The government have this week published some 100 amendments to its own legislation. Mainly technical, but among them I found a clause that may have a profound effect on a landlords ability to seek possession on grounds of ASB,
Factors for court considering granting possession order for anti-social behaviour
In the 1988 Act, in section 9A—
(a) in subsection (2), after paragraph (c) insert—
“(d) whether the person against whom the order is sought has co-operated with any attempt by the landlord to encourage the conduct to cease.”;
(b) after subsection (2) insert—
“(3) Where the person against whom the order is sought is a tenant occupying an HMO, in considering effects mentioned in subsection (2)(a) the court must have particular regard to the effect on other occupiers who share with that person accommodation or facilities within the HMO.
.....
Member's explanatory statement
This new clause amends the factors for the court to take into account when considering whether to grant a possession order on the discretionary anti-social behaviour ground of possession. It adds co-operation with any engagement from the landlord as a factor and adds a requirement for the court to consider in particular effects on other tenants of the same HMO. It is expected to be inserted after clause 3.
Put simply, tenant misbehaves, we tell them to pack it in, they persist, grounds for eviction in itself.
But as I have long predicted, courts will have to roll up thier sleeves and look at a landords (or agents) records of behaviour and warnings, as well as hear a defendants side of the story. Put simply it will require a lot more court time than a section 21. The only way this can be achieved is with a specialist housing court, but it is a start and gives us an indication of how courts will handle ASB.
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