header-logo header-logo

A substantive shift?

18 November 2010 / Annette Cafferkey
Issue: 7442 / Categories: Features , Public , Housing
printer mail-detail

Annette Cafferkey reflects on the Pinnock effect

The question which has troubled the domestic courts for more than the last decade is the extent to which Art 8 can be taken into account when deciding a possession claim, particularly where the landlord otherwise has an absolute entitlement to possession and the tenant no other defence to the claim. The answer delivered by the Supreme Court this month in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] UKSC 45, [2010] All ER (D) 42 (Nov) has been arrived at incrementally, dependant upon the development of domestic and European jurisprudence. Before detailing the legal issues that were decided it is worth summarising the facts of the case and detailing the nature of the possession claim involved.

Pinnock: the facts

The defendant was granted a tenancy of a house by the authority in 1978. He lived there with his partner and, as time went by, with all or some of their five children. In March 2005 the authority issued a claim for possession or, in the alternative,

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll