McDonald v McDonald [2016]: Supreme Court decision
In a long awaited landmark decision, the Supreme Court have, today, ruled unanimously that the Court is not required to consider the proportionality of evicting a residential tenant in the private sector in circumstances where the landlord seeks to rely upon a s21 Housing Act 1988 notice.
In reaching its decision in the case of McDonald v McDonald, the Court found that to find that an assessment of proportionality was required would make European Convention Rights available as between private citizens where previously human rights challenges were only available to ensure that an individuals human rights were not infringed by a public authority (for example the Government for a Local Authority). The County Court was in any event giving some consideration to the proportionality when considering whether it was appropriate to extend the time for a tenant to leave from 14 days to 6 weeks.
This decision is a huge relief for private landlords. Had the Supreme Court found that there was a requirement for the County Court to consider proportionality prior to the making of a possession order under s21, it would have been necessary for the Court to hear each case, or at least consider written representations in which the landlord would need to justify the decision to evict. Although it would have been unlikely that many cases would fail on the basis that the decision was disproportionate, the delays and uncertainty which would have been introduced to the s21 procedure, would have caused complications for landlords seeking to exercise the right to possession of their own property.
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