Housing Law Conference 2014

10 December 2014

The Royal College of Surgeons
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London WC2A 3PE

Excelling in Best Practice.

Registration here.

2014 has been the year that Judicial Review has come back into the headlines and to the very centre of housing law. After the disappointments of the bedroom tax and benefit cap Judicial Reviews, it was the means by which the residence test was successfully challenged. It was a rare victory for access to justice in recent years.

But Judicial Review has itself been battered this year. Since April, solicitors and barristers alike carry out Judicial Reviews without any guarantee of payment, even where the Legal Aid Agency have accepted there were good merits at the outset to grant funding.

The fundamental importance of Judicial Review, being the one way that a single citizen may have enough power to hold the government to account, has never been greater. But access to it has never been under more threat. The panel session at this year’s conference aims to share good practice for Judicial Review cases, because it is now more important than ever.

The seminars aim to give practical and timely advice on the other key areas of housing law including homelessness, disrepair & EPAs, costs, and tips and tricks for the possession duty desk.

The HLPA Christmas social will follow the conference and all HLPA members and attendees are invited to mingle and enjoy the entertainment whilst we await the slightly ironic celebrations to the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta.

Keynote speakers

Alison Harvey is the Legal Director of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association. A non-practising barrister, she has specialised in work in immigration, asylum and nationality since the mid-1990s, representing individuals and working on policy and legislation in the UK and abroad. She is a former chairperson of the Refugee Children’s Consortium and a former trustee of Bail for Immigration Detainees and of Asylum Aid. She has published widely on immigration, asylum and nationality law, most recently as a co-author of Blackstone’s Guide to The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, Oxford University Press, and also acts as a peer reviewer for specialist journals.

Jan Luba QC is a barrister practising from Garden Court Chambers in London. He was called to the Bar in 1980 and in 2000 was made a Queen’s Counsel. He specialises in Housing Law with particular emphasis on housing management law, homelessness and housing conditions. Jan has considerable experience as a housing law trainer and has written widely on housing issues in both the legal and housing press. He sits part-time as a Recorder in the Civil Courts and at the Employment Appeal Tribunal.

Seminars

• Homelessness: 
  An update and an interactive session on how to identify appeal points in a review decision
• Private sector: 
  An update and an interactive session on s.21, article 8, deposits and identifying defences
• Costs and enhancements: 
  Tips and tricks for solicitors and barristers on making the most of costs
• Duty advocacy : 
  An interactive session on how to deal with and present duty cases to the best advantage
• Disrepair and EPA: 
  A disrepair update and a guide on identifying and running EPA cases

Who should attend

The conference is aimed at all those involved in practising housing law, whether acting for tenants and occupiers of housing or local authorities and social or private landlords. It is relevant to solicitors, barristers, paralegals and advisers in the voluntary, public and private sectors, together with academics and policy workers in the housing and social welfare fields.

The conference is accredited by the Bar Council and the Law Society.

Registration fees held at same rate for fifth year in succession – book early to ensure your place

To book and for further details go to the registration site.