Apr 8th 2015, 18:15

FOR HOUSING LAW PRACTITIONERS AND ADVISERS: LAG’s INDISPENSABLE
‘HOUSING LAW CASEBOOK’
NOW IN A NEW SIXTH EDITION

An appreciation by Phillip Taylor MBE and Elizabeth Taylor of Richmond Green Chambers

For barristers and solicitors as well as housing managers, housing advisers and students, here is a casebook from the admirable Legal Action Group which provides valuable guidance in this complex and often extremely difficult and sensitive area of law.

‘Housing law is hard law,’ say the expert authors Nic Madge and Sam Madge-Wyld, adding that ‘ascertaining the law is at times tortuous’. As they further explain, housing law is also hard law because of the effect that housing cases can have on people and ultimately on society at large, including poverty, destitution and homelessness and the resulting social problems.

To say that the body of housing law is vast is an understatement, which is why the authors point out that while the original aim for this book in its earlier editions was to provide all the cases that housing practitioners would ever need, this is no longer possible. Housing law has become too big.

Nonetheless the main areas of housing law are covered, as described in the book’s introduction and listed in the detailed table of contents. This new and updated sixth edition contains in accessible form the real cases in housing matters that impact on real people. Each case, of course, concludes with the judicial decisions that results.

The overall aim of the Casebook is, in the words of the authors, to make housing law easier and more accessible for advisers on housing problems, or who are representing clients in court. The book is also useful, indeed indispensable, for students of the subject. Experienced practitioners will find the book a handy source of details on particular cases which they may, or may not remember, bearing in mind that the relevant law reports must also be produced in court.

For experienced and inexperienced practitioner alike, the book offers a number of features designed to save valuable time. Over its twenty-one chapters it deals with a wide spectrum of housing issues, from human rights and housing, to the different types of tenancies, security of tenure, possession procedure and grounds for possession, disrepair, harassment and issues relating to ground rent, service and administration charges. There is a chapter on mortgage possession proceedings, another dealing with homelessness and of course, much more.

Researchers and practitioners requiring further information will appreciate the more than 80 pages containing tables of cases, statutes, statutory instruments and European legislation. – and also the almost 70 page index at the back.

Whether you are a lawyer, adviser, or employed by a local authority, or housing association, acquiring this book would make your life a lot easier. Also note that this title is also accessible online, with regular updates available.

The law in this book is cited as up to date as of 12 November 2014.