06/11/2014
We will conduct all your S.202 and S.167 housing reviews with the greatest of care under our quality assurance promise.
In some cases we may require the use of qualified counsel in an advisory role to strengthen the lawfulness of some decisions or simply to seek advice on the merits of the decisions to enhance defence against possible litigation.
We work in partnership with one of the foremost Housing Law Chambers in Greater London utilising their pool of highly experienced and successful housing barristers to provide you with their expert opinions for a rebated fee. (Kindly note that we will only refer cases to our barristers with your approval given the additional fee involved).
We recommend the use of our partner Chambers or any quality Housing Barristers to defend appeals under S.204 appeal (even if such requires collaborative work with the Legal team of the client Local Authority).
In addition to providing an Independent Housing Review service, we also provide the following for our local authority clients:
1. An auditing service, inclusive of mystery shopping to identify points of weakness or strong points in the delivery of a public service to assist you in developing “Good Practice” and set your strategic planning to maximise the use of resources and staffing to improve efficiency
2. A standard letter service to ensure that all letters used in the assessment of housing applications are of the explicit standard that meets the intended statutory requirements.
3. Advanced housing law training (Homelessness at the Frontline) including detailed guidance on statutory and legal tests - One module is facilitated by highly experienced SVC practitioners the second (advanced) module may involve the use of specialized counsel (we will seek permission if such expertise is required due to the additional costs).
4. In-depth training on the application of housing law arising from Parts VI and VII of the Housing Act 1996.
5. Using expert counsel advice from our partnering Chambers on matters that affect policy setting, decision making or defending non routine housing litigation.
