Lawyer – Housing

Are you an experienced and committed lawyer specialising in housing law ready to manage a vital and dynamic caseload within local government? We are seeking a Housing Lawyer to join our Legal Services team, providing key legal advice and managing cases at the heart of the Council’s service delivery.

About the Role
You will manage a varied caseload of routine and non-routine legal matters with minimum supervision , focusing specifically on the legal needs of the Council’s Housing, Homelessness, Disrepair and Tenancy Management functions. This role involves providing clear, consistent, and accurate legal advice to client services, researching and analysing relevant housing legislation, and drafting complex reports and legal documentation.

Your responsibilities will require you to use a case management system effectively and work within the service’s practice management standards. You will contribute to corporate and service strategies to help achieve Council objectives in the housing sphere.

Key Responsibilities
– Manage a demanding and diverse caseload of housing-related legal matters, including providing advice on tenancy, homelessness, disrepair and enforcement and any other housing matters

– Provide expert legal advice to internal stakeholders on the interpretation of housing law and its implications for Council policy and services.

– Draft complex reports and legal documentation/pleadings, ensuring legal robustness and accuracy.

– Undertake advocacy on behalf of the Council in courts and tribunals, where required by the team’s work.

– Research and analyse legal developments in housing law, assessing their impact on the Council.

– Deliver briefings or seminars to clients and colleagues on relevant housing legal matters.

– Comply with practice management standards, effectively using the case management system and aiming to achieve the required chargeable hours target.

– Represent the Council at external meetings and working groups as necessary to advise on legal issues, governance, and procedure.

– To provide any performance data required by the Service promptly and accurately.

– To ensure that all work is carried out to the standards required by any formal arrangement with clients.

– To support the Council in achieving its strategic aims and delivering the corporate objectives.

– To play a full part in the team to which the post holder is assigned, attending team meetings, briefings etc and working co-operatively with colleagues.

– To participate in client liaison arrangements by providing information or attending meetings as required and to implement any client care procedures.

– To supervise junior staff when required to do so.

– To attend evening meetings as and when required. To attend and represent the

– Council at external meetings, Council committee meetings and working groups as necessary (which might fall outside of normal office hours), to advise on legal issues, governance and procedure.

– To work collaboratively with clients to ensure a customer focused and holistic approach to the delivery of services

– To demonstrate and be part of an ambitious, agile legal team with a sound grasp of the bigger picture, including the Council’s key priorities and continually modernising programme.

– To undertake any other duties appropriate to the grade and character of the work as may be reasonably required by the Head of Service.

About You

We are looking for a pragmatic and highly capable legal professional with:

– Qualified solicitor, barrister, or Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives with a current practising certificate (‘Authorisation to conduct litigation’ from the Bar standards board for Barristers or ‘Practice rights’ for CILEX)

– Proven experience in a caseload of both routine and complex legal matters.

– Essential post qualification experience in Housing law.

– Experience in providing clear, accurate legal advice to clients on legal interpretation.

– Experience using a case management system and working toward chargeable hours targets.

– Highly developed written and oral communication skills.

– An understanding of the workings of local government and the issues affecting a multicultural inner-city area.

– A collaborative approach, with the ability to work effectively as part of a team.

Why Join Us?

London Borough of Hackney offers a dynamic and supportive environment where you’ll be part of a dedicated legal team working at the centre of local democracy. You’ll have access to flexible working, a generous leave package, local government pension scheme, and opportunities for professional development.

You will also be helping shape the future of our community – ensuring fairness, accountability and positive outcomes for all our residents.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, particularly those underrepresented in the legal profession.

As a Council, our most outstanding asset is our staff, who are highly dedicated to serving our residents and committed to our goals as an organisation.

If you want to work in a place where you can represent our values so we achieve the best for our residents, please click on the apply button below.

We operate a fair and open anonymous selection process. Therefore, we do not accept supporting statements or CV’s.

To proceed with your application, you will need to create an account and submit your application.

As part of the application process, you will need to complete a number of competency based questions. These questions allow you to demonstrate your suitability for the role and provide examples of your skills, knowledge and experience outlined in the job description.

We understand the benefits of using AI in the workplace. However, if you are thinking of using this tool to submit your application, we ask you to think about what value it will add. AI tools tend to lack the personal touch and authenticity we value in candidates. We encourage you to showcase your unique knowledge and skills using your own voice.

Closing date for applications: 14 December 2025 (22:59)

Interview date: W/c 05 January 2026

We are also working towards our vision, which is to be a place for everyone; where residents and staff can be proud; a place that celebrates diversity and where everyone can feel valued, included and involved. In order to achieve this, we look for people who are: Proud; Ambitious; Pioneering; Open; Proactive; Inclusive.

Hackney Council works to eradicate discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We also recognise that people can be disadvantaged by their social and economic circumstances, so we will also work to eliminate discrimination and disadvantage caused by social class. We also welcome those interested in flexible working. We particularly welcome applications from disabled people, as this group is currently under represented in our workforce.

The Council has a dedicated employment support service (Hackney Works), which offers Hackney residents guidance in relation to applying for jobs. If you are thinking about applying for a job, please contact the Hackney Works team to find out what support is available: hackneyworks@hackney.gov.uk

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