Landlord & tenant
Social housing tenants are more likely to be protected by the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998) following a landmark Court of Appeal judgment.
In R (on the application of Weaver) v London and Quadrant Housing Trust, the court held that some registered social landlords (RSLs) will now be treated as public authorities and therefore be subject to the HRA 1998.
John Wadham, group legal director of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, which intervened in the case, says: “Increasingly, the government is using private bodies to carry out public functions in areas such as social housing, care homes and detention and deportation services.
“It is only correct that RSLs, who are providing these public functions, be treated as a public authority and be subject to the Human Rights Act. This will require social landlords to consider the proportionality and reasonableness of their actions.”
The case concerned the attempted eviction of a tenant, Susan Weaver, from a flat where she had lived as an assured tenant since 1993, for allegedly failing to pay her rent for eight weeks.
The trust sought an order to repossess her property. The High Court found the Trust performed a public function and was therefore subject to HRA 1998. The Court of Appeal upheld the court’s view by a 2-1 majority.
