Senior Housing Lawyer - Legal Services Team

Are you an experienced housing lawyer ready to take the next step in your legal career? We’re looking for a skilled and motivated Senior Housing Lawyer to join our dynamic Housing & Civil Litigation Team within the Council’s Legal Services. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in high-quality legal work that truly makes a difference.

If you have strong legal expertise, particularly in housing litigation, and a thorough understanding of key housing legislation, we’d love to hear from you. Join us as we work towards becoming the best place to practice local government law—where talent is valued, innovation is embraced, and professional excellence is at the heart of everything we do.

We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.

We are open to flexible working patterns and can provide a hybrid working environment which utilises the best of both worlds with a mix of office working in central Reading and homeworking according to the needs of the Service.

About the role:

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting the Council’s Housing Service by providing expert advice and assistance across all areas of Housing and Homelessness law. You’ll represent the Council in County and Magistrates' Court proceedings, with the potential to be involved in complex cases in the High Court.

Principal accountabilities and responsibilities include:

• Be responsible for a large and varied caseload of Housing Litigation matters, to include drafting Letters Before Action, pleadings, witness statements, settlement agreements, briefs to counsel and corresponding with both Litigants in Person and legally represented opponents
• Issuing court proceedings on behalf of the Council and ensuring that instructions are lodged within timescales
• Complying with relevant Protocols and timescales, complying with the Civil Procedure Rules and ensuring that all court direction deadlines are met
• Preparing for court hearings
• Advocacy in the County Court and the Magistrates Court
• Ensuring that clients are kept up to date with the progress of cases and legal action
• Advising on all aspects of Housing law including in the areas of Homelessness, Allocations and Judicial Review and on relevant points arising in the Housing Act 1985, Housing Act 1996, Criminal Justice & Public Order Act 1994, Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, Local Government Act 1972 and Equality Act 2010.
• Assisting the Principal Lawyer where required in the more complex cases held by the team.
• To deputise for the Principal Lawyer in casework or the management of the team when required by the Principal Lawyer
• Providing advice to members, officers and partners on legal matters, policies and corporate issues, ensuring the Council’s best interests are achieved within the law.
• Line managing of staff assigned by your line manager

About you:
We’re looking for a qualified legal professional an admitted Solicitor, Barrister, or Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives with a current practising certificate and the right to practise in England.

You’ll bring a strong interest in housing law, alongside in-depth knowledge and hands-on experience of Housing Litigation and court procedures, including conducting your own advocacy. With proven experience in managing or supervising others, you’ll be confident leading and supporting a team. Highly organised, conscientious, and collaborative, you take pride in delivering high-quality work and thrive in a dynamic, team-focused environment.

Our ideal candidate will have:

• Experience of holding a large and varied caseload of housing cases
• Experience of dealing with cases allocated to both the Fast and Multi track
• Excellent diary management skills and the ability to organise and prioritise workload to meet service needs
• Recent advocacy experience
• An excellent working knowledge in key Housing legislation
• Good interpersonal skills and is a good team player
• Experience of line managing people and/or extensive supervision of others and a willingness to do so in this role

You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.

Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:

Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do

Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential

Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way

Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed

Our offer:

We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.

A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:

• Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
• A wide range of flexible working opportunities
• Modern working environment at the Civic Offices in the heart of Reading
• Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
• On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
• Season Ticket Loan - to help with the cost of your rail/ bus journey, to & from work
• Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax

For more information on this position please contact Ms Georgina Tully - Principal Lawyer - Georgina.tully@reading.gov.uk

Closing Date: Sunday 27th July 2025

Interview Date: To be confirmed

Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.