Klaxon – Coastal 2: The outcome

Coastal 2 has been published – Beacon Cymru Group Ltd v Mitchell [2025] EWHC 2477 (CH). This is a critical moment for Welsh housing law and policy and so this emergency post.

Somewhat surprisingly, the housing associations have won, and the tenants lost. This is a major relief for all, I suspect. Right now, I am going to provide the main findings of the Court (Griffiths J and HHJ Jarman KC), and raise an obvious question. In next week’s post, I will provide a full analysis of the judgment. There are three posts on different issues coming tomorrow.

The reasons why rent was not reclaimable by these tenants was because

1. Even though rent was not due, there was no mistake of law because the tenant claimants would have paid their rent anyway. That was the evidence before the court.
2. There was no “unjust” enrichment of the Claimants because the tenants had suffered no losses. They were still receiving social housing. They were not interested in physical receipt of the electrical condition report.
3. The tenants’ money claim was outside the statutory scheme and the contract between the parties. Accordingly, the tenants were asking the court to create rights which were not given to them by contract and statute. To give those rights would be to reallocate risk between the parties.

The judgment is commendably brief and succinct, and easily understandable despite the technicality of the arguments (and seven barristers involved). The question is whether the outcome would have been different on different facts, ie if the tenants had been disgruntled and/or had deliberately withheld rent. That is because of the artificially of the money claim which was produced by the landlords. More on all of this next week.