The housing crisis means more and more of us are living in rented accommodation. For some of the most vulnerable members of our community this means dealing with difficult landlords and living with the permanent fear of eviction and homelessness. On this page you can find out about our housing advice services and how we are campaigning for secure and safe accommodation for all.
Legal aid ‘decimated’ This week, one of the nation’s top news stories is a topic too often overlooked: the decimation of the Legal aid advice network. Legal disputes affect our homes, our families, our treatment as employees and more. They affect our very survival, for example when unwell or disabled people are left destitute after being…
A secure home should be a right for everyone! And yet this Winter many people in Greater Manchester are homeless. Legal advice is a vital tool to help people out of homelessness. Many people who are forced to sleep on the streets become homeless because of unresolved legal problems (evictions by rogue landlords, unlawful benefit decisions,…
November 15th 2018 is the 30th anniversary of the 1988 Housing Act becoming law. The Act has faced widespread criticism for undermining private renters’ rights by reducing legal minimum tenancies to six months, allowing landlords to evict tenants without having to give a reason, and removing most restrictions on rent rises. In August 2018, the…
This article is written by Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, an aspiring barrister called to the Middle Temple and qualified mediator, currently working as a self-employed advocate on the northern circuit in general civil litigation matters. As a volunteer for GMLC, Jennifer aims to draw attention to GMLC’s causes and assist readers with gaining knowledge and understanding. Below,…
One of the Greater Manchester Law Centre’s core principles is that everyone has a right to a secure home. We work with other community groups to campaign for tenants’ rights and to end homelessness. In September, our housing solicitor Kathleen Cosgrove provided legal advice to members of the renters union ACORN, who were having difficulties in…
We are pleased to be the focus of a feature article by Nick Nicholas Prescott in The Meteor, Manchester’s Independent Media, on the topic of Legal Aid and the wider context of austerity. With their permission we are publishing the full article here: How austerity is killing legal aid and restricting access to justice We often see…
We are delighted to announce two wonderful new additions to the Greater Manchester Law Centre team! Kathleen Cosgrove joins us as head of our new housing and homelessness advice services. Before becoming a solicitor, Kathy worked in hostels and homelessness advice agencies in London. She qualified as a solicitor in 2008 and has always specialised in housing and…
Sign the petition today: click here “The right to decent housing is a basic human right. Far from guaranteeing such a right, UK law seems designed to obviate it. The absence of rent controls, the unfettered use of property for the purpose of financial speculation by investors, the removal of the powers and the…
A report published last week by the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Enforcing Human Rights, highlighted “grave concerns for access to justice, the rule of law, and enforcement of human rights in the UK” caused by cuts,[1] making enforcement of human rights “simply unaffordable” for some of the most vulnerable people.[2] The chair of the…
by GMLC Volunteer Joe Payne Law Centres Federation Limited v the Lord Chancellor [2018] EWHC 1588 (Admin) A recent High Court decision was deservingly won by the Law Centres Network (LCN) in a challenge to the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) Legal Aid policy, via Judicial Review. Judicial Review is a legal challenge to the way a…