Landlords are warned that a recently discovered court decision will limit the ability to operate rental properties to combat the councils that issue improvement notices.
The incident, highlighted by the National Association of Residential Landlords (NRLA), follows an attempt by the Lambeth Council to upgrade the property via an improvement notice to landlords. 
These are used regularly by landlords and force landlords to improve following complaints by tenants and inspections by council officers.
Upper Court Judgment
Previously, landlords have been able to file an appeal against the notification of improvement, make some changes to the property in question, and then reevaluate the property to stop the lawsuit.
However, at a post-approved Superior Court hearing by Manacquer Company Ltd, which sued for a notification of improvement by Lambeth, the judge said that after considering previous cases (Hussain & ORS vs. Waltham Forest Council), future courts should look into whether the council's original decision and handling of the notification of improvement is correct.
Therefore, future courts do not need to rehearse the matter or cancel notices based on the terms of the property. This is important on the date of appeal, but instead is the original condition.
Dan Cumming (main image) says he is a policy officer at the NRLA. The change says it will mean it will be harder for more landlords to sue a notification of improvement.
“A successful appeal is limited to the opportunity that the local government has made an error when the notice is provided,” he says.
“This could also lead to more landlords asking for changes to their improvement notices (rather than fighting).”
Read the NRLA commentary in full.
