WIREDGOV

Leading housing lawyer and former RLA policy director David Smith has been announced as legal counsel for the National Residential Landlords Association.

David is a partner at JMW Solicitors in London, specialising in landlord and tenant and property litigation in the residential sector.

He will use his specialist legal knowledge to help the NRLA scrutinise legislation and the ways in which it will impact the PRS and private landlords and will advise the association when it comes to raising legal challenges, on seeking amendments to legislation, and on its approach to the future of the PRS.

The NRLA has supported individual landlord members and organisations in a variety of cases, both via association funds and through crowdfunding.

Successes include a case against Leeds Council – which had wrongly charged council tax to a landlord whose tenants had moved out but had not ended the tenancy and a case against Hyndburn Council which had been using selective licensing conditions to impose new standards on PRS homes.

More recently it was successful The Court of Appeal in a case which threatened the way they could repossess properties using Section 21.

David Smith, who was policy director for the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) until the association merged with the National Landlords Association (NLA) earlier this year said:

“It is vital that government legislation affecting the PRS is fit for purpose and does not have unintended consequences due to the way it is drafted. I look forward to working with the NRLA in its efforts to support and represent landlords’ interests.”

NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle said:

“We are delighted to continue our relationship with David, whose expert knowledge will be invaluable when it comes to holding lawmakers to account and protect the rights of landlords.”