The High Court has issued new guidance on the information that must be included on orders for possession.
Orders made under the mandatory grounds of the Housing Act 1988 must indicate the grounds on which they were based, Pumfrey J ruled.
The pointer followed a case in which a tenant successfully challenged a county court eviction order on the basis that there were two possible grounds on which the order could have been based, but these were not specified.
Allowing the appeal, Pumfrey J said the county court judge should have stated which ground, if not both, he had relied on in making the order. While he accepted this was a narrow approach, he said an order for possession involved eviction and tenants rights.
In light of his findings, he said that the order had been made on uncertain grounds and that the appeal should be allowed.
However, Pumfrey J ordered that possession be suspended for four months on condition that the rent was paid.
This decision was based on the fact that the court had power under section 9(3) of the Act to impose conditions with regard to payment by the tenant of rent and rent arrears, and that, in the circumstances, the judge was entitled to exercise afresh the discretion of the county court.
ALIGN=”JUSTIFY”>Diab v Countrywide Rentals 1 plc Chancery Division (Pumfrey J) 10 July 2001.
