Crash has a busy housing practice, appearing regularly in the County Court in possession proceedings, proceedings relating to anti-social behaviour allegations, disrepair claims and committal proceedings, and advising tenants, private and social landlords on housing law matters. They have experience in advising on more unusual matters, including disputes involving holiday lets, excluded licences and cases where executors of a will who seek possession from a beneficiary in occupation.
Crash has advocacy experience in the Administrative Court representing individuals in public law proceedings challenging a local authority’s failure to accommodate under the Welsh homelessness duties.
Crash has particular expertise in Welsh housing legislation and the changes brought in under the Renting Homes (Wales) Ac 2016. They have a busy advisory practice advising private and social landlords of their obligations under the new Act and have provided training sessions for on a range of matters under the new legislation, including written statements and contract conversion, succession and transfers, and supported accommodation. Crash is part of Civitas Law’s Renting Homes (Wales) team.
Recent cases include:
AB, BB and CB v XX (2022): instructed to defend occupiers against a claim for over £35,000 for damages for trespass in an alleged holiday let. The landlord was not licenced or registered, had failed to keep the property in repair and there were harassment/unlawful eviction allegations. The matter was settled in the occupiers’ favour, with payment covering their legal costs, following a strike-out application and successful negotiations.
R (DD) v Y County Council (2022): represented single mother in JR of a Welsh local authority’s refusal to grant accommodation under section 69(11) and 68(1) of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014. The case involved novel points of Welsh homelessness law, including the application of the Act to victims of abuse (section 57(1)), the application of the Code of Guidance for Local Authorities on the Allocation of Accommodation and Homelessness and the test for triggering a fresh duty to assess (section 62(2)).
Z County Council v E (2022): represented local authority in successful contempt proceedings against a tenant who had perpetrated homophobic harassment against a neighbour. The allegations were found proven on the criminal standard on the basis of the victim’s account alone.
