On 1st October 2015 The Deregulation Act 2015 brought in a number of changes to the notice a landlord needed to give to obtain possession of its property pursuant to section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. This type of notice is commonly referred to as a section 21 notice. These changes related to tenancies commencing from 1st October 2015 onwards. Whilst these changes have now been in place for some time, on 1st October 2018 the intention is that these changes will apply to all tenancies, whether they were granted on or after 1st October 2015 or before.

The Supreme Court in the case of Morris-Garner v One Step (Support) Limited has clarified the approach to awarding damages against parties who deliberately breach their obligations under a contract.

The Supreme Court case of Barton v Wright Hassall LLP revolved around a litigant in person’s failure to comply with the rules of Court set out in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).

When a domestic landlord rents a property they should ensure that the property has a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). This gives an energy performance rating of a property and gives recommendations in how to make a property more energy efficient. This gives a rating between A and G (A being the best rating).

A pilot scheme launched today will test a fully video courtroom with members of the public for the first time. Witnesses and victims already give evidence by video link in some criminal and civil trials, but in this development everyone, including the judge, advocates and parties, will participate in the hearing over the internet, albeit the judge will be located in the court room.

The current Civil Procedure Rules allow for claim forms to be served on a defendant at their usual address if known, or the last known address where the claimant does not know the current address or where the defendant has not provided a current address. If, once served, there is no response to the claim form within the required time limit then the claimant is permitted to request that judgment be entered by default. This results in a County Court Judgment, or CCJ, being registered against the defendant and against the address that was used for service.

The current Civil Procedure Rules allow for claim forms to be served on a defendant at their usual address if known, or the last known address where the claimant does not know thecurrent address or where the defendant has not provided a current address

The press have been afloat with coverage of The Court of Appeal decision in the Ilott v Mitson case whereby Heather Ilott has been awarded money from her late mother’s estate despite her late mother specifically excluding her from her Will.