronic and acute health conditions. He is a suicide risk and has chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis; he is noise intolerant; he speaks but cannot write in English. He appealed to the county court about the suitability of temporary accommodation that the council offered him under its homelessness duties. The appeal failed. The Court of Appeal granted permission to bring a second appeal on the grounds that the decision-maker and the county court judge had failed to have regard to statutory material and guidance in respect of the suitability of the accommodation. Most particularly, Housing Act 1996 section 210(1) requires suitability to be determined having regard to Housing Act 2004 Parts 1-4 and “On the face of it, …if a decision letter makes no reference to the matters set out in parts 1 to 4 of the Act and the guidance issued in pursuance of the same, it will be flawed”. For the judgment on the permission application, click here

 
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Private Renting
The UK Government has published a discussion paper which sets out proposals for new legislation relating to private renting, including a blacklist of rogue landlords and letting agents, tougher penalties for the worst offenders, extending rent repayment orders and introducing fixed penalty notices. It also invites views on tackling the problem of abandonment in the sector, where a tenant disappears, leaving the landlord uncertain over their right to repossess. For the discussion paper, click here Responses can be emailed to prsreview@communities.gsi.gov.uk  to be submitted by Thursday 20 August 2015. The closing date for comments made on-line is Thursday 27 August 2015. They should be submitted via the online form here

Accommodation & Support for Failed Asylum Seekers
On 4 August 2015, the UK Government issued a consultation paper about proposed changes to arrangements for providing accommodation and support to failed asylum seekers and illegal entrants. For the consultation paper, click here For the impact assessment, click here Responses should be made by noon on 9 September 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 measures on 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.

Taxation of 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.

NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

A Mixed Bag (recent announcements on housing law reform, immigration and “rogue landlords”) Sam Madge-Wyld and Justin Bates [2015] LAG Housing Blog 6 August. To read the article, click here

Complicit housing associations killing off social housing as HB figures reveal Joe Halewood [2015] SPeye Joe (Welfarewrites) Blog 13 August. To read the article, click here

Government move to strengthen private renters’ rights Sue Christoforou, Campaigns Officer [2015] Citizens Advice Blog 13 August. To read the article, click here

Wrong direction (Draconian measures to penalise landlords for not checking tenants’ immigration status) Alison Gelder [2015] Inside Housing 10 August. To read the article, click here

Government crackdown on rogue landlords Martha Mackenzie [2015] Shelter Policy Blog 6 August. To read the article, click here

Right to Buy: 40% of homes sold under Government scheme are being let out privately Paul Gallagher [2015] Independent 14 August. To read the article, click here

Right to Buy has proven that the Government can do whatever it wants, even if it causes a massive housing crisis Tom Copley [2015] Independent Voices 14 August. To read the article, click here

Build for Britain: However many families the Right to Buy may have helped, it wreaked havoc for future generations [2015] Independent Voices Editorial 14 August. To read the article, click here
 
Profit or purpose? The fight over the future of social housing in Britain Nicola Slawson [2015] Guardian Housing Network 14 August. To read the article, click here

Deregulation will only make things worse for desperate tenants Dawn Foster [2015] Guardian Housing Network 14 August. To read the article, click here

Number of people evicted from rented homes has soared since housing benefit cuts began Paul Gallagher [2015] Independent 13 August. To read the article, click here

A turning tide? (commentary on Arnold v Britton on service charges) Benjamin Pilling [2015] 165 New Law Journal Issue 7665 p18. To read the article, click here  

The immoral housing bubble: Britain’s property market is an enemy of democracy Amol Rajan [2015] The Politico Blog 10 August. To read the article, click here

The quiet revolution in British housing  Rowan Moore [2015] The Observer 16 August. To read the article, click here

Housing is the nation’s most urgent and complex challenge. Yet we’re paralysed Matthew Taylor [2015] The Guardian 16 August. To read the article, click here

What is ‘affordable housing’? John Bibby [2015] The Shelter Blog 10 August. To read the article, click here

THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

20 August 2015
Deadline for Email responsesto UK Government consultation on measures to address rogue private landlords (see Housing Law Consultations, above)

27 August 2015
Deadline for on-line survey responsesto UK Government consultation on measures to address rogue private landlords (see Housing Law Consultations, above)

9 September 2015
Deadline for responses to UK Government consultation on accommodation for failed asylum seekers (see Housing Law Consultations, above)

24 September 2015
Deadline for responsesto Welsh Government consultation on homelessness (see Housing Law Consultations, 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

Senior Solicitor (Housing)

Lambeth Law Centre is committed to providing high quality legal advice and representation. It is now recruiting for a full-time Senior Solicitor (Housing).

You will need to have experience of managing a client caseload, providing housing advice and conducting litigation, and a track record of billing legal aid certificated and legal help work, provide overall direction to the legal work of the Law Centre; and to develop, with the Director, new strategies for raising the profile of the Law Centre and its role in the community; take a leading role in developing the community work of the Law Centre; provide line management to the Law Centre’s Caseworkers  directly and through a system of team leaders and provide advice and casework in housing and/or community care, with the possibility of combining this work with one of the other areas of Law conducted by the Law Centre, and represent clients in courts and tribunals.

Salary offered: £40,807 full-time.

For queries or to request an application form, email Tara Malcolm at admin@lambethlawcentre.org or tmalcolm@lambethlawcentre.org.

Once completed, send your application to the same email address or by post to:
Tara Malcolm, Lambeth Law Centre, Unit 4 The Co op Centre, 11 Mowll Street, London SW9 6BG.

If you wish to discuss this vacancy, please email the director Michael Tarnoky at mtarnoky@lambethlawcentre.org with your name and telephone number to request a call.

Alternatively, the website link is here

Closing date for applications: 5pm on Monday 7th September 2015.

Lambeth Law Centre is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

Requires a committed Solicitor/authorised litigator

(up to) 37 hours per week

Central and East Northamptonshire Citizens Advice Bureau, requires a committed solicitor/authorised litigator to join its expanding specialist casework team. The primary purpose of the role is to undertake delivery of advice and representation under our Legal Aid Agency Contract for Housing & Debt.

The post holder will be required, in particular, to initiate and maintain a significant caseload - to include “certificated” work - with a focus on repossession, disrepair and homelessness challenges, as well as acting as a general source of support to colleagues within the team and the wider organisation. Strong preference will be given to candidates with recent experience of Legal Aid contracts.

Key Benefits:

• Work in a fast paced but collegiate atmosphere - as part of a team of paid caseworkers , most possessing legal qualifications
• Opportunities , within the scope of legal aid, to help shape/challenge local policies - through the application of legal advice/representation
• An opportunity to work with a growing community of “pro bono” associate solicitor/legal professionals with whom the bureau is working

A full driving licence and own transport is required, or otherwise be able to commute between our branch offices.

For an informal discussion, please feel to contact Martin Lord (Chief Executive) on 01604 235080

Address: Town Centre House, 7-8 Mercers Row, Northampton - NN1 2QL

Email: martin.lord@cencab.org.uk

Salary: £25-28,000 p.a. (pro rata) depending on length of relevant experience.

Closing date: Friday 28th August 2015

Trainee Solicitor post at Greenwich Housing Rights

Justice First Fellowship - Legal Education Foundation

Greenwich Housing Rights is recruiting a Trainee Solicitor as part of the Legal Education Foundation's Justice First Fellowship programme. 

For more information or to submit an application please visit: http://jff.thelegaleducationfoundation.org/how-to-apply/

Application Deadline:   15 September 2015

Starting Salary: £21,000

Location: Greenwich, London

We are an independent housing advice charity based in Woolwich, South East London. We have a team of 3 solicitors, 8 caseworkers, 30+ dedicated and wonderful volunteers and a small team of support staff.

Apart from direct legal advice services we provide a second-tier support service for other local groups, policy work, campaigning, public legal education and training.

We work closely with local and regional partners to ensure clients have access to a wide range of advice and support services. One of our key partners, Plumstead Community Law Centre, will be helping to deliver the training contract. This opens up the opportunity for our Trainee to develop expertise in welfare benefits, immigration and employment law, all crucial to meeting our clients’ complex needs.

The Trainee will work under the close supervision of our Senior Solicitor and will be expected to play an active part in all of our legal advice and associated services. The trainee will receive additional support from senior staff and category supervisors to develop legal practice skills, subject specialisms and policy work and to ensure the successful delivery of their project. There will be an emphasis on contentious work but the Trainee will be expected to develop the skills necessary to support clients using alternative dispute resolution and will undertake non-contentious work.

Please visit the Legal Education Foundation's website for more information about the Fellowship.  For more information about GHR visit www.grhr.co.uk or email chris.minnoch@grhr.co.uk.

Law Centre

Housing Solicitor Vacancy

Cambridge House Law Centre is seeking an experienced Housing Solicitor to join an experienced, highly regarded, supportive and fun housing team in a dynamic Law Centre serving the Camberwell area of South London.

The Law Centre has LAA contracts in Housing, Public Law and Community Care.

Salary: £33,000 - £40,000 depending upon experience
30 days annual leave plus pension contribution.

Closing date:  4.00pm on Friday 11th September 2015

For an application pack please email Beryl Peckham at bpeckham@ch1889.org

For an informal discussion please contact Stuart Hearne on 0207 358 7025 or shearne@ch1889.org

Three Rivers District Council

Housing Allocations Officer

(2 year fixed term contract to end on 18 August 2017)

£21,077 to £23,036 pro rata

16 Hours per week.

Three Rivers District Council in South West Hertfordshire wants to recruit an enthusiastic professional to provide housing advice to customers approaching our Housing Needs service, including customers at risk of homelessness.

Following the Council’s Housing Allocation Policy, the successful candidate would be expected to maintain the Housing Needs Register of applicants. This would include banding applicants on the register, creating and checking advertisements to be advertised on the Herts Choice Homes website and liaising with Registered Providers regarding potential nominees. 

Closing Date: - 19 August 2015 at 5.00pm

Interview Date: - 25 August 2015

To apply go to www.threerivers.gov.uk to download an application pack

For an informal discussion please contact Alan Marsden on 01923 776611

(Applicants selected for an interview will normally be notified within one month of the closing date, and invited for an interview. Unfortunately, due to the administrative costs involved, it will not be possible to notify those not selected for interview.)

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 2015

Interviews: Wednesday 2 September 2015

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 2015

Interviews: Wednesday 2 September 2015

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.

Take advantage of the opportunity to advertise your job vacancies here FREE. 
Call us on 01249 701555 or email details of the vacancy to info@limelegal.co.uk

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