Housing association wins landmark domestic violence eviction ruling against tenant

A housing association which took its fight to evict a tenant with a history of domestic violence to the Court of Appeal believes the landmark ruling could have significant benefits for social landlords.

MHT London has successfully appealed against an earlier ruling at Croydon County Court that it could not evict Mr Hadjazi because he had not been living in the family home when his violent behaviour caused his wife and children to flee.

MHT believes the judgment in its favour will increase social landlords’ ability to use Ground 14A of the Housing Act 1988 as an effective way to deal with cases of domestic violence, even when the perpetrator makes threats while living away from the property.

Neil Mawson, Managing Director of MHT London, said: “We are committed to providing our residents with safe communities to live in by opposing violent and antisocial behaviour.

"Our action in contesting the initial judgement sends out a strong message that acts of violence committed in the home are as unacceptable to us as antisocial behaviour on our streets.”

He continued: “Although Mr Hadjazi’s wife and children have now been re-housed in another area, we believe it is important to make sure that we do not condone such unacceptable behaviour within our properties, and that the four bedroom home Mr Hadjazi currently has sole use of is made available to a family in housing need.”

Gerard O’Toole, Head of Legal Services for MHT London, said: “In cases like this it is vital that social landlords are willing to challenge unworkable interpretations of the laws that are in place to protect our residents and communities.

"Both we and our barrister, Robert Harrap of Five Paper Buildings, felt the judge had misinterpreted the law and allowed an unjust situation to continue.

"The initial county court judgment exposed a gap between a social landlord’s ability to take action in cases of antisocial behaviour outside of the property and in cases of domestic violence within the home.”

Mr O’Toole added: “We are pleased that the Court of Appeal upheld our argument that Ground 14A could be used in this case. As this is the only possession ground available to social landlords in cases of domestic violence it is vital that it is interpreted as widely as possible by the courts.”

The case is being returned to the County Court for a decision on whether or not it would be reasonable to evict Mr Hadjazi. A final decision should be made by the end of 2010.