The United Kingdom has been found to be in breach of Article 8 of the ECHR by the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court held in Kay and Others - v- United Kingdom (application 37341/06) that the UK had violated the Human Rights of short term tenants of council property whose leases had been terminated.
The applicants were occupiers of housing units owned by Lambeth Borough Council whose leases which had been provided under a charitable housing trust. Lambeth brought possession proceedings after the leases were terminated in 1999. The applicants complained that these proceedings breached their right to respect for privacy and home life under Article 8. They were unsuccessful before the domestic courts but the Strasbourg Court found a violation of Article 8, insofar as the applicants had been prevented from raising it as a defence.
The decision will not be of assistance to evicted tenants in similar situations in the future, although it is hoped that it will encourage Courts to take their personal circumstances into account when deciding if they should be evicted.
To view the full judgment please click here.
For further discussion please go to the UK human rights blog here.