Department: Housing and Social Care

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Man is making audit of household expenses

William Ford

Success in Court of Appeal in child disability...

The Court of Appeal has today handed judgment in the case of Harrington v Secretary of State for Work and...

Churchill Gardens neighborhood in Pimlico

William Ford

High Court finds Westminster Council’s Housing Scheme...

Westminster City Council’s housing allocation scheme found to be unlawful The High Court has today handed down judgment finding...

Court of Appeal Dismisses Legacy Benefits Claim

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed the legacy benefit Claimants’ appeal of the decision of the High Court dated 18...

William Ford

Housing allocation case questions lawfulness of council’s...

Until February 2022, the social housing allocation scheme for the London Borough of Newham allowed people who lived outside the borough...

William Ford

Legacy benefits uplift: appeal granted by Court of...

On 18 February 2022 the High Court dismissed the case brought by Osbornes on behalf of 4 claimants challenging the governments failure to...

Business people hands applauding at meeting

20 Years of Celebrating Legal Aid Lawyers

This year the litigation team at Osbornes attended the 20th anniversary of the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year 2022 (“LALY 2022”)...

Muna Adam

Immediate, Non-Deferrable and Unqualified

Judgment was handed down on 04 May 2022 in the Court of Appeal in an important case regarding the main housing duty....

DATE OF BIRTH close up on a printed form

Alex McMahon

Vulnerable child wrongly assessed to be an adult

Upper Tribunal finds a vulnerable child to be 17 years old despite two flawed local authority age assessments which led to...

William Ford

Council overturns unlawful housing policy

Homeless teenager claims victory for more than 1,200 homeless people after forcing council to overturn unlawful housing policy A homeless teenager...

William Ford

Homeless Teenager takes London Council to High Court

A homeless teenager is taking a London council to the High Court for ‘unlawfully’ banning hundreds of homeless people from...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Scandal in South London

Following an investigation by ITV nearly 500 homes in the Eastfields Estate in Mitcham, south London, owned by the housing association...

Alex McMahon

Possession Claims Amends Due to Pandemic

Last year I set out in two blogs the amendments implemented by the Government in the procedure for residential possession ...

William Ford

Council to amend unlawful housing allocation banding process

For the last 8 years Brent Council has stopped the majority of homeless applicants from bidding for rehousing, treating them as ‘...

Trapped in your Home Lockdown or Not! – The...

Thousands of leaseholders are facing huge bills for safety improvements to their building after the Grenfell disaster. As a result...

William Ford

What does the national lockdown mean for possession...

The coronavirus pandemic has caused disruption to all elements of life, and possession proceedings are no exception. The number of...

Edward Taylor

Hackney Council ignore vulnerable resident’s request

Paranoid schizophrenic ignored by Hackney Council for four years wins legal battle over unsafe front door A man who suffers...

Edward Taylor

Teenage asylum seeker wins legal battle against Council...

Vulnerable teenage asylum seeker wins age case against the council which unlawfully assessed him A vulnerable teenager who sought asylum...

William Ford

EU Nationals with Pre-Settled Status entitled to benefits...

Court Judgment means EU Nationals with Pre-Settled Status can access benefits and housing On 18 December 2020 the Court of Appeal handed...

William Ford

Young mother secures accommodation after illegal evictions during...

Here at Osbornes we have seen illegal evictions on the increase during this global pandemic. Osbornes have been advising many...

William Ford

Osbornes applying to Supreme Court in housing possession...

In the case of Gateway Housing Association –v- Begum (2) the Court of Appeal recently decided that a tenant must leave...

William Ford

Eviction from home of vulnerable man during lockdown...

Osbornes were instructed just before the lockdown to prevent the eviction of a vulnerable man with capacity issues. He had...

William Ford

Housing disrepair issues resolved after three years

Osbornes were instructed on behalf of a disabled tenant who had been decanted from her temporary accommodation for some three...

Edward Taylor

Education provision to age disputed migrants

The thorny issue of education provision to age disputed migrants There was an interesting article in The Guardian last week...

William Ford

Is the delay in the Renters Reform Bill...

There have been issues tenants have faced for a long time before pandemic; namely no fault evictions and the other...

William Ford

Up Up and away to the First Tier...

This year we assisted in written representations for a welfare benefit case in the Upper Tribunal. This is a Housing...

William Ford

You are homeless because you are in shared...

It is well established that shared facilities are not suitable for families with children as long term accommodation. The client...

Alex McMahon

Housing Lawyer at Osbornes comments on the government’...

Alex McMahon, expert housing lawyer in the housing and community care department at Osbornes has been quoted in various publications...

Alex McMahon

Judicial review – friend or foe?

The Government announced on 31st July 2020 that an independent panel has been asked to look at judicial review to consider...

Adele Pinkett

Rejecting tenants on housing benefit deemed indirect discrimination

In a recent decision in the County Court at York it was held that a letting agent’s policy of...

William Ford

I am vulnerable and homeless but the Council...

Homelessness law and procedure can be very complicated. We hope this blog gives you some helpful pointers but it is...

Angela Marangone

I have lost my job and I have...

The impact of the current pandemic is being felt by many, but the prospect of losing your job or not...

William Ford

No recourse to public funds in the time...

Anyone working in the field of social welfare law will be familiar with the term “no recourse to public funds”....

Alex McMahon

I am renting from a private landlord and...

I know that many individuals across the country are extremely worried about the instability of their housing. This was a...

William Ford

Case news: Housing benefit decision addresses issue of...

The background You might be forgiven for thinking that the question of whether a course is full time or part...

Muna Adam

When does a Local Authority have to provide...

Absolutely anyone can be struck down by misfortune and find themselves in a situation where they are homeless. Though many...

William Ford

Harassment and Unlawful Evictions of Tenants during COVID-19...

At these hugely challenging times, I thought it would be helpful to provide some insight for tenants facing harassment and...

Edward Taylor

I am being threatened with eviction – can I...

Whether you occupy social housing or private rented accommodation, early intervention is absolutely key to staving off the threat of...

William Ford

The Coronavirus Act 2020 and Social Care

The Coronavirus Act 2020 (“the Act”) came into law on 25 March 2020 and passed sweeping emergency legislation that is unprecedented in peacetime....

William Ford

I have a disrepair issue can I withhold...

Withholding rent is not your best course of action. I see the logic in using the non-payment of rent as...

William Ford

COVID-19 – the impact on landlords of residential properties...

From the 26th March 2020, landlords will have to give their tenants 3 months’ notice if they intend to seek possession compared...

William Ford

British child living with her mother in the...

In AH v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2020] UKUT 53 (AAC), the claimant and her parents are British citizens. ...

Landlord obligations to their tenants

With the Prime Minister confirming that the spread of coronavirus in the UK is likely but people should at present...

Alex McMahon

The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 – implementation...

“Home is a safe haven and a comfort zone. A place to live with our families and pets and enjoy...

Full house for Rights and Entitlements Post Brexit...

On 27 November 2019, Osbornes Law held a twilight seminar to consider the rights that EU citizens and their family members will...

Excellence rating for Osbornes Law Housing team

A recent review by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) was carried out at the beginning of November. The LAA review...

William Ford

Universal Credit Claims and Personal Injury Compensation

The general rule on entitlement to Universal Credit is that a person is not entitled if they have capital of...

Edward Taylor

Lambeth Council failed homeless applicant

The Court of Appeal has quashed a council decision that said a young man with mental health problems and at...

William Ford

Possession – A New Dawn!

On 21st July 2019 the Government launched a consultation to seek views on implementing their decision to remove section 21 of the...

Osbornes housing department win compensation for homeless families...

The Ombudsman has published a report regarding Westminster City Council’s use of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless families....

Edward Taylor

Osbornes bring High Court challenge to secure accommodation

Edward Taylor has challenged Westminster City Council at the High Court after the local authority failed to meet its absolute...

NEWS: Osbornes successful at Upper Tribunal in complex...

R (on the Application of MRA) v Surrey County Council (JR/7871/2018) Our client MRA, a national of Iran, arrived in...

OSBORNES DYNAMIC DUO WIN TOP AWARDS

Osbornes solicitors are delighted to announce that both William Ford and Edward Taylor won Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year...

Enforcement Proceedings issued against Housing Association

Osbornes Law have successfully enforced a binding agreement reached with a housing association concerning works to remedy housing disrepair. In...

Tenancy deposits and prescribed information where there has...

Background This case involved an appeal by the tenant of a possession order made against her under s21 of the...

Edward Taylor

Young asylum seekers – children being classified as adults

On BBC Newsnight, last night (5 April) reporters revealed young asylum seekers are being incorrectly classified by the Home office as...

Right to Rent? The Immigration Bill 2013

Landlords would not normally expect laws with far reaching consequences for their business detailed in Immigration legislation. Safiye Conner, specialist...

William Ford

Homelessness- The suitability of bed and breakfast accommodation

There is tremendous pressure on local authorities to house individuals and families for many reasons including unaffordable private rents and...

Where will the homeless go?

In news this week it has been confirmed that London Councils are preparing to send thousands of families into temporary...

From the Deregulation Act 2015 to the Immigration Act 2014 –...

On the 1st October 2015 a whole raft of changes came into force by virtue of the Deregulation Act 2015 which impact...

First squatter jailed under new law

A twenty-one year old man has become the first person to be jailed under the government’s new anti-squatting legislation...

Homelesseness: Local Council neglects homeless teenager

A 16 year old boy was forced to live in a tent for 9 months while the local council in Kent refused...

Housing and disrepair in the spotlight

Recent programs and news features have highlighted more than ever how housing matters are crucially important to many households in...