Mr Justice Griffiths and His Honour Judge Jarman KC have today handed down judgment in Coastal Housing Group Ltd & Ors v Mitchell & Ors.
Winckworth Sherwood’s Housing Management Team, led by Liam Hale instructing Ranjit Bhose KC and Tara O’Leary of Cornerstone Barristers, has acted on a landmark test case in the Divisional High Court of Wales considering the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Winckworth Sherwood acted for the defendants with regards to the duties owed by landlords under The Act. The case focused on the obligation to give electrical condition reports to the defendants following the coming into force of the Act.
Although reports were commissioned and obtained, they were not physically provided to the contract-holders, including the defendants, by the due dates. No defendant withheld rent on this account but the claimants recognise that it is arguable that they were entitled to do so.
The Court held that the landlords’ failure to provide contract-holders with electrical condition certificates meant that they were in breach of regulation 6 of the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, therefore the dwellings were unfit for human habitation and therefore payment of rent was not required during the relevant period of unfitness.
This case is likely to have a huge impact on the Welsh housing sector. The defendants have issued counterclaims for payment of the rent back from the housing associations, with those counterclaims to be considered at another hearing.