Senior Housing Litigation Lawyer

A local authority based in London is seeking an experienced Senior Housing Litigation Lawyer to join its Legal Services team on an initial 6-month contract, starting as soon as possible.

Reporting to the Deputy Principal Lawyer, this is a senior-level role requiring a confident and technically strong housing litigation specialist who can manage a varied and complex caseload while providing high-quality legal advice to housing and homelessness services.

Key Areas of Responsibility

The successful candidate will undertake a broad range of housing and local authority litigation matters, with a significant focus on:

• Homelessness appeals (Section 204 County Court appeals)
• Pre-Action Protocol correspondence and Judicial Review claims relating to housing and homelessness duties, including challenges concerning the suitability of temporary accommodation
• Defending unlawful/illegal eviction claims arising from temporary accommodation placements through private sector leasing arrangements
• Providing legal advice and support to Housing and Homelessness Services

In addition, the caseload may include:

• Squatter possession proceedings, including Interim Possession Orders (IPOs) and standard possession claims
• Possession proceedings and enforcement matters
• Injunctive relief applications
• Anti-social behaviour matters

The successful candidate will be a qualified Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive with substantial experience handling housing litigation matters within a local authority or similarly complex public sector environment.

You should have demonstrable expertise in:

• Homelessness law and litigation
• Judicial Review and public law challenges
• County Court housing litigation
• Providing pragmatic legal advice to client departments
• Managing a busy and complex caseload with minimal supervision

Experience in the following areas would be advantageous but is not essential:

• ASB claims in the County Court and Youth Court
• Statutory nuisance claims against local authorities
• Closure Orders
• Breach of lease, tenancy and licence matters
• Initial 6-month contract
• Reporting directly to the Deputy Principal Lawyer
• ASAP start
• Local authority experience highly desirable
• Must be able to attend the office one day per week