What's new on Shelter Legal
The pages on Shelter Legal are updated regularly to reflect changes in the law.
This page lists the most recent updates to Shelter Legal.
Local authority HHSRS enforcement action
19 July 2024
In Tabassam v Manchester City Council [2024] UKUT 93 (LC), the Upper Tribunal held that where the local authority had served an improvement notice at the affected property and the landlord's previous address, the landlord had a reasonable excuse for non-compliance with the notice and no offence was committed. The improvement notice had not been served at the landlord's current address and the landlord was unaware of the notice.
View amended articlePeople with EU pre-settled status eligibility for homeless assistance
16 July 2024
In Fertré v Vale of White Horse District Council [2024] EWHC 1754 (KB) the High Court held that the requirement for EU citizens with pre-settled status to meet additional conditions to be eligible for homelessness assistance does not contradict the Withdrawal Agreement between the UK and the EU. EU citizens with pre-settled status must still meet additional requirements to be eligible, such as being a worker, self-employed, having a permanent right to reside or being a 'Bambaust' carer, as per retained EU law.
View amended articleWhat makes a section 21 notice invalid
12 July 2024
This page has been updated to clarify that a section 21 notice served at the same time as a gas safety certificate or EPC is valid. This clarification in relation to a gas safety certificate is contained in para 37, Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 760.
View amended articleEU Settlement Scheme
3 July 2024
The Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) (Amendment) Order 2024 amends art 13(4) of The Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 so that a person with pre-settled status can retain their status if they leave the UK, as long as they are not absent for more than five years. Before 21 May 2024, this time limit was two years. The Home Office can still end a person's pre-settled status on a case by case basis if they exceed the absences allowed in the Withdrawal Agreement.
View amended articleDebt relief order applications
1 July 2024
On 28 June 2024, the Insolvency Proceedings (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order 2024 amended the Insolvency Proceedings (Monetary Limits) Order 1986 to increase the debt limit for a DRO from £30,000 to £50,000. The Insolvency (England and Wales) (Amendment) Rules 2024 amended Rule 9.9(2)(ii) Insolvency Rules 2016 to increase the limit on the value of an exempt motor vehicle from £2,000 to £4,000. This and related pages have been amended.
View amended articlePermission for company directors in a DRO
26 June 2024
This new page explains what happens when a company director applies for a debt relief order, how to apply to court for permission to be a director and the criminal sanctions for people who continue acting as a director without permission. This page was produced in partnership with Shelter's Specialist Debt Advice Service.
View amended articleEviction from land not owned by Travellers
25 June 2024
In R (Smith) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1137, the High Court found that the 12 months’ prohibition on returning to occupy land introduced by sections 83 and 84 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 by way of amendments to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, was incompatible with the rights of Gypsies and Travellers under the European Convention on Human Rights, because there is a shortage of transit pitches and transit pitches cannot be occupied for more than three months.
View amended articleRegulated tenancy discretionary grounds for possession
24 June 2024
The court can order possession of a regulated tenancy on a discretionary ground if it is reasonable to do so. This page has been improved and updated with information about what a discretionary ground is, when a landlord can use each ground, and more details about possession for rent arrears on ground 1.
View amended articlePeople from abroad who are eligible for homeless assistance
6 June 2024
The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) and Persons Subject to Immigration Control (Housing Authority Accommodation and Homelessness) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 introduce two new classes of person eligible for housing and homelessness assistance. From 7 June 2024, certain people who can enter the UK under immigration rules as a victims of transnational marriage abandonment, and people who have their no recourse to public funds condition lifted by the Home Office, can now be eligible.
View amended articleLocal authority statutory nuisance duties
3 June 2024
In Ball, R (On the Application Of) v Hinckley & Bosworth Council (Rev1) [2024] EWCA Civ 433, the Court of Appeal held that a local authority has no power to vary the terms of an abatement notice once it has been satisfied a statutory nuisance exists or is likely to occur.
View amended article