Sarah McKeown read for a BA in Jurisprudence at Oxford University before joining the Bar. She specialises in housing and public law in both England and Wales. Her practice incorporates homelessness, anti-social behaviour, landlord and tenant, human rights and Equality Act 2010 issues.
Sarah regularly acts for individual applicants (including tenants and homeless people) as well as for local authorities and other public authorities, such as private registered providers of social housing and registered social landlords (in Wales).
Sarah appears regularly for, and advises, homeless applicants and public authorities in homelessness appeals, including second appeal and judicial review claims. Her homelessness work covers those who are homeless, eligibility, intentionality, priority need, local connection, out of area placements, suitability of accommodation (including suitability of temporary accommodation) and whether a fresh application must be accepted by the local housing authority.
Sarah is a Deputy District Judge and a part-time fee-paid judge in the First Tier Tribunal (property chamber). She was appointed a Recorder in January 2022.
She is also a trustee of the London Legal Support Trust.
If you would like more information about Sarah’s practice, please contact her clerks or call +44 (0)20 7405 6114.
Housing
Sarah’s housing practice includes the following: tenancy deposits, security of tenure and possession proceedings, introductory and demoted tenancies, right-to-buy, sub-letting, succession, housing conditions and disrepair, unlawful eviction and harassment, injunction and committal proceedings, leases and tenancy agreements, rents and arrears, defences under EA 2010 and the PSED, public law and Art. 8 ECHR defences.
Local Government and Homelessness
Sarah appears regularly for, and advises, homeless applicants and public authorities in homelessness appeals, including second appeal and judicial review claims.
Public Law, Equality & Human Rights – JR, human rights, EA duties
Sarah’s practice includes the operation of public law principles and the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 within her core areas of practice. She also appears regularly for, and advises, homeless applicants and public authorities in homelessness appeals, including second appeal and judicial review claims.
Court of Protection
Sarah appears in the Court of Protection and has acted for the patient, members of their family and local authority.
Training
Sarah has provided training in all aspects of housing law including homelessness, disrepair, anti-social behaviour, social housing fraud and possession.
Notable cases
Wandsworth LBC v Tompkins [2015] EWCA Civ 846 whether the use of the wrong form of tenancy agreement affected the statutory function being exercised by the local authority, and whether the tenancy granted was a secure tenancy, led by Jonathan Manning.
Doey v LB of Islington [2012] EWCA Civ 1825 drunkenness was normally an aggravating factor when considering sentence on a committal for breach of an injunction and confirmation of the applicability of the guidelines in Breach of an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (December 2008.
Banks v Kingston-upon-Thames RLBC [2008] EWCA Civ 1443 Sarah was the Junior in this case, which concerned the interpretation of Reg. 8(2) Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Review Procedures) Regulations 1999)
Privacy notice