Matt and Jenny aim for Supreme three in a row
Property, Public Law and Judicial Review
In R(N) v Lewisham LBC [2015] AC 1259, Matt Hutchings and Jennifer Oscroft represented the successful local authorities. They convinced the Supreme Court that temporary housing for homeless applicants was not “occupied as a dwelling” and therefore local authorities and their providers could carry out evictions without court orders.
In Hotak v Southwark LBC [2015] 2 WLR 1314, teaming up with Bryan McGuire QC and representing Crisis and Shelter, they convinced the Supreme Court to overturn the interpretation of “vulnerable” that had stood at Court of Appeal level since 1998.
In their latest Supreme Court brief, Matt and Jenny faced their biggest challenge yet. Intervening for Shelter in McDonald v McDonald 2014/0234, they advocated a revolutionary change in domestic property law, subjecting all possession orders in respect of a home to a proportionality test.
This is vigorously opposed by the Residential Landlords Association and the Government, who argue that the Strasbourg case law does not support this law reform and it would have a severe impact on the private rented sector.
The case was heard by the Supreme Court shortly before Easter vacation. Watch this space to see if Matt and Jenny can make it three in a row…
