R (on the application of Luton Landlords and Letting Agents Limited) (Appellant) v Luton Borough Council (Respondent)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0023

Parties

Appellant(s)

Luton Landlords and Letting Agents Limited

Respondent(s)

Luton Borough Council

Issue

Does the appellant have standing to bring the claim for judicial review? Did the respondent act unlawfully by relying on data from a 2019 report when making the designations in October 2023? Does the lawfulness of the designations depend on the lawfulness of the fee structure? Was the respondent materially misled that the licensing schemes would not be self-sufficient and cost neutral?

Facts

Luton Borough Council (“the Council” or “the respondent”) made two designations dated 25 October 2023 under the Housing Act 2004. One designated the whole of the borough as an area where houses in multiple occupation had to be licensed. The other designated part of the borough as an area where a house which was let under a single tenancy or licence, or under two tenancies or licenses in respect of different dwellings in the house, had to be licensed. The Council had commissioned a report from the Building Research Establishment (“the BRE”) to provide data and information on private sector housing. The BRE Report was published in December 2019. In making the designations dated 25 October 2023, the executive of the Council had decided to proceed on the data available to it in the BRE Report, rather than obtain further data. The fee to make an application for a licence was £122. If the application was granted, a further fee of £366 was payable to cover the costs of monitoring and enforcement. Alternatively, those who applied within the first three months of the scheme would pay the early-bird fee of £150. This would cover the £122 cost of processing the application but would leave £28 for enforcement (not £366 as would be the case for ordinary applications). Luton Landlords and Lettings Agents (“LLALA” or “the appellant”) is a company incorporated on 3 December 2021. Its sole director is Mr Rajdvinder Singh Bains. The Council operated an additional licensing scheme between 2013 and 2018. It made both a new additional licensing scheme and a selective licensing scheme designation in 2020. A company was incorporated on 23 June 2020 which sent a pre-action letter about the lawfulness of the designations. The designations were withdrawn. That company was dissolved by a compulsory strike-off on 30 November 2021 and ceased to exist after that date. The company had the same name as LLALA and Mr Bains was the director. LLALA brought judicial review proceedings challenging the designations dated 25 October 2023. The High Court refused permission to apply for judicial review. The Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal. The appellant now seeks permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

26 February 2026

Case origin

PTA

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