With a change in the law come new textbooks, and I was delighted to be given the opportunity to review one of the first of these.
Namely, the 6th Edition of Diane Austin’s massive Housing Law Casebook.
This, I think, can safely be described as a ‘tome’ (defined by my Google AI as a ‘large, heavy or scholarly book’). I just measured its thickness, which is 2 ¼ inches, nearly 6 cm. So a hefty volume indeed, as befits an area of law where regulation has increased massively over the years.
One of the reasons it is so large is that it covers not only tenancies under the Housing Act 1988 (which will now be assured periodic tenancies) but also Rent Act protected tenancies and long leases, as well as social housing, public law and housing, plus a large section on homelessness.
That’s a big area of law. So a very useful book for practitioners.
The book is written from the perspective of a tenants’ adviser and so will be particularly useful for solicitors and others advising tenants.
However, the law is the law whoever you are advising, so this book will be equally useful for landlord advisers, even though it is not specifically aimed at you. After all, understanding the arguments that will be advanced on behalf of tenants is one of the best ways to advise landlords!
This book will also be particularly useful for Local Authority staff, who will have a tough job enforcing the new laws introduced by the Renters Rights Act, given their new legal obligations. Having such a comprehensive reference work readily available is likely to prove extremely useful.
I would suggest that all Local Authority housing departments should have a copy on their shelves (a steal at £85 for the print version or £115 for the print + eBook.bundle). Which is considerably cheaper than getting advice from solicitors or barristers.
Although this is a large and scholarly book, it is also user-friendly, with case law helpfully highlighted on a light grey background and lots of summaries and bulleted lists, making it easy to navigate.
Ms Austin is to be congratulated on bringing out such a helpful and authoritative book so soon after the introduction of the new Renters Rights Act rules.
Find it in the LAG shop or on Amazon, where you can also get a Kindle edition for £80.75.
PS. I also really like the fact that the cover picture has a cat in the window. Maybe reflecting tenants’ enhanced right to keep pets?
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