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A couple who let out a house in multiple occupation (HMO) have defeated an application for a rent repayment order under Section 41 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 on the basis that they had a reasonable excuse for failing to license the property as an...

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a decision to appoint a manager of a block of student flats under Section 24 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1987 . The landlord of the block had let the flats to investment purchasers on long leases. A number of the...

Sections 13 and 14 of the Housing Act 1988 provide a statutory scheme for landlords to increase the rent payable under an assured periodic tenancy by serving notice of the proposed increase on the tenant, who may then refer the proposal to the First-tier...

The Upper Tribunal (UT) recently granted modification of a restrictive covenant to allow a house to be used as a children's care home . The house was on a small residential estate. All the houses on the estate were bound by covenants restricting their use...

The Upper Tribunal (UT) has upheld a challenge to a rent repayment order made against the landlord of a house in an area designated by the local authority as subject to additional licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The landlord had let the...

Under Section 20ZA of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 , a tribunal may grant a landlord dispensation from the requirement to consult tenants about significant works if it finds it reasonable to do so. Recently, a landlord who carried out urgent repairs to...

The High Court has rejected an application by a local planning authority (LPA) for permission for statutory review of a planning decision under Section 288 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 . A developer applied for permission in principle (PiP)...

A man who let a house to a company which in turn let rooms in it to tenants has succeeded in his appeal against a rent repayment order after the Upper Tribunal (UT) concluded that he was not the tenants' immediate landlord and therefore no such order could...

Can a local housing authority serve an improvement notice under Section 12 of the Housing Act 2004 in respect of a hazard that may or may not exist? This question was raised in a landlord's recent appeal to the Upper Tribunal (UT). The landlord had been...

When incurring costs in respect of a property, landlords should consider at an early stage whether these will be recoverable through the tenants' service charges. A right to manage (RTM) company recently failed to persuade the Upper Tribunal (UT) that legal...