Rosalind Burgin negotiates compassionate deal to keep single mother of three in her home
17 April 2025
Garden Court North’s Rosalind secured a £7,000 rent arrears reduction for her client at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre (pictured). Credit: Marmalade Photos / Shutterstock.
Yesterday (16 April), Garden Court North’s Rosalind Burgin negotiated a compassionate eleventh-hour settlement deal for her client ahead of a possession trial at the Manchester Civil Justice Centre.
Rosalind’s client, or ‘Ms B’, is a single mother of three children living in Greater Manchester. Ms B had accrued significant rent arrears during a period of poor health, which prompted her private landlord to start a possession claim.
Ms B and her young children have complex health needs, with local schools and services having putting measures in place to support them over the past year.
Being made homeless would have been exceptionally challenging for the family. The support Ms B and her children have just begun to receive would likely have been threatened should they have been forced to relocate and face time in temporary accommodation.
Defending her landlord’s possession claim, Ms B raised the landlord’s alleged failure to comply with deposit protection requirements, failure to complete repairs in a reasonable time, questions over the amount owed in arrears, and the potential of the eviction being discriminatory.
Moments before trial, the parties negotiated a settlement that would allow Ms B to stay in her home as long as she paid towards her arrears at an affordable level, alongside a reduction of more than £7,000 in rent arrears for Ms B – negotiating the landlord’s alleged £10,000 in arrears down to less than £3,000.
Since the accrual of rent arrears, Ms B has worked with help from her housing solicitor and the specialist welfare rights service at Greater Manchester Law Centre (GMLC) to regain financial stability and receive the social security benefits she is entitled to.
Rosalind also managed to secure a six-month block on rent increases, and Ms B is not liable for the landlord’s legal costs. Both parties were assisted by specialist counsel to reach this constructive outcome.
Rosalind is part of Garden Court North’s housing team. She was instructed by GMLC to represent Ms B.
For further information, please contact Alex Blair, Communications Manager at Garden Court North Chambers: ablair@gcnchambers.co.uk
