Manchester City Council v Pinnock
Possession Orders and Proportionality under Article 8
The Supreme Court have delivered their judgment in the case of Manchester CC v Pinnock, which will potentially have a far-reaching effect on possession proceedings involving public body landlords.
The court was concerned with the question of whether it should be looking at
proportionality and assessing an occupier’s personal circumstances for the purposes of making possession orders, given an occupier’s right to respect for the home in accordance with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
This was a complex case, which highlighted alleged conflicting positions of the UK Courts and the European Court of Human Rights as to whether a residential occupier against whom a possession order is sought by a public authority could raise an argument based on proportionality under Article 8.
For a summary of the case and important points arising from the Supreme Court’s decision please visit our website, www.hughjames.com.
For more information on this case, or the issues raised in it, contact Neil Morgan, Partner and Head of Social Housing on neil.morgan@hughjames.com