Birmingham's landmark case sends right message
Published as a letter in Inside Housing: 24 November 2006

Birmingham Council is to be congratulated for successfully resisting the appeal by an intentionally homeless applicant in her attempt to be housed by the council. Readers of Inside Housing can be forgiven, however, for thinking that the council lost the appeal. The headline was wrong to state "Intentionally homeless family 'must be housed'". And the report compounded that error by stating "Birmingham Council has been ordered by the Court of Appeal to house a family even though the householder was declared to be intentionally homeless." ( Inside Housing , 10 November) The court made no such order but dismissed, in trenchant terms, the appeal by the homeless appellant. ( F v Birmingham CC )

Whether Birmingham Council now secures housing for the whole family, under the Children Act, is a matter within its discretion. But the House of Lords, in a recent case, upheld the policy of Lambeth Council, which was to offer to house the children without their parents. This had the effect of causing nearly all parents to secure their own accommodation so as to encourage self help, reduce demand on the Council and prevent a coach and horses from being driven through the intentionality provisions of homelessness law. ( W & A v Lambeth LBC [2003] UKHL 57)

The law of intentional homelessness distinguishes between those who deliberately make themselves homeless and those who become homeless through no fault of their own (s191, Housing Act 1996). It is therefore not surprising that local authorities are entitled to take a robust approach towards parents whose deliberate conduct has caused them to be homeless and this approach may well cause them to secure their own future accommodation.

Jon Holbrook, chair, Social Housing Law Association

Move to repel tenants' bogus disrepair claims
Published as a news item in Inside Housing: 10 November 2006

The majority of tenants making claims for disrepair should be shunted into the small claims court to prevent them from claiming legal aid, the Department for Constitutional Affairs has been told.

The move has been suggested by the Social Housing Law Association, a group of social housing professionals and lawyers. It would make it five times more difficult for tenants to access public funding for
disrepair claims.

The DCA is set to update the claims process before the end of the year. It told Inside Housing that this would include looking at the current funding limits.

At the moment tenants can access legal aid by avoiding the small claims court if the estimated value of any repair work is at least £1,000. But the SHLA said that limit has encouraged 'spurious' claims and should be raised to £5,000. In a written submission to the DCA it said that landlords were forced to devote considerable expense and staff time if they wished to resist claims.

'If the threshold for allocating to the small claims track was increased to £5,000 then it would be harder for claimants to obtain public funding and the problem of unmeritorious disrepair claims would be significantly reduced,' the letter said.

Quentin Paterson, a solicitor and committee member of the SHLA, said increasing the limit should lead to a large fall in the legal costs that social landlords pay to claimants' solicitors.

But Phil Morgan, chief executive of the Tenant Participation Advisory Service England, warned the moves could hit tenants who have genuine claims. 'If you are a tenant with a genuine grievance then upping to £5,000 could cause problems.'

Social housing professionals and their lawyers get organised
Launched at the end of November the Social Housing Law Association is a forum that brings together social housing professionals and their lawyers. Its aim is to enable ideas and information to be exchanged and discussed. SHLA's second meeting, at the end of January, discussed Tackling Anti-social Behaviour and the 110 housing professionals and lawyers who attended heard speakers discuss recent ASBO case law, ASBO consultation and publicity, ASBIs and demoted tenancies.

The Social Housing Law Association was set-up at the initiative of Jon Holbrook, a barrister from Hardwicke Building, who had spent the first twelve years of his practice at Garden Court Chambers, which specialised in acting for tenants. Having moved chambers and become something of a poacher turned gamekeeper Jon realised that there was a need for an organisation that could further the interests of those who act for landlords. Many see SHLA as the landlord's answer to HLPA (the Housing Law Practitioners Association) which, over many years, has influenced countless practitioners with its pro-tenant ideas. SHLA intends to have a similar influence over those who are concerned to promote the interests of landlords and the wider community.

SHLA is being organised by a broad section of the organisations that comprise its membership. Its committee currently includes representatives from RSLs (Southern Housing Group and Peabody Trust), local authorities (Islington, Waltham Forest and Kensington & Chelsea) private firms of solicitors (Devonshire, Trowers & Hamlins, Marsons, Owen White and Glazer Delmar) and barristers (Hardwicke Building, Arden Chambers, 2-3 Gray's Inn Square and 22 Old Buildings).

A significant number of SHLA's members come from outside London and the south east and SHLA is hoping to set up regional groups. Its website should be online by March and this should be an invaluable resource for its members not least through its discussion forum. For further information about SHLA email: info@shla.org.uk

Nuisance News 37, page 23, March 2006, the quarterly newsletter of the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group

SHLA sets up
A group of housing lawyers are joining forces to form a legal group, the Social Housing Law Association (SHLA). Jon Holbrook, a barrister at Hardwicke Building, said: 'As a barrister who acts for a number of different social landlords, I have seen how similar legal issues frequently crop up and yet there is no forum where these issues can be discussed with other lawyers and social housing professionals. The SHLA aims to plug this gap by providing a forum where ideas and information can be exchanged and discussed.'

New Law Journal, 18th November 2005

SHLA opens to members
A new organisation for housing lawyers who principally act for service providers is to be launched on the 17th November. The Social Housing Law Association (SHLA) will hold its first meeting in central London and is encouraging solicitors, barristers and other housing professionals to attend. For more information email: info@shla.org.uk

Solicitors Journal, 11th November 2005

Association to unite social landlords and lawyers unveiled
An association for social housing professionals and their lawyers is to be launched next week. The Social Housing Law Association (SHLA) has received the backing of a number of barristers' chambers including Hardwicke Building, 2-3 Gray's Inn Square, Arden Chambers and 22 Old Buildings. It is also supported by London firms Devonshires and Owen White, and Bromley-based Marsons. SHLA committee member Warren Bradley, senior solicitor at the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, said: 'We feel there is a niche in the market to bring together residential social landlords, local authority housing departments and all of the lawyers who work for social housing providers.' Mr Bradley added that social housing law has been fast-moving with legislation such as the Homelessness Act 2002 and the Housing Act 2004 as well as initiatives in the field of anti-social behaviour. The SHLA has formed a limited company and will in due course hold elections for senior positions within the organisation. For more information on the association and the launch meeting, e-mail: info@shla.org.uk

Law Society Gazette, Philip Hoult, 10th November 2005