Housing Condition Conference 2025

Name: Housing Condition Conference 2025
SKU: 139800
Price: 199.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

Sale!

The Legal Futures Housing Condition Conference returns to Manchester for another day packed with vital updates for both claimant and defendant lawyers.

£199.00 ex VAT

Early Bird Price until 31st January 2025.
Full Price: ~~£245.00~~ ex VAT.

Event Details

Date: 27th March 2025 ( 09:15 – 16:00 )

Venue: etc Venues, Manchester

Phone: 020 3567 1207

Email: conference@legalfutures.co.uk

Overview

Landlords have shown complacency in how they respond to hazards facing their tenants – from damp and mould to contaminated water supply, risk of falls and unsafe electrics – and problems can go unresolved for months and years, the Housing Ombudsman reported recently.

And this is before the introduction of Awaab’s Law, which will force social landlords to fix damp and mould within strict time limits (and in time be extended to private landlords).

It is no wonder that housing condition litigation is on the up along with efforts to resolve them in other ways – Nottingham City Council said in November that it did not have enough staff in-house to deal with all the legal work claims were generating.

This year’s Housing Condition Conference addresses the key issues facing practitioners on both sides, including efforts to force tenants into internal complaints procedures and the role of compulsory mediation, as well as the challenges of acting for local authority landlords at this difficult time.

We will look too at the pressure from the SRA over how housing condition specialists attract clients, hear from expert surveyors and pest controllers, and discuss how to optimise the teams of paralegals who are crucial to many firms’ work.

**Mutiple Ticket Discount: Book two or more tickets and get 15% off. Enter “disc15” in the coupon code at checkout.**

Fundraising Raffle for Shelter

We’ll be holding a raffle at the conference to raise funds for Shelter.

Programme

8.45 to 9.15

Registration and refreshments

9.15

Chair’s Opening Remarks

9.30

Opening Pandora’s Box: The role of landlord ICPs after Churchill

Any housing litigator will be familiar with the practice, increasingly common among landlords, of responding to a letter of claim with no more than a brief acknowledgment informing you that the matter will be treated in line with its internal complaints procedure, to be resolved with the tenant directly, without further engagement with the tenant’s solicitors or the pre-action protocol. In this session, a leading barrister will outline the options available to tenants and their representatives when landlords decide to adopt this tactic, and his thoughts on how it may be a decision which landlords come to regret.

Speaker:
George Murray, Barrister, Liverpool Civil Law

10.15

Acting for a local authority landlord in the current climate

As the relentless financial pressures on social landlords persist, housing condition claims continue to soar. In this session a leading defendant firm will outline the challenges acting for social landlords in the current climate and how best to address a backlog in claims from the landlord perspective.

Speaker:
Ellie Staniforth, Senior Associate, Bevan Brittan

10.45

Networking and refreshments break

11.15

Infestations and pests

An infestation is the presence of large numbers of insects or animals that are classed as vermin, which in the UK is most commonly ants, wasps, cockroaches, rats and mice. In this session, a pest control expert will outline how to gather evidence of infestation and establish if the cause is structural problems in the property rather than tenant behaviour. Finally, what should landlords/local authorities be doing to remove pests and prevent them in the first place?

Speaker:
Sean Mooney, Director, Kill Line Pest Control

11.35

The surveyor’s panel

A panel of RICS surveyors will discuss the latest issues and findings in housing condition claims, and answer any questions from the audience.

Speakers to be confirmed

12.05

Funding the claims

In this session an experienced ATE insurer will outline what they look for from a law firm when backing housing disrepair claims, as well as what lawyers should expect from their insurer. What are the key elements of a successful relationship?

Speaker:
Jamie Molloy, Head of ATE, Ignite Specialty Risk

12.30

Networking lunch

13.20

Raffle Draw in support of Shelter

13.30

The SRA is watching: clients and compliance

The SRA announced in December that it is investigating more than 50 firms involved in volume litigation, including those handling housing disrepair claims. The most common issues are clients acquired via cold calling or unsolicited approaches, the marketing of ‘no win, no fee’, and firms taking on claims without merit or not managing claims properly. In this session, we will highlight how to stay on the right side of the regulator.

Speaker to be confirmed

14.00

Jillians v Redkite and forthcoming legislative changes

The law around housing condition cases continues to change. The editor of the Nearly Legal blog will discuss the outcome of the Jillians case and how it might set the landscape for s9A and s10 claims, as well as the forthcoming impact of Awaab’s Law on social and private sector tenancies and other effects of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Speaker:
Giles Peaker, Partner, Anthony Gold

14.30

Networking break and refreshments

15.00

Compulsory mediation

In this session, Alex Christian will delve into the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2024, introduced following the landmark Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council case. These new rules empower courts to order or encourage alternative dispute resolution (ADR), with non-compliance potentially impacting costs decisions—an especially significant development for housing disrepair cases.

Speaker:
Alex Christian, Managing Director, Mediate Property

15.30

Training and mentoring staff

Paralegals and other unqualified case workers are at the heart of housing conditions claims. These cases can be legally complex and often involve aggressive opponents. In this session, we will explore how to train and develop a strong and confident team. We will look at understanding housing, case management systems – teaching the dog to wag the tail – costs management and supervision among other treasures.

Speaker:
Steve Cornforth, Owner, Steve Cornforth Consultancy

16.00

Conference closes

Speakers

Ellie Staniforth, Senior Associate, Bevan Brittan

Ellie has been a housing solicitor for 17 years. Working in the Housing Management department, she manages a large team and acts on behalf of local authorities and other social landlords defending housing condition claims. She has an excellent understanding of the relevant legislation, case-law and pre-action protocols relating to disrepair claims. She is experienced in the court process including drafting court documentation and attending court.

Giles Peaker, Partner, Anthony Gold

Giles Peaker is a solicitor and partner in the housing team at Anthony Gold Solicitors. He has practiced in housing law since 2006 and was housing lawyer of 2018 in the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year awards. Giles has acted in cases at all levels of the English Courts, up to the Supreme Court and is co-author of ‘Housing Conditions: Tenants Rights’ (LAG 2019). Giles was part of the team for Karen Buck MP’s private member’s bill that became the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

Jamie Paterson FCInstCES FRICS, Managing Director, Paterson Associates

Jamie is one of the foremost experts in the country in the field of housing disrepair, housing condition, and construction quantum disputes. A qualified quantity surveyor, he is a Fellow of both the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineering Surveyors as well as being a Member of the Expert Witness Institute. Jamie is a major advocate on the adoption and adherence of chartered surveyors to the expectations set out in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act of 2018. Jamie set up Paterson Associates in 2019 and has overseen its growth to become one of the leading providers in expert witness services to the legal sector in housing condition cases.

Steve Cornforth, Owner, Steve Cornforth Consultancy

Steve was in private practice until 2017 and is a former president of Liverpool Law Society. He now provides training and support to law firms in relation to housing conditions, personal injury and costs, as well as a monthly webinar. He first ran a housing disrepair case as long ago as 1980. He has a particular interest in fitness for human habitation, especially condensation and mould. Steve also campaigns for access to justice and has for many years organised the Liverpool Legal Walk, which raises funds to support agencies providing pro bono legal help.

Sean Mooney, Director, Kill Line Pest Control

Sean is the owner of Kill Line, which deals with all areas of pest control with two areas of specialism. In winter, the company deals with historic, persistent, and long-term rat infestations. As a registered drainage company with the NADC, they can bridge the gap between the two industries, solving problems that may have been ongoing for many years. In summer, Kill Line remove, rehome and rehabilitate honeybee colonies that have taken up residence within buildings.

George Murray, Barrister, Liverpool Civil Law

Housing conditions claims are one of George’s primary areas of practice and he acts almost exclusively for tenants. He has a particular interest in claims brought primarily or solely under the fitness for human habitation covenant, such as those in which the tenant is seeking works of improvement, rather than merely repair, or the underlying issue is not within the structure, exterior or installations covered by the repairing covenant. George acted for the successful tenant in the recent case of Jillians v Red Kite Community Housing.

Jamie Molloy, Head of ATE, Ignite Specialty Risk

Jamie has worked in the ATE market for the past 18 years and is a Chambers and Partners ranked individual. His experience includes underwriting and managing a significant volume of High Court and Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) disputes, as well as supporting a number of successful appeals to both the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Most recently, Jamie supported the leading authority on the use of single claim forms for group actions (Morris & Ors v. Williams & Co Solicitors [2024] EWCA Civ 376) and also one of the claimants in the leading Bll Test Litigation (Why Not Bar and Lounge Limited v West Bay Insurance pic & QIC Europe Limited [2024] EWCA Civ 1026).

Venue

etc Venues
11 Portland Street – use the dedicated entrance on Minshull Street
Manchester M1 3HU

How to get to the conference

Travelling by train

The nearest station is Manchester Piccadilly station (5 minute walk)
Manchester Victoria station (15 minute walk)

Travelling by bus and tram

Piccadilly Gardens (2 minute walk)

Travelling by car

The nearest car parks are:

Manchester Minshull Street (operated by SIP) – Minshull Street, M1 3ED
Manchester Piccadilly Gardens (operated by Manchester City Council) – Chatham Street, M1 3AY
Manchester Chorlton Street (operated by NCP) – Chorlton Street, M1 3FY