Abigail Jackson discusses discretion in suspending a possession order
- When suspending a possession order, District Judges must consider all of the relevant circumstances that may affect whether a tenant will comply with the terms of her tenancy agreement.
- Dishonesty is not a bar to the suspension of a possession order.
As part of the day-to-day business of county courts, District Judges regularly hear possession claims from social landlords relating to a tenant’s anti-social behaviour or a criminal offence committed in the locality of the property. In these cases, the court has a discretion to make an order postponing the date of possession, or suspend its execution under s 9 of the Housing Act 1988. Naturally, this raises the question as to how District Judges should exercise that discretion, as was illustrated by the Court of Appeal’s decision in City West Housing Trust v Massey [2016] EWCA Civ 704, [2016] All ER (D) 120 (Jul).
Factual background
By way of background, the judgment in City West Housing Trust v Massey involved two combined appeals, where the tenants’ properties had been used
