Readers may recall that in November last year, the PILA Bulletin featured the Pinnock decision, where the UK's Supreme Court ruled that other courts were required under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to consider the proportionality of eviction orders that were requested by local authorities. Consideration of proportionality was only necessary where it involved a local authority landlord (ie not a private landlord), and where the person's "home" was at issue.
Following the Pinnock decision, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) is now handling a backlog of complaints from former UK public authority tenants who want a court to determine the proportionality of their evictions. The ECtHR has asked the UK government a number of questions in relation to these specific cases, including whether the interference with the applicant's right to respect for their home and family life (within the meaning of Article 8.1 of the Convention) was necessary in terms of Article 8.2. In some cases the ECtHR has asked for more facts, whether the local authority had a duty to house the applicant, whether suitable alternative accommodation was offered and whether the applicant had suffered discrimination.
Click here to read more about UK housing law from the Housing Law Bulletin published by London's Garden Court Chambers.
Click here to read a blog article on Human Rights In Ireland written earlier this year by Fiona de Londras on the Pinnock and Powell cases and the future of s 62 of the Housing Act 1966.