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24 January 2019
Issue: 7825 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 25 January 2019

Blow to residential landlords; setting aside post-admission; family forms forever; demolition device demolished.

THREAT TO RODENTS

There’s as much chance that a landlord will expressly covenant to put, let alone keep, their rented dwelling in a state that makes it fit for human habitation as me being honoured for services to the administration of justice. Yes, I know that s 8 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 implies a condition and undertaking to this effect but, because of the qualifying rental limits, its application is effectively now restricted to hovels comprising no more than a matchbox, devoid of loo and wifi. Of course, councils can take action against landlords of festering premises. However, the risk criteria they employ is out of date, and it just may happen that the council is the landlord and unable to enforce against itself. The 1985 Act obligation on landlords, if discharged, to keep in repair the structure and exterior of premises and installations for the supply of water, heating and sanitation may still leave those premises unfit

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Bellevue Law—Lianne Craig

Workplace law firm expands commercial disputes team with senior consultant hire

EIP—Rob Barker

EIP—Rob Barker

IP firm promotes patent attorney to partner

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Muckle LLP—Ryan Butler

Banking and restructuring team bolstered by insolvency specialist

NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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