November 28, 2019
Unlawful Subletting Profit Order for £100,974.94 The news that a defendant was ordered to pay Westminster City Council £100,974.94 has attracted attention from the BBC and national newspapers. However, almost all the reporting described the penalty as “a fine”. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of what happened. The order was for repayment of unlawfully obtained profits […]
Read MoreDecember 12, 2018
Landlord not guilty of any offence in Houses in Multiple Occupation prosecution Our landlord client was being prosecuted by summons for various offences under the Houses in Multiple Occupation Regulations. They had let a two-bedroom flat to a couple who had in turn, without the landlord’s knowledge, sublet to up to 12 people. The matter was […]
Read MoreSeptember 22, 2016
Tenancy Fraud There has been a recent drive to tackle tenancy fraud and to recover secure tenancies and assured tenancies (those social tenancies managed by Housing Associations). We have seen an increasing number of interviews under caution (formal interviews as part of a criminal investigation) being carried out in relation to alleged tenancy fraud. Understanding […]
Read MoreJuly 13, 2016
Subletting claim dismissed against vulnerable adult Our client faced eviction from his council flat. The council claimed that he had sublet the whole of the property and had thereby breached his tenancy agreement and that they were entitled to possession. Our client told a different story. He said he was a vulnerable adult with major […]
April 1, 2016
Possession claim dismissed for disrepair and compensation paid Miss B had been living in her housing association property with her two sons since May 2007. There was disrepair at the property. She has been maintaining payments of her rent through her part time work and housing benefits. She fell into rent arrears in April 2014 after travelling abroad for 10 […]
February 24, 2015
Defending Social Housing Fraud cases The Social Housing Fraud Act became law in 2013. We were expecting a wave of possession claims, prosecutions and applications for confiscation of profits. What was expected to be a flood turned out to be a trickle – until now. In the last few weeks we have noticed a sharp […]
Read MoreOctober 24, 2013
Housing fraud act may make criminals out of sub-tenants The government claim that as of 2012 there were some 100,000 Council and Housing Association properties that were unlawfully sublet. There is an acute housing shortage. Many tenants may have been pushed into accommodation which, because of the new law, could lead to criminal charges. The […]
Read MoreOctober 4, 2013
Landlord’s wish to evict fails on Deposit Protection mistake A landlord decided they wanted possession of their property and eviction of the tenants on the expiry of an assured short hold tenancy. They issued possession proceedings under the accelerated procedure. The tenants were not in arrears and the Landlord believed they had complied with all […]
August 6, 2013
Squatters evicted Moss & Co acted for the Landlord who owned a property in East London. The house was unoccupied as repair works were being done whilst the landlord was away. Upon his return to the UK the Claimant discovered that squatters had taken over the premises. They were demanding “money to leave” and had […]