Courts must assess proportionality before granting eviction orders over occupiers of unsecured tenancies, the Supreme Court has ruled.
The Court’s decision, in London Borough of Hounslow v Powell [2011] UKSC 8, increases protection for council tenants on introductory tenancies or license agreements. It found that, when asked to make a possession order, a court can assess whether eviction would be a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, under Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The case extends the scope of the Court’s ruling in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] UKSC 45, where a previously secure tenant faced eviction after his tenancy was demoted due to the anti-social behaviour of his adult children. There, the Justices ruled that a court could consider whether it would be proportionate to evict.
One of the appellants in Powell, a homeless woman, had been given a licence to occupy property under Pt VII of the Housing Act 1996, but faced eviction after running up £3,500 rent arrears. The other appellants had been granted introductory tenancies. Leeds and Birmingham City Councils sought possession orders following allegations of
