A Busy Year in Social Housing
By Sarah Salmon & Tara O’Leary
Some months have passed since our last Housing Newsletter, and Cornerstone’s Housing Team has been busier than ever.
First, we have planned a series of housing webinars for the year ahead. Details of all our events will be available shortly but topics will include eligibility with regards to EEA nationals and housing, expert evidence & Equality Act defences to anti-social behaviour possession claims, social housing regulation and consumer standard, avoiding (successful) homelessness appeals and avoiding discrimination challenges in allocation schemes. Our recent webinars are also available to view online, including talks on renters’ rights, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and shared ownership. Readers should also mark their diaries for our annual Housing Day which takes place on 13 October 2025.
Members of the team will also be speaking at numerous other events during the year, including the Social Housing Law Association (SHLA) annual conference on 13 March. Secondly, the Team has been boosted by the recent addition of Victoria Osler. We are also very pleased to welcome Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris and Hannah Taylor following their successful completion pupillage in chambers in October 2024.
Our current pupils Camille Richards and Max Milllington will begin to accept instructions from April 2024. Both have sat with members of the Team (Camille has completed a seat with Sarah Salmon and Max is currently with Alexander Campbell).
Thirdly, we are delighted that the Team retains its top rankings as a leading set for Social Housing in both Chambers UK Bar Directory and the 2024 edition of the Legal 500. Cornerstone Barristers was also in the running for the Set of the Year award at the Legal 500 Bar Awards with Sarah Salmon shortlisted as Property and Housing Junior of the Year. Two other members of the Team were shortlisted in the planning and land use categories: Ranjit Bhose KC and Wayne Beglan.
This reflects chambers’ successes as a whole, including its shortlisting for Client Service Set of the Year at the 2024 Chambers and Partners UK Bar Awards. We’d also like to give special congratulations to friend of the Housing Team, Harriet Townsend, who will shortly be appointed King’s Counsel.
Fourthly, since the last newsletter members of the Team have been involved in numerous important appeal decisions, including but not limited to:
· The first high court case to consider provisions of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 – Coastal Housing Group Ltd and Ors v Mitchell and Ors – involving Ranjit Bhose KC, Sarah Salmon, Tara O’Leary and Jack Barber. The second part of the case – the counterclaims – are due to be heard in 2025. The claimant landlords have also sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. · R (Ivory) v Welwyn Hatfield BC [2025] EWCA Civ 21 which considered whether a local housing authority was justified in rejecting a fresh homelessness application from an applicant whom it had previously found to be intentionally homeless, in circumstances where the fresh application was accompanied by a novel medical report. Riccardo Calzavara and Lois Lane acted for the authority. · Hussaini v London Borough of Islington [2025] EWCA Civ 22, giving new clarity to the question of when someone can be considered to have a local connection to a local authority, involving Catherine Rowlands. · Riccardo Calzavara appeared for the authority in Waltham Forest LBC v Marble Properties (London) Ltd; R (Waltham Forest LBC) v First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) [2025] UKUT 2 (LC) where the Upper Tribunal clarified the FTT’s limits on policy interpretation. · London Borough of Bexley v London & Quadrant Housing Trust, a High Court case concerning stock transfer agreements, involving Kelvin Rutledge KC, Matt Hutchings KC and Alistair Cantor. · BCPC v Adam Smith-Connor, a prosecution arising from a breach of a Public Spaces Protection Order in respect of the area surrounding the British Pregnancy Advisory Service clinic on Ophir Road, Bournemouth. Kuljit Bhogal KC and Sarah Salmon acted for the local authority. Mr Smith-Connor is appealing his conviction and the appeal is due to be heard in the summer of 2025. Mr Smith-Connor’s conviction was recently the subject of some unexpected commentary by US Vice President JD Vance. · Brent LBC v Howe [2024] EWCA Civ 1444, a case where the Court of Appeal determined that the death of the secure tenant does not prevent her family member sharing her right to buy, involving Riccardo Calzavara. · Newcastle City Council v Abdallah (2024) UKUT 140, an appeal concerning the service of notices by local authorities under the Housing Act 2004, involving Sarah Salmon. · Bradford Metropolitan District Council v Kazi [2024] EWCA Civ 1037, a decision that the FTT (and Upper Tribunal on appeal) had been wrong to identify any fettering of the Council’s policy, involving Riccardo Calzavara and Jeremy Ogilvie-Harris. · Fertre v Vale of White Horse DC, where the High Court had the unenviable task of determining whether a European national who moved to the UK before Brexit, and has pre-settled status, but is economically inactive, is eligible for housing assistance. Catherine Rowlands appeared for the authority. · Kuljit Bhogal KC has recently secured a possession order for Manchester City Council to remove a tent encampment. In 2025, readers should look out for the next instalment of Coastal Housing Group Ltd and Ors v Mitchell and Ors as well as the appeal in BCPC v Adam Smith-Connor. In addition, Sarah Salmon and Olivia Davies will be in the Court of Appeal in a case concerning the Housing Act 1985 succession scheme.
Fifthly, readers can keep an eye out for some new books from the Team being published in 2025. Kuljit Bhogal KC is authoring the third edition of “Bhogal on Anti-Social Behaviour” and Andrew Lane is developing the third edition of “Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud”. Cornerstone on Gangs by Sarah Salmon and Jack Barber (Bloomsbury) should also be published.
Finally, this edition of the newsletter offers a fantastic selection of articles on a wide range of subjects. They include Labour Government’s approach to housing; section 204(2A), Housing Act 1996 and late homelessness appeals; Court of Appeal case law review focussing on the interaction between housing and social care duties; local connection; and the serving of “notices” following Khan & Khan v D’Aubigny [2025] EWCA Civ 11.
Enjoy the read!
