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| Housing law
We are acknowledged in the Chambers' Guide to the Legal Profession as being the leading firm nationally for representing tenants and others in housing need (see http://www.chambersandpartners.com). In particular, we are renowned for our experience in conducting housing cases with overlapping public law, community care, migrant support, or social security issues. Our team has extensive experience of all aspects of housing litigation in the county court, the High Court and the appeal courts. We have developed particular expertise in public sector housing. We have developed specialist knowledge in acting for people with mental health needs, often on instructions from the Official Solicitor. Also, we have considerable experience of working with children and young people. What kinds of problems can we help you with? Possession proceedings for rent arrears If you are a tenant facing court proceedings by your landlord for unpaid rent, we can advise and represent you in trying to keep your home and manage the debt. Our in-depth knowledge of social security law and community care law often provides a useful tool to assist in defending possession proceedings. By exploring duties owed to individuals, whether by social services departments or by the Department for Work and Pensions or Housing Benefit departments, an order for possession can be avoided. Possession proceedings for mortgage arrears If you are an owner occupier facing repossession because you have got behind with your mortgage, we can advise and represent you in seeking to protect your home and manage the debt. Again, our social security expertise will ensure that you receive the maximum assistance with your mortgage payments. Anti-social behaviour We have extensive experience of defending possession proceedings brought against tenants and other occupiers due to allegations of anti-social behaviour, and also in defending applications by landlords for anti social behaviour injunctions, ASBOs, demotion orders, and closure orders. We have particular expertise in representing children and those with mental health problems in such cases. We also advise occupiers who are victims of anti-social behaviour, including those who have experienced violence or threats of violence from other occupiers. Other possession proceedings We have experience of all types of possession proceedings including those brought against squatters and others said to lack security of tenure, family members of tenants who have died, those occupying mobile homes or traveller sites, and possession proceedings brought against Rent Act tenants. We often act for groups of tenants or occupiers in such cases. We have particular experienced in using human rights and discrimination arguments in such cases. Housing for the homeless We help many clients who have applied to the local authority for assistance in obtaining accommodation, but who have been turned away, or left without anywhere to live, or who have received a decision that the local authority won't help them. We conduct a large number of cases where emergency injunctions are required to secure the provision of accommodation and we have a very high success rate in obtaining these injunctions. Polly Glynn and Gareth Mitchell provide training to other housing solicitors and advisers on homelessness law. Disrepair and personal injury cases If your house or flat is in disrepair because your landlord won't carry out repair works, we can represent you in an action to get the repairs carried out and to obtain compensation for past failures to carry out works. We have recovered some of the highest reported awards of compensation in such cases. We also have experience of acting for large groups of tenants in such cases. We are also regularly instructed to act in cases where poor housing conditions have caused personal injuries including the exacerbation of asthma and other respiratory conditions and cases involving carbon monoxide poisoning from defective gas appliances. Housing allocations and stock transfers We advise housing applicants who seek to challenge decisions about how their housing applications have been dealt with by local authorities and housing associations. We are also regularly instructed to bring judicial review challenges of unlawful allocation schemes and have acted in several leading cases in this area. In addition, we are experienced in representing groups of tenants who oppose the transfer of local authority housing to housing associations, ALMOs and other organisations. Unlawful eviction and harassment: We regularly assist people who have been unlawfully evicted from their homes and obtain emergency injunctions to secure re-entry. We also have a track record of securing some of the highest reported awards of compensation to those who have been evicted in such cases. |
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