Robert Brown and Rosamund Baker have been instructed to act for the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) in an intervention to the Supreme Court concerning an appeal in the case of Rakusen v Jepsen [2021] EWCA Civ 1150.
The appeal raises an important issue: whether a rent repayment order under Housing and Planning Act 2016 can only be made against a tenant’s immediate landlord or against any superior landlord. This is particularly significant in relation to rent-to-rent arrangements.
The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) and Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber) held that an order could be made against a superior landlord. The Court of Appeal disagreed and concluded that an application and order could only be made against the immediate landlord.
The NRLA sought to intervene to assist the Supreme Court on understanding how rent-to-rent arrangements operate and to explain the policy background to the expansion of RROs in the 2016 Act.
Robert Brown and Rosamund Baker prepared the grounds for a successful application for permission to intervene, and have drafted detailed written submissions on behalf of the NRLA for its intervention. The Supreme Court hearing will take place on 26 January.