Section 40 — Housing Act 1988: Jurisdiction of county courts.

Jurisdiction of county courts. 40 1 The county court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any question arising under any provision of—

a Chapters I to III and V above, or b sections 27 and 28 above, other than a question falling within the jurisdiction of the appropriate tribunal by virtue of any such provision. 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 Where any proceedings under any provision mentioned in subsection (1) above are being taken in the county court , the court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any other proceedings joined with those proceedings, notwithstanding that, apart from this subsection, those other proceedings would be outside the court’s jurisdiction.

4 If any person takes any proceedings under any provision mentioned in subsection (1) above in the High Court, he shall not be entitled to recover any more costs of those proceedings than those to which he would have been entitled if the proceedings had been taken in the county court : and in such a case the taxing master shall have the same power of directing on what county court scale costs are to be allowed, and of allowing any item of costs, as the judge would have had if the proceedings had been taken in the county court .

5 Subsection (4) above shall not apply where the purpose of taking the proceedings in the High Court was to enable them to be joined with any proceedings already pending before that court (not being proceedings taken under any provision mentioned in subsection (1) above).