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In The Press

Successful defence of ‘no fault eviction’ claim brought against clients featured by Chronicle Law (14 January 2025)

Date: 14/01/2025
Duncan Lewis, InThePress Solicitors, Successful defence of ‘no fault eviction’ claim brought against clients featured by Chronicle Law

Duncan Lewis’s Housing team’s successful defence of a section 21 ‘no fault eviction’ claim brought against two clients has been featured by the Chronicle Law website.

 

The recent case, led by Manjinder Kaur Atwal, Director of Housing Law, underscores the critical importance of landlords adhering to gas safety regulations to protect tenant rights.

 

The trial, held on September 19, 2024, centred on two key issues:

 

  1. The absence of engineer signatures on gas safety certificates.
  2. Delays in conducting mandatory gas safety checks.

 

Tenants argued that despite multiple inspections between 2014 and 2023, gas safety certificates issued by British Gas engineers lacked required signatures, violating regulation 36(3)(c)(viii) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Non-compliance with these regulations invalidates landlords' ability to issue section 21 eviction notices.

 

This ruling highlights the essential role of proper documentation and timely checks in safeguarding tenant protections.

 

Our housing team’s work has highlighted compliance issues that could shape future legal standards.

 

We are proud to see this featured in Chronicle Law, emphasising its significance to the housing sector. To read the full article, you can access it here.

 

Chronicle Law is a legal platform designed to provide visiting professionals with valuable information tailored to their specific specialisms.

 

About the instructing team:

 

Manjinder Kaur Atwal, Director of Housing, is recognised by the Chambers UK legal directory as a UK-wide notable practitioner, offering strength across a wide range of social housing matters, including interim relief and homelessness applications. She heads a Housing Team ranked Tier 1 across the South East by The Legal 500 for its "excellent knowledge of the law" and "extensive experience". The department is recognised as a market-leader in all areas of social housing and property litigation including disrepair, unlawful evictions, homelessness, possession disputes, and complex judicial review matters.

 

Contact Manjinder via email at manjindera@duncanlewis.com or by telephone at 07342 081 785.

Richard Mahal is a solicitor in the Housing team, working in close conjunction with the departmental director, Manjinder Atwal, and managing a team of caseworkers. Richard’s interests lie in the areas of disrepair litigation, defence of possession proceedings, and claims brought under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

 

Jacqueline Hovell is a caseworker in the Housing team at the City of London, working under the supervision of director Manjinder Kaur Atwal and solicitor, Richard Mahal. She has expertise in all issues related to housing, including possession and eviction proceedings, disrepair litigation, succession proceedings, judicial reviews and more.

 

Duncan Lewis’ Housing Team

 

Duncan Lewis' Housing team, ranked by The Legal 500 directory as a Top Tier practice for its services, offers both publicly funded (legal aid) and privately funded legal services from 14 key offices nationwide. Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors can guide clients in any matter or issues arising with local housing authorities, housing applications, tenants, landlords, ownership and repairs. With a niche expertise in unlawful eviction, disrepair and homelessness matters the team offers representation in all proceedings including reviews, appeals and judicial review proceedings.

 

Duncan Lewis Solicitors

 

Duncan Lewis is an award-winning Times Top 250 law firm, which is ranked as Top Tier by both the Chambers and Partners and Legal 500 directories. The company represents clients in more than 25 practice areas across 13 key offices nationwide. This year the company was crowned Law Firm of the Year at the Lexis Nexis awards 2024 and has been noted for its commitment to diversity and inclusion.

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