On 1 March 2023, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in Rakusen (Respondent) v Jepsen and others (Appellants) [2023] UKSC 9.
The judgement settles the question of whether a rent repayment order (an RRO) under Chapter 4 of Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 can be made against a superior or head landlord. Preferring the submissions of Mr Rakusen and the National Residential Landlords Association, the Court found that an RRO could not be made against a superior landlord. Lord Briggs and Lord Burrows gave a joint judgment addressing the statutory interpretation of section 40(2) of the 2016 Act. In doing so, the Court considered the ’straightforward’ interpretation of the provision and the “additional interpretive factors” arising from the policy behind RROs and the wider enforcement scheme against rogue landlords.
Robert Brown and Rosamund Baker represented the National Residential Landlords Association who intervened in the appeal.
The full hearing can be found at the following links: Morning session and Afternoon session
The judgment can be found here.
Following the judgment, we will be holding a webinar on 9 March 2023 at 1pm. To register an interest in attending, please contact Gemma.Cselko@selbornechambers.co.uk
Our clerks’ room is open between 8.30am – 6.30pm
Outside of these hours and in cases of an urgency, please contact Paul Bunting on +44 (0) 7971 843023 or Darren Madle on +44 (0) 7769 714399.
