Department: Housing and Social Care

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Rahul Kanani

Asylum-Seeking Child Wins Age Dispute Court Case Against...

Vulnerable unaccompanied asylum-seeking child vindicated in relation to his age following four day hearing in damming judgment against Local Authority...

Edward Taylor

Torbay Council Fined £8,400 for Failing Child’s Needs

Torbay Council ordered to pay £8,400 for year-long neglect of child’s needs The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has...

Rahul Kanani

Age Re-Assessment Ordered by High Court

‘Illogical’ and ‘unlawful’: High Court rules in favour of unaccompanied asylum-seeker against Local Authority On 16 April 2025, His Honour Judge Dight...

Adele Pinkett

Significant Damages Secured in Disrepair Case

Significant Damages for Disrepair secured following breach of Court Order Our client approached Osbornes Law having previously brought a disrepair...

Mandy Groves

Housing Cases: When Vulnerability Affects Capacity

When does vulnerability become an issue of capacity in housing cases? Things to consider Many clients seeking housing advice from...

William Ford

Osbornes Wins Judicial Review on Legal Aid Fees

Osbornes successful in judicial review of Lord Chancellor over legal aid fees for Welfare Benefits On 28 January 2025 the High Court...

Edward Taylor

Osbornes Law Secures Mental Health Support for Asylum...

Home office backs down over decision to deny mental health support to suicidal torture victim seeking asylum The Home Office...

New DWP Scheme: Refunds for Recoverable Hardship Payments

Sanctioned Universal Credit claimants may be entitled to refunds of Hardship Payments following announcement of new DWP scheme The Department...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Disabled Woman Wins £34,000 Benefits Case

The Background to the Case In 2019 Ramona Cerbu was crossing the road when she was hit by a car and...

Alex Panayi

Transferring a Council House Tenancy to a Family...

Tenancy Succession Rules The loss of a loved one is always a difficult time. It is important that time is...

William Ford

Single Mother Wins in High Court Homelessness Challenge

Claim for judicial review against Redbridge Council This case involved a claim in the High Court for judicial review against...

Samuel O’Flaherty

How To Deal With Rent Arrears

What can I do if I am struggling to pay off rent arrears? There are many reasons why one might...

When can you challenge public body decisions about...

An introduction to public law Public law governs the relationship between public bodies, such as central government or local government,...

Rahul Kanani

Short-Form Assessments of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children

Age is just a number? Shining a light on Local Authorities’ Short-Form Assessments of Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children A recent report...

Edward Taylor

DWP Exposed for £32,000 Underpayment of Disability Benefits

Osbornes Law has assisted a vulnerable client to recover underpaid disability benefits totalling over £32,000. Our client, a disabled young man,...

Alex McMahon

Case Reiterates Local Authorities should follow Allocation Scheme

R (on the application of Kukhtyak) -v- London Borough of Hounslow [2023] EWHC 2914 (Admin) This sad case concerned an elderly couple...

Tom McHale

Supreme Court sets High Threshold for Local Authorities...

Judgment was handed down on 28 November 2023 by the Supreme Court in an important case regarding the main housing duty. The...

Muna Adam

Gatekept homeless teenager accommodated by local housing authority

Miss X, a 17 year old whose details are anonymised to protect her privacy, left her family home in March 2022 following...

Muna Adam

Homelessness case successfully settled for elderly disabled lady

Ms X, whose details are anonymised to protect her privacy, had been living in a privately rented one-bedroom flat for...

Adele Pinkett

Disrepair Claim for Single Father

Background to the Claim Osbornes Law represented a private tenant, a single father living with his young son in their...

Adele Pinkett

Client successfully rehoused following refusal by local authority

Background to the case Osbornes Law represented a client who had been found intentionally homeless by his local authority. He...

Sean Hughes

Client rehoused and £16,000 arrears cleared

Osbornes Law were instructed to assist a client to suspend a warrant for possession. The client had fallen into arrears...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Victory for Homeless Victim

Mr X, whose details are anonymised to protect his privacy, fled his home country due to severe persecution from the...

William Ford

Successful homelessness judicial review case against Redbridge Council

This matter involved a claim in the High Court for judicial review against Redbridge Council for failure to comply with...

Tom McHale

Family Unlawfully Evicted Receives Damages of £22,000

Case Summary: Unlawful Eviction Claim Against Private Landlord This matter involved an unlawful eviction claim brought by our clients against...

Man is making audit of household expenses

William Ford

Success in Court of Appeal in child disability...

The Court of Appeal has today handed judgment in the case of Harrington v Secretary of State for Work and...

Churchill Gardens neighborhood in Pimlico

William Ford

High Court finds Westminster Council’s Housing Scheme...

Westminster City Council’s housing allocation scheme found to be unlawful The High Court has today handed down judgment finding...

Court of Appeal Dismisses Legacy Benefits Claim

The Court of Appeal has today dismissed the legacy benefit Claimants’ appeal of the decision of the High Court dated 18...

William Ford

Housing allocation case questions lawfulness of council’s...

Until February 2022, the social housing allocation scheme for the London Borough of Newham allowed people who lived outside the borough...

William Ford

Legacy benefits uplift: appeal granted by Court of...

Introduction to the case On 18 February 2022 the High Court dismissed the case brought by Osbornes Law on behalf of 4 claimants...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Claim for Leaking Pipe

Our solicitors at Osbornes Law successfully assisted a client in resolving a severe disrepair claim involving water leaks, damp, and...

Muna Adam

Immediate, Non-Deferrable and Unqualified

Judgment was handed down on 04 May 2022 in the Court of Appeal in an important case regarding the main housing duty....

DATE OF BIRTH close up on a printed form

Alex McMahon

Vulnerable child wrongly assessed to be an adult

Upper Tribunal finds a vulnerable child to be 17 years old despite two flawed local authority age assessments which led to...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Council overturns unlawful housing policy

Homeless teenager claims victory for more than 1,200 homeless people after forcing council to overturn unlawful housing policy A homeless teenager...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Homeless Teenager takes London Council to High Court

A homeless teenager is taking a London council to the High Court for ‘unlawfully’ banning hundreds of homeless people from...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Housing Disrepair Mitcham, South London

Awful housing conditions Following an investigation by ITV nearly 500 homes in the Eastfields Estate in Mitcham, south London, owned by...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Due To Persistent Dampness

Serious disrepair issues Our solicitors at Osbornes Law have successfully settled a disrepair claim on behalf of a local authority...

Samuel O’Flaherty

Council to amend unlawful housing allocation banding process

For the last 8 years Brent Council has stopped the majority of homeless applicants from bidding for rehousing, treating them as ‘...

Edward Taylor

Hackney Council ignore vulnerable resident’s request

Paranoid schizophrenic ignored by Hackney Council for four years wins legal battle over unsafe front door A man who suffers...

Edward Taylor

Teenage asylum seeker wins legal battle against Council...

Vulnerable teenage asylum seeker wins age case against the council which unlawfully assessed him A vulnerable teenager who sought asylum...

William Ford

EU Nationals with Pre-Settled Status entitled to benefits...

Court Judgment means EU Nationals with Pre-Settled Status can access benefits and housing On 18 December 2020 the Court of Appeal handed...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Claim for Disabled Tenant

Background to the Case Osbornes Law were instructed by a disabled tenant who had been decanted from her temporary accommodation...

Edward Taylor

Education provision to age disputed migrants

The thorny issue of education provision to age disputed migrants There was an interesting article in The Guardian last week...

William Ford

You are homeless because you are in shared...

It is well established that shared facilities are not suitable for families with children as long term accommodation. The client...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Against Local Authority

Successful Claim of Disrepair Against Local Authority Osbornes Law, has successfully settled a significant housing disrepair claim on behalf of...

Alex McMahon

Judicial review – friend or foe?

The Government announced on 31st July 2020 that an independent panel has been asked to look at judicial review to consider...

Adele Pinkett

Rejecting tenants on housing benefit deemed indirect discrimination

In a recent decision in the County Court at York it was held that a letting agent’s policy of...

Samuel O’Flaherty

I am vulnerable and homeless but the Council...

Homelessness law and procedure can be very complicated. We hope this blog gives you some helpful pointers but it is...

Angela Marangone

I have lost my job and I have...

The impact of the current pandemic is being felt by many, but the prospect of losing your job or not...

Alex McMahon

I am renting from a private landlord and...

The ONS reported in 2019 that between 2007 and 2017 the number of households in the private rented sector in the UK increased...

Muna Adam

When does a Local Authority have to provide...

Absolutely anyone can be struck down by misfortune and find themselves in a situation where they are homeless. Though many...

William Ford

I have a disrepair issue can I withhold...

Withholding rent is not your best course of action I see the logic in using the non-payment of rent as...

Alex McMahon

Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018

Understanding the Fitness for Human Habitation Act 2018: Your Rights as a Tenant “Home is a safe haven and a comfort...

William Ford

Can DWP Take My Compensation?

Universal Credit Claims and Personal Injury Compensation Under current Universal Credit rules, individuals are generally not entitled to claim Universal...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Claim in Notting Hill

Successful settlement of Housing Disrepair Claim William Ford, a partner in Osbornes Law’s Housing and Social Care Department, has...

Edward Taylor

Osbornes bring High Court challenge to secure accommodation

Edward Taylor has challenged Westminster City Council at the High Court after the local authority failed to meet its absolute...

NEWS: Osbornes successful at Upper Tribunal in complex...

R (on the Application of MRA) v Surrey County Council (JR/7871/2018) Our client MRA, a national of Iran, arrived in...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Claim for Vulnerable Family

Our solicitors at Osbornes Law successfully assisted a client in resolving a challenging housing disrepair claim involving severe damp, leaks,...

Edward Taylor

Housing Disrepair Claim against Housing Association

Enforcement Proceedings issued against Housing Association Osbornes Law recently enforced a binding agreement reached with a housing association concerning much-needed...

William Ford

Tenancy Deposits and Prescribed Information

Background to the case A tenancy agreement breach can occur when a landlord or tenant fails to comply with their...

Edward Taylor

Young asylum seekers – children being classified as adults

On BBC Newsnight, last night (5 April) reporters revealed young asylum seekers are being incorrectly classified by the Home office as...

William Ford

Homelessness- The suitability of bed and breakfast accommodation

There is tremendous pressure on local authorities to house individuals and families for many reasons including unaffordable private rents and...

Where will the homeless go?

In news this week it has been confirmed that London Councils are preparing to send thousands of families into temporary...

William Ford

Court of Appeal Clarifies the Definition of ‘Landlord’

It is now not uncommon for home owners to enter into company let agreements with property companies who are authorised...

William Ford

Housing Disrepair Claim for Structural Damage

Our solicitors successfully represented a client in a disrepair claim against a landlord involving structural damage and severe damp in...