Posted 22.11.16
Batchelors Solicitors: Article link
The recent Court of Appeal case, Holley v Hillingdon LBC, involved a Defendant who has resided the property all his life (32 years) and suffered from mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.
He had no statutory right of succession so Hillingdon LBC terminated the tenancy by serving a Notice to Quit. The claim was defended on Article 8, European Convention on Human Rights defence - i.e. it was disproportionate of the Council to seek possession against him.
The Court held that the length of time a person occupied the property was not in itself sufficient to defeat a landlord's claim for possession, but could, along with other factors, give rise to an arguable proportionality defence.
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Posted 08.11.16
Batchelors Solicitors: Article link
In the recent case of Cardiff County Council v Lee, the Court of Appeal held that the landlord's failure to apply to the court for permission before seeking a Warrant of Possession, as required by Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 83.2, was a procedural defect.
The upshot of this is that landlords seeking to enforce a suspended possession order (which will in the main be cases involving of rent arrears and anti-social behaviour) now have to apply to the court for permission to do so. They cannot now proceed simply by completing a Request for Warrant of Possession, but must first obtain the court's permission to enforce the Suspended Possession Order.
This article provides a useful summary of the detail of this case.
