Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Improvement notices and RTM: UT holds section 257 HMOs require service on long leaseholders, not RTM companies; licensing duties and common parts guidance (England and Wales)

Published on: 30 April 2015

Published by a LexisNexis Property expert

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Article summary

Original news Hastings Borough Council v Braear Developments [2015] UKUT 0145 (LC)

The property was a five-storey Victorian mid-terrace house, converted into five self-contained flats held on long leases. The right to manage was taken over by an RTM company, which then applied to the local housing authority for a grant to fund repairs to the common parts of the building. Approval was granted on the basis that the works would be completed within 12 months; however, the RTM company did not finish within the permitted 12-month period, so the grant was cancelled. The grant application brought the poor condition of the external staircase to the authority’s attention, and the authority served an emergency prohibition order, preventing any use of the staircase. In answer to that notice, the owner of the only two occupied flats on the upper floors carried out limited remedial works. Those measures sufficed to discharge the prohibition order, but following a further inspection the authority served an improvement notice under HA 2004, s 11. The improvement notice identified two hazards arising from defects in the building:

the risk of falls on the external staircase

...

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