[2025] UKUT 122 (LC)

In London Borough of Waltham Forest v Marble Properties (London) Limited [2025] UKUT 2 (LC) the Tribunal (the Deputy Chamber President, Martin Rodger KC) observed at paragraph 1 that the temptation for the First-tier Tribunal to review a decision of its own should usually be resisted, and he referred to the Court of Appeal's decision in Point West GR Ltd v Bassi [2020] 1 WLR 4102. The present decision is a similar cautionary tale about the difficulties that can arise on a review.

This is an appeal from a decision of the First-tier Tribunal to make rent repayment orders against the appellant, Mr Campbell, in favour of the respondents Ms Cammarano, Mr Juurlink, Ms Villaescusa and Mr Costello. The appellant presented his own case in the appeal, and the respondents were represented at the hearing by Ms Stephanie Alvarez of counsel; I am grateful to them both.

The respondents are all former tenants of 58 George Downing Estate, London N16. In September 2022 they applied to the FTT for a rent repayment order pursuant to sections 40 and following of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 on the basis that the property was a house in multiple occupation (“HMO”) which required an HMO licence and did not have one. The FTT conducted a hearing, and by its decision dated 11 April 2023 (“the 2023 decision”) it made rent repayments orders in favour of each respondent against the appellant as their landlord amounting to £15,916.95 in total. In response to his application for permission to appeal the FTT decided to review the 2023 decision, because it accepted that he had had insufficient time to make his submissions at the hearing; in order to do so it conducted a further hearing on 8 May 2024 at which it heard his submissions but no further evidence. The respondents were represented but did not attend. The FTT issued its reviewed decision on 22 July 2024 (“the 2024 reviewed decision”), and the appellant has permission, granted by this Tribunal, to appeal it on two grounds. It will be useful first to look at the nature of the FTT’s power to review its decisions before setting out in more detail what was decided by the FTT in 2023 and in 2024 and considering the grounds of appeal.