Legislative scrutiny in Wales - What have we learnt from the renting homes (Wales) Act 2016 and what can we do next
2024-06-21 11:00 - 12:00 (Europe/London)
Following postponement of this event we are pleased to confirm the new date of 21 June 2024.
If you have previously booked for this event, your booking will automatically move to the new date.
Book now! Join us for our upcoming webinar:
We are looking forward to welcoming you to the second webinar hosted by the newly formed Wales regional committee of the Social Housing Law Association.
Join Rhea Stevens, Head of Policy and Affairs at Community Housing Cymru (CHC), Caroline Stubbs, Director of Legal Services at Pobl Group and SHLA Wales for a conversation as to how CHC and SHLA Wales can work together effectively during the passage and implementation of new legislation.
Chaired by Sarah Salmon of Cornerstone Barristers on behalf of SHLA Wales, the webinar will consider the passage and implementation of RH(W), the lessons we can learn and how we might work together to prepare for new legislation on the horizon, particularly on building safety and homelessness, in this Senedd term.

Navigating Equality Act trials
2024-07-18 17:00 - 19:00 | St Ives Chambers, Whittall Street, Birmingham B4 6DH, St Ives Chambers Whittall Street,, Birmingham, B4 6DH, United Kingdom
SHLA MIDLANDS REGION ARE PLEASED TO INVITE YOU TO AN IN-PERSON EVENT
Jane Talbot and Aadhithya Anbahan present an overview of the Road to Trial, focusing on both effective preparation in the lead up to final hearings and successful execution at trial. This session will be focused on providing a practical guide to approaching Equality Act Defences
Navigating Equality Act trials
Part 1 – Before/The road to Trial

How to approach trial prep
Equality Assessments
Referrals
Questions to Experts

Part 2 – After/Destination Trial

Preparation immediately prior to trial
Assessors
Ground Rules Hearings
Cross-examination points/common pitfalls

Each session will last approximately 20 minutes.
There will be an opportunity for discussion and Q & A as well as networking.
Refreshments will be provided.

Homelessness and the interplay with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
2024-08-02 11:00 - 12:00
We are looking forward to welcoming you to the third webinar hosted by the Wales regional committee of the Social Housing Law Association.
Homelessness Duties in Wales
Matthew Court will provide an overview of homelessness duties in Wales, common public law issues that arise and provide an update on the Administrative Court’s approach to the legislation this side of the border.
Discharging Homelessness Duties: getting your ducks in a row
Owain Rhys James will look at the issues and potential pitfalls that arise for local authorities and social landlords in the context of homelessness duties in the light of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
Chaired by Dominic Evans of Civitas Law on behalf of SHLA Wales.
DOMINIC EVANS
Dominic is a Barrister at Civitas Law. He is ranked in both the Legal 500 (Rising Star) and Chambers and Partners (Up and Coming) in the area of Social Housing. Dominic has a very busy and broad practice within all aspects of social housing, regularly advising and advocating on behalf of social landlords in injunctive, possession and committal proceedings. He has a particular specialism in all matters relating to housing disrepair claims and has also provided several training sessions and workshops on this topic as well as the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016.
MATTHEW COURT
Matthew is a Cardiff-based lead lawyer at Public Law Project. He joined PLP’s casework team in 2020. He has acted for clients in judicial review challenges against the Welsh Ministers and Welsh local authorities. Before coming to PLP, Matthew worked as a solicitor at GT Stewart Solicitors, where he acted for a wide range of clients including migrants, looked after children and care leavers. He assisted clients to bring judicial review challenges against public bodies, often on an urgent basis, and regularly acted for parents in Court of Protection proceedings relating to their children. Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, Matthew worked for over 10 years in the charity sector supporting refugees and asylum seekers, including unaccompanied children, at organisations such as the Refugee Council and the Manor Gardens Advocacy Project.
OWAIN RHYS JAMES
Owain Rhys James is a barrister at Civitas Law. He is a leading expert on the Renting Homes (Wales) Act, advising the Welsh government in relation to transitional provisions, as well as representing registered social landlords in reviewing and drafting occupational contracts. His work also spans possession hearings. He also sits as a Deputy District Judge.

Short-term Lets and Subletting - Tenancy Fraud
2024-10-02 11:00 - 12:00
Join Andrew Lane and Stephanie Toghill
Sub-letting has for a long time been of concern to social landlords and, indeed, to central government as demonstrated by the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. More recently the prevalence of short-term letting, through companies such as Airbnb and Booking.com, has added a different dimension to this issue. In this webinar Stephanie Toghill (Housing Investigations Manager at the London Borough of Islington and vice chair of the Tenancy Fraud Forum) and Andy Lane (barrister and author of ‘Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud’) will look at how to get the evidence, whether a short-term let is sub-letting for litigation purposes and how to best proceed with civil and criminal proceedings.
Andrew Lane
Andy Lane’s practice focuses on social housing, local government, and public law, and he works primarily for local authorities and housing associations.
Before coming to the Bar, Andy spent over 10 years working in the statutory and voluntary sector in the field of housing, debt, and benefits advice. He also had a spell as a local authority councillor, and held a number of portfolios during that time, including Chair of the Housing Committee. This background has meant that Andy is very approachable, comfortable in a variety of settings and able to articulate his advice and casework in a manner that is both attractive and compelling.
Stephanie Toghill
Stephanie is a founding member and Vice Chair of the Tenancy Fraud Forum. She also sits on the Executive Board for the London Boroughs’ Fraud Investigators’ Group and heads up the Housing Investigations Team for Islington Council. With over 15 years’ experience in addressing tenancy fraud, Steph is a known specialist in her field. She has provided assistance to over 150 social housing providers on tenancy fraud, provided training, wrote guidance documents and advised on the creation of PoSHFA. Steph was also instrumental in pursuing and obtaining a landmark Norwich Pharmacal Order against Airbnb to obtain data from them regarding tenancy fraud.

The Housing Ombudsman
2024-10-16 15:00 - 16:00
The Regulation of Social Housing has been subject to significant changes since a regulator was first introduced in 1964. The current Regulatory Regime was instituted by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. It was influenced by the findings of the Grenfell Tower inquiry. Under the current regime regulation of HAs and LHAs is by different Regulators. However, the Housing Ombudsman (first established in 1996) has jurisdiction over both LHA and HA landlords. The current Housing Ombudsman has maintained a high profile and an interventionist approach. In this Seminar Nick will consider the main powers of the Housing Ombudsman, how the current Ombudsman is interpreting those powers and how the Ombudsman’s decisions can be challenged.
Nick is a barrister and a silk at Five Paper. Social Housing forms a large proportion of his practice.
Nicholas Grundy KC
Nick is a Property, Public Law, Equality and Human Rights specialist. Nick has particular expertise in statutory interpretation. Nick is head of Five Paper’s Real Property Practice Group and a member of the Housing, Landlord and Tenant and Public Law Groups.
He regularly acts for public bodies in cases where property and public law interact: e.g. Simawi v LB Haringey & SoS CLG (intervening) [2019] EWCA Civ 1770, where he successfully argued that the rules relating to succession to council tenancies were compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
He also acts for commercial entities: e.g. he was successful in the Court of Appeal for Global 100 Limited in establishing, amongst other things, that defences to possession proceedings should, where appropriate, be determined summarily: See Global 100 Limited v Laleva [2021] EWCA Civ 1835.

Webinar - Equality Act 2010 & ASB
2024-10-23 11:00 - 12:00
JOIN RHODRI THOMAS, KULJIT BHOGAL KC & DR DAMIAN GAMBLE
Rhodri Thomas is a partner at Sian Thomas, Daughter and Son Solicitors. Rhodri represents several housing associations across Wales as well as private landlords. Rhodri specialises in housing management and tenancy enforcement and has a wealth of experience in dealing with all aspects of housing related matters including anti-social behaviour, breaches of occupation contract and disrepair.
Kuljit Bhogal is a barrister with 25 years experience in local government and administrative/public law with a nationwide client base. In 2023 she became one of his Majesty’s King’s Counsel.
Kuljit is considered an expert in anti-social behaviour, public law defences and the Equality Act. Kuljit has a particular expertise in managing public space with the use of injunctions and Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) and drafted the first buffer zone providing protection to the services users of an abortion clinic. The model she created has been adopted in a number of areas UK wide.
She advises on all aspects of commercial and residential property work and provides practical and commercially sensible solutions to the problems faced by her clients and has a collaborative approach.
Kuljit is able to assist with drafting documents relating to decision making (such as reports, equality impact assessments and human rights assessments) as well as those required for litigation.
Kuljit’s hand-on approach means she is able to remove or limit the risk of legal challenge particularly when involved from an early stage.
Dr Gamble is a consultant forensic psychiatrist on Hadley Ward, a Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and Clinical Lead for the the Elgar Unit, a psychiatric unit in Worcester with three working age adult wards and emergency mental health crisis facilities. He is the Medical Psychotherapy Tutor for Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust and a member of the Medical Directorate of the Trust.From 2006 to 2022 Dr Gamble was a consultant forensic psychiatrist at Llanarth Court Hospital near Abergavenny, the last four years as Medical Director.Dr Gamble has a medicolegal practice providing independent psychiatric reports in criminal, family and civil cases. He prepares around 45 reports each year. He has been instructed as a single joint expert in family law cases (private and public), and has given evidence as an expert witness for prosecution and defence in criminal cases. He has provided independent expert witness evidence to Employment, Immigration, Housing and Mental Health Tribunals.Dr Gamble lectures in forensic psychotherapy at Birmingham University.
My talk will consider how mental health problems can contribute to antisocial behaviour that in turn can cause significant challenges to social landlords who need to consider the needs of all their tenants. I will discuss a recent case I was involved with, in which a psychiatric assessment of the origins and nature of the tenant’s mental health problems helped the landlord deal compassionately and fairly with complaints about antisocial behaviour, to the benefit of the tenant and his neighbours.
Members Free
Non-Members £30.00 – You will be invoiced following registration

Service of Notices: To post or not to post?
2024-10-30 16:00 - 17:00
In this webinar, Iris Ferber KC and Elizabeth England will consider the issues raised in Khan & Anr v D’Aubigny (due to be heard in the Court of Appeal in December 2024). A discussion on the current law relating to service of notices, including basic definitions, statutory deeming provisions, and getting service right.
Iris Ferber KC is a Housing and Employment Silk with 20 years’ experience in Social Housing litigation. Her particular interest lies in disputes involving tenants with disabilities, and issues of capacity and the Equality Act – where she can deploy her extensive experience of Employment Tribunal discrimination claims.
Elizabeth England is an established property practitioner, with particular expertise in the fields of residential landlord and tenant, and social housing law.
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE
Members Free
Non-Members £30.00 – You will be invoiced following registration

Renters' Rights Bill
2024-11-14 11:00 - 12:00
This session will focus on the Renters’ Rights Bill and its impact on social housing providers.
We’ll cover all the key changes the reforms will have on the sector, from the abolition of section 21, new grounds for possession through to changes to rent increase procedures, this session will bring you right up to date on what the Bill is likely to mean for the management of social housing.
Samantha Grix
Samantha advises Private Registered Providers and Local Authorities (RPs) across a spectrum of matters affecting the social housing sector, specialising in rent and consumer regulation. Samantha regularly advises RPs on how to achieve and maintain compliance with the regulatory framework and how to remedy issues that have been identified. She provides strategic and pragmatic advice on regulatory considerations and implications for developments, complex lease structures, acquisitions and disposals.
Samantha also leads our inquests team and has over 10 years’ experience of acting for RPs in Article 2 (right to life) and non-Article 2 inquests. She has represented RPs operating general needs housing, care homes and specialist and specialised supported housing for vulnerable categories of people.
Rebecca Brady
Rebecca has an extremely wide and varied practice, accepting instructions from Local Authorities and Registered Providers on all aspects of leasehold and tenancy management.
Rebecca’s expertise in tenancy management includes possession claims, injunction applications, disrepair and housing conditions claims. Rebecca has successfully defended a number of disrepair claims at Trial, recovering the landlord’s legal costs from the tenant’s insurers. Rebecca has a particular interest in succession and unlawful occupation cases, including those involving trespassers.
Rebecca’s leasehold practice includes shared ownership matters, forfeiture, service charge disputes, section 20 consultation, and lease interpretation. Rebecca also advises on general property litigation including boundary and easement disputes, adverse possession and nuisance claims.
Members – Free
Non-Members £30.00 – You will be invoiced following registration
BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

TACKLING TENANCY FRAUD IN WALES
2024-12-05 14:00 - 15:00
Join Katrina Robinson MBE, Victoria Smith and Andrew Lane
This session will focus on tackling tenancy fraud in Wales.
Katrina Robinson MBE, Chair of the Tenancy Fraud Forum, Co-Chair of the Social Housing Law Association (SHLA) and Legal Director at Birketts LLP, will begin by taking you through the investigation stage. Katrina will also be highlighting the importance of tackling tenancy fraud, examining the wider impact.
Victoria Smith, Wales Committee Member for SHLA and partner at Devonshires Solicitors LLP, will highlight the changes introduced by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and will take you through the procedure for possession in Wales, relating to both abandonment and subletting.
Andy Lane, Committee Member for SHLA, Barrister at Cornerstone Barristers and author of Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud, will explore recovery of the profits from subletting, taking you through practice and procedure and sharing his top tips.
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE
Members – Free
Non-Members £30.00

Costs Issues In Housing Condition Claims
2025-02-05 17:00 - 19:00
SHLA Midlands Region are pleased to invite you to join them for an in-person event on Costs Issues In Housing Conditions Claims.
Total Housing Solutions is the trusted legal costs partner of social housing providers. Headed by Alex Bagnall, who has over a decade of experience advising social landlords and their solicitors, they offer support in all areas of legal costs: from reducing bills presented by claimant solicitors to preparing costs budgets and attending costs-focused Court hearings.
Alex Bagnall, Costs Lawyer with over a decade of experience in high-value, complex and technically-demanding costs disputes.
Alex has experience of a wide range of costs disputes, with a focus on commercial and chancery matters. I have conducted costs litigation in Courts at all levels up to and including the Supreme Court; and have dealt with costs appeals to the County Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. I have also dealt with a large number of non-contentious costs matters, particularly in relation to the formation or variation of contracts of retainer.
Alex regularly delivers training in costs matters, both to clients and to trainee solicitors as part of the Professional Skills Course through BPP, for whom he is a freelance presenter.
Join us for this in-person event including networking and refreshments, kindly hosted by Trowers & Hamlins LLP at One Snowhill, Snow Hill, Queensway, Birmingham, B4 6GB.
Members – £5.00
Non-Members – £15.00

Awaab’s Law
2025-09-03 13:00 - 14:00
VIRTUAL EVENT
October 2025 sees the implementation of Awaab’s Law for social landlord, introducing strict time limits to response to reports of hazards in tenanted properties.
This webinar looks at the background to the new regulations and the draft guidance, the requirements on social landlords and what social housing providers should be considering now in order to be ready for this change in October.
This session will include a Q&A for attendee questions.
Speakers:
Bethan Jones: Associate, Anthony Collins
Sarah Orchard: Senior Associate, Bevan Brittan LLP
Hannah Saltonstall: Strategic Partnership Manager at Stonewater Limited
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

ASB and Children: Tools for Social Landlords
2025-09-10 13:00 - 14:00
VIRTUAL EVENT
This webinar explores the key tools and approaches available to social landlords dealing with anti-social behaviour involving children. We’ll cover legal powers, early intervention strategies, and partnership working to help you respond effectively and appropriately to youth-related ASB.
This session will include a Q&A for attendee questions.
Speakers:
Emily Hope, Senior Associate, Clarke Willmott LLP
Janine Green, Partner, Green & Burton ASB Associates
Alex Loxton, Senior Associate, Clarke Willmott LLP
Emily Hope – Senior Associate at Clarke Willmott LLP (photo attached).
Emily is a Senior Associate Solicitor in Clarke Willmott’s Housing Management team in London, with over a decade of experience in the social housing sector. She advises social landlords and local authorities on all areas of housing management, including possession, injunctions, disrepair, succession, tenancy fraud, and policy and procedure development.
Janine Green – Partner at Green & Burton ASB Associates
Janine Green is a distinguished figure in the field of anti-social behaviour (ASB) and community safety, renowned nationally for her expertise and commitment to excellence. With a dynamic portfolio career spanning various roles, Janine brings a wealth of experience and insight which she now uses to support policy makers, public sector organisations and corporations.
Alex Loxton – Senior Associate – Clarke Willmott LLP (photo enclosed)
Alex assists social housing providers to reach practical and robust solutions to a wide range of housing law and tenancy issues including in possession claims, injunction applications and disrepair matters.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

The Renters’ Rights Bill – Changes to mechanism for increasing rent for Housing Associations?
2025-09-17 13:00 - 14:00
VIRTUAL EVENT
The Renters’ Rights Bill has entered the final stages of its passage through Parliament. It should soon receive Royal Assent. The intention behind the RRB is to change the balance of power between landlords and tenants, giving greater rights to the latter. These reforms are to be achieved in part by amendments to the Housing Act 1988. The social ills that the RRB hopes to meet mainly arise from the private sector residential market. However, most tenancies granted by Housing Associations (Housing Associations) are also governed by the HA88, so the changes will also affect HA PRPs.
One of the changes under the RRB is to restrict the right of landlords to increase their tenant’s rent. In this area special provision has been made for low-cost tenancies, which are HA tenancies at below market rents. However, the new provisions to low-cost tenancies may nonetheless leave HAs in a less strong position than previously.
This Webinar will explain the new provisions for rent increases by Housing Associations, highlight the differences with the current provisions and explain the potential risks.
This session will include a Q&A for attendee questions.
Speaker:
Nicholas Grundy KC, a Property, Public Law, Equality and Human Rights barrister at Five Paper
Nicholas Grundy KC
Nicholas Grundy KC
Year of Call: 1993 | Silk: 2016
Nick specialises in Property, Public Law, Equality and Human Rights, with particular expertise in statutory interpretation.
He is Head of Five Paper’s Real Property Practice Group and also a member of the Housing, Landlord & Tenant and Public Law Groups.
Nick is consistently recommended as a leading silk in the latest editions of Chambers UK and Legal 500. In 2024, he was shortlisted for Property and Housing Silk of the Year at the Legal 500 Bar Awards.
He is also a long-standing member of the SHLA Committee.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

The Renters’ Rights Bill – what do the changes to possession grounds mean for housing associations?
2025-09-25 11:00 - 12:00
VIRTUAL EVENT
The Renters’ Rights Bill is in its final stages and will soon receive royal assent. It will introduce many important and headline reforms, not least the ending of fixed-term tenancies in the private rented sector, including private registered providers of social housing (PRPs), and the abolition of the section 21 notice requiring possession.
These will have an obvious impact on PRPs, as will the amendments to Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 (i.e. a landlord’s grounds for possession). This webinar focuses particularly on this latter question and will not only explain the said changes to the ground but will also discuss the impact on a PRPs’ operation. For example, what is the future for starter tenancies?
Leading the discussion will be Dambu Tenner, Head of Legal at the Abri Group, and Andy Lane, a housing and public law barrister at Cornerstone Barristers.
This session will include a Q&A for attendee questions.
Speakers:
Dambu Tenner
Dambu is a litigator who has specialised in housing management since qualification. She initially worked in London before going inhouse for a local authority in 2016. In 2020, she joined Abri Group Limited (then Radian) as a Housing Solicitor. Dambu advises on all aspects of housing management, including anti-social behaviour, disrepair and general housing advice, including successions. She has an interest in the Equality Act 2010 and the role it plays in housing law.
Andrew Lane
Andy has been involved in social housing as an advice worker, local authority councillor and, most recently, as a barrister at Cornerstone Barristers. He acts primarily for social landlords, has acted in many of the important cases at all levels and is the author of ‘Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud’. He has been on SHLA’s committee since 2024.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

Housing Allocation Fraud
2025-10-07 14:00 - 15:00
VIRTUAL EVENT
Housing allocation fraud is not only a criminal offence but more commonly the basis for civil possession proceedings brought by social landlords under Grounds 5 (secure tenancies) or 17 (assured tenancies) of the Housing Acts of 1985 and 1988 respectively. This session will discuss and explain appropriate investigation and evidential issues alongside the necessary legal framework.
The presenters for this session are Laura Piggott (Counter Fraud Manager at the London Borough of Hillingdon), and Andy Lane (Barrister at Cornerstone Barristers). Chairing this session will be Kelly Lloyd, Senior Associate at Devonshires.
This session will include a Q&A for attendee questions.
Speakers:
Laura Piggott, London Borough of Hillingdon
Andrew Lane, Cornerstone Barristers
Kelly Lloyd, Devonshires
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

Mental Capacity and Housing
2025-11-06 13:00 - 14:15
Looking at mental capacity in housing cases including litigation capacity, injunction capacity, the CPR; who has power to do what on behalf of persons lacking capacity.
Puja Desai
An associate solicitor, Puja specialises in a wide range of aspects relating to the Court of Protection and Mental Capacity Act 2005. Many of her clients lack capacity to make decisions for themselves due to dementia, brain injury, autism, learning difficulties, hoarding disorder or other mental health issues. She also assists our housing team with advice on all mental capacity related issues.
Puja has extensive experience of making deputyship applications (both finances and welfare), statutory will applications, gifting applications, removal of deputy applications, representing family members in Court of Protection welfare proceedings, providing general advice in relation to the Court of Protection, capacity related issues and Deprivation of Liberty Orders (DOLs). She has recently been recognised in the Legal 500 Directory as a key lawyer whilst the team is acknowledged as a tier 2 firm.
Helen Tucker
Helen Tucker is one of 4 partners leading our large housing management team in our Birmingham and Manchester offices and heads up the Birmingham based housing litigation team.
With over 30 years’ experience in social housing, Helen continues to provide specialist advice to social landlords as well as charities and housing co-operatives on all types of housing-related litigation and advice relating to tenants, licensees and leaseholders. This includes reviewing policies and procedures, delivering training and assisting landlords with managing unreasonable or serial complainers as well as regular county court advocacy and case management.
Ranked as a Band 1 social housing lawyer in Chambers legal directory for many years, Helen has also run numerous appeal cases on leading housing law issues.
A previous SHLA national committee member, Helen also sits as a Deputy District Judge in the Midlands’ circuit, appointed in 2021 and is a trustee of a small international children’s charity.
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

The Housing Ombudsman
2025-11-13 13:00 - 14:00
The Housing Ombudsman Service (“HO”) was first established by the Housing Act 1996. The powers of the HO were increased by the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023. The current 2024 HO Scheme was made under the SH(R)A 2025 and replaced the previous Scheme.
In this Webinar Imran Mustak (of L&Q ) and Nick Grundy KC (of Five Paper) will explain and discuss the HO’s powers under the HO Scheme 2024 and, relying on their experience, give guidance as to how Housing Associations and LHAs can best respond to complaints that the HO is considering.
Speakers:
Imran Mustak (of L&Q )
Nick Grundy KC (of Five Paper)
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

The Relief Duty
2025-11-19 13:00 - 14:00
The relief duty was introduced to local authorities’ homelessness duties in 2017 by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. It is a duty to take reasonable steps to help secure that suitable accommodation becomes available for an applicant’s occupation for at least six months. The duty applies in respect of all persons who are homeless and eligible for assistance.
In this seminar Millie and Michael will look at when the duty arises, how authorities can bring it to an end, its interaction with other homelessness provisions, and the latest developments in the case law.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

Housing Mediation Protocol
2025-11-19 17:00 - 18:30
SHLA Midlands Region are pleased to invite you to join them for an in-person event on Housing Mediation Protocol.
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming event on the 19th of November, which will be hosted at the offices of Anthony Collins in Birmingham. This event will feature Tom Russell, Mediator at St Ives Chambers, as the keynote speaker.
Tom Russell, has 30 years of experience in litigation, having worked as a solicitor from 1995 to 2004, and as a self-employed barrister since then. Since 2007, he has also been practising as a mediator and has led over 150 mediation sessions. At this stage of his career, Tom is focusing more on mediation, which he considers to be the optimal form of dispute resolution.
The event will focus on the Housing Mediation Protocol, a framework created by Tom Russell, working in partnership with solicitors, to facilitate the negotiated resolution of housing-related disputes. This voluntary protocol aims to help clients resolve issues in housing cases such as disrepair complaints, rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, and more, while avoiding the costs and uncertainties of litigation.
Tom will guide us through the various stages of the protocol, including the opportunity for early fixed-price mediation, the chance to engage in ongoing mediations with the same mediator, and how it can help resolve disputes efficiently and amicably.
We encourage all members to attend this insightful session, which will be followed by networking drinks and food, providing a great opportunity to connect with fellow professionals.
Join us for this in-person event including networking and refreshments, kindly hosted by Anthony Collins, 134 Edmund Street, Birmingham B3 2ES.
Members – £5.00
Non-Members – £15.00
If you would prefer to be invoiced, please email info@shla.org.uk.
Please note – tickets for this event are transferable but not refundable if cancellation is within 3 days of the event.

Housing Mediation Protocol
Housing Mediation Protocol

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Risks and Rewards of AI Use in Social Housing
2025-11-27 13:00 - 14:00
This webinar will explore the legal and ethical dimensions of using artificial intelligence (AI) in the social housing sector. After a brief overview of how AI models work and their inherent strengths and limitations, the panellists will describe some of the ways social housing providers are using AI and the benefits that AI can have for providers, tenants, and other stakeholders. The conversation will then turn towards some words of caution about the risks of AI use, including those relating to fairness, transparency, and data privacy. The event will conclude with an opportunity for participants to ask questions of the panellists.
Speakers:
Joanna Bouloux
Joanna specialises in advising on a range of corporate and commercial work including joint ventures, acquisitions and disposals, IT and commercial contracts.
Joanna has a particular focus on joint ventures in the real estate sector which ranges from advising housing association clients to developers and local authorities.
Joanna also advises on a wide range of IT contracts, regularly advising both suppliers and customers of IT solutions. She regularly drafts and negotiates both standard terms and bespoke agreements, support and managed service agreements. In addition, she provides commercial and IT support on wider corporate transactions.
Brendan Bernicker
Brendan Bernicker is a practising lawyer in the United States and a barrister in England & Wales (not currently practising). He represents technology businesses in disputes and advises them on a range of issues, including those relating to the development and use of artificially intelligent systems. Brendan previously worked as a civil rights appellate litigator at the MacArthur Justice Center and was a visiting assistant professor at Penn State University, where he taught the law school’s first AI course and two public law courses. Brendan holds a JD from Yale Law School and both an MA in Political Science and a BA in Philosophy from Penn State. In addition to his legal practice, Brendan works as a full-stack software developer building custom software for enterprise clients.
John Fitzsimons
John Fitzsimons is a versatile junior barrister who maintains a deliberately diverse practice encompassing data protection/information law, planning/environmental law, inquests/inquiries and general public and regulatory law. He is regularly instructed by a wide variety of public and private clients and is ranked in Legal 500 as a leading junior.
As well as his work at the Bar, John sits as a non-executive director on the board of Innisfree Housing Association and regularly provides data protection training on behalf of PDP Training to a range of data protection and privacy professionals in both the UK and Ireland.
REGISTER HERE

All change: the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill
2025-12-05 13:00 - 14:00
Liz Davies KC, Garden Court Chambers
Liz Davies KC is a barrister specialising in housing and homelessness law at Garden Court Chambers. She is a co-author of Housing Allocation and Homelessness: Law and Practice (Luba, Davies, Johnston, Bano & Ahluwalia, LexisNexis, 2025, 7th edn) and of Domestic Abuse and Housing (LAG, forthcoming). She also co-authors the monthly column Recent Developments in Housing Law in Legal Action magazine, with Sam Madge-Wyld. She is instructed by Southall Black Sisters and others in the Covid Inquiry, on issues of domestic abuse.
Legal 500 describes her as “the leading barrister on homelessness law and superb with clients”. Chambers & Partners says “her level of expertise is only matched by her passion for fighting for an individual’s right to justice”.
Lee Russell, Partner of Housing Management & Property Litigation at Devonshires
Lee was one of the first solicitors to qualify as part of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s fully qualifying law degree. He was one of the youngest qualifying solicitors at the time.
Lee advises on all aspects of housing management and property litigation, regularly advising private organisations, land owners, developers, investors, charities, local authorities and some of the largest providers of social housing in the United Kingdom.
Lee’s specialism in complex dispute resolution, both in and out of court, sits alongside his extensive experience in advising on non-contentious policy and procedure in addition to regulatory matters. Lee has a developed specialism in fire safety issues and property litigation aspects to contentious construction disputes.
Lee also deals with broader property litigation matters including adverse possession, service charge issues, lease disputes, trespass, restrictive covenants/easements and boundary issues. Lee leads our dedicated Wales team, advising registered social landlords on all aspects of housing management, property litigation and topical Welsh issues.
Lee’s background in mental health, safeguarding and capacity also sees him advising on litigation involving those who lack capacity to do so. In addition Lee is a specialist in advising on associated regulatory matters, including healthcare providers involving CQC regulation. Lee advises providers of social housing on health and social care aspects including regulatory proceedings and dealing with adverse incidents. Lee’s Welsh practice also sees him advising a number of registered social landlords on the Welsh care regime and matters involving the Care Inspectorate Wales.
Session Chair – Sarah Salmon, Cornerstone Barristers
Sarah Salmon specialises in social housing, property and public law. She is ranked as a leading junior in Legal 500 for both Administrative Law and Human Rights and Social Housing. She is recommended in Chambers and Partners for Housing. In 2024, she was appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s panel of counsel (B panel) and nominated for Property and Housing Junior of the Year in the Legal 500 Bar awards.
Sarah has represented public bodies, charities, local authorities, housing associations, individuals and companies in her specialist areas in England and Wales. Sarah is the author of Author of ‘A Practical Guide to Housing Allocation Schemes in England’ (Law Brief Publishing) and regularly acts and advises in homelessness cases (on both sides).
Sarah has a special interest in Wales and has been instructed, and advised extensively, on a number of issues for a range of clients. She was instructed in Coastal Housing Group Ltd (now Beacon Cymru Group) v Mitchell [2024] EWHC 2831 (Ch) and [2025] EWHC 2477 (Ch) (the first case to see provisions with the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and its accompanying regulations before the higher courts) and Jarvis v Evans [2020] EWCA Civ 854; [2021] 1 WLR 24 (the first case to see the provisions of the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 before the higher courts). She has also advised an organisation on the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

All you need to know about the PSED
2025-12-08 13:00 - 14:00
We are pleased to invite you to the next session in our SHLA Winter Webinar Series 2025, taking place on 8 December. This online event will cover a key area for all social housing professionals: the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED).
Our speakers, Millie and Donna, will outline the latest developments on the PSED and provide practical examples to help social landlords and local authorities understand and meet their responsibilities.
Millie Polimac
Millie is a leading junior barrister ranked in both Legal 500 and Chambers and Partners, with extensive experience across landlord and tenant disputes, public law challenges, and landmark appellate cases. In 2019 she was appointed to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s Panel of Counsel and has been on the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel since 2025.
Donna McCarthy
Donna, a Consultant in Devonshires’ Housing Management & Property Litigation team, brings 35 years of specialist experience and is ranked in the Legal 500 Hall of Fame. She is widely recognised for her expertise in Equality Act compliance and complex housing litigation.
Members – Free
Non-Members – £20.00 (once registered you will be sent an invoice)
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE

Government's Call For Evidence - Housing Disrepair
2026-01-29 11:00 - 12:30
SHLA Members Roundtable
We are pleased to invite you to a virtual roundtable meeting to discuss the Government’s call for evidence concerning Housing Disrepair and the role of claims management activity in the sector.
To support members, respond to this consultation, SHLA will host a roundtable discussion.
Register your place below – places are limited.
Members Only – Free Event
Registration for this event has now closed.
