Rebecca Sembuuze
AssociateSpecialist in litigation.
With experience in commercial litigation, I advise commercial and third sector clients on all aspects of debt recovery including both claimant and defendant work and enforcement proceedings. I work with registered providers in respect of possession proceedings based on a wide range of grounds, including warrants for eviction, injunctions based on anti-social behaviour, and access and committal proceedings.
Before securing a training contract, I spent time as a paralegal in housing litigation, housing management and clinical negligence. I’ve also got advocacy experience in county court.
Following the end of the possession stay on 21 September, Helen Tucker & Rebecca Sembuuze from our housing litigation team discuss the most recent guidance, priority cases and what to expect in court.
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, a court rule known as a Practice Direction 51Z (or PD51Z) was made on 26 March 2020 and came into force on the following day.
From 6 April 2020, the practice direction that governs statements of truth for witness statements and statements of case is changing.
The Civil Courts have now released a list of their priorities for housing enforcement work.
We summarise the current approach being taken by the civil courts, and offer practical suggestions on what to do about adjourned upcoming hearings, trials or hearings.
Haringey LBC v Simawi 2018 focussed on the issue of statutory succession where one of two joint secure tenants had died, then the remaining tenant later died leaving an adult child in occupation.
Of course, the starting point should always be warning letters and discussions with the leaseholder to ensure they are aware of the terms of their lease and the allegations of breach.
If a periodic tenant dies without leaving a will, the correct process for bringing the tenancy to an end is to serve a Notice to Quit (NTQ) at the property addresses to “the personal representatives of [name of deceased tenant]”.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.