The applicant suffered from metabolic myopathy and was 100 per cent disabled. He was allocated an apartment which he considered inadequate. He ceased paying rent for it, demanding that certain works be carried out to make it suitable for him to live in. He was evicted on the application of his public authority landlord following this failure. His complaint under article 8 was for lack of respect for his private life, but he also complained article 8.
Held: ‘that the applicant’s eviction from his apartment interfered with his rights under Article 8(1). The Court therefore has to examine whether the interference was justified under the terms of paragraph 2 of Article 8.’ In the result, the Court did not find ‘any appearance of a breach’ of article 8 on account of the authorities’ decision to proceed with the applicant’s eviction from his apartment. Article 8 does not ‘guarantee the right to have one’s housing problem solved by the authorities’. ‘To the extent that the ITEA aimed at recovering possession of the apartment on the ground that the applicant had ceased to pay the rent, the Court considers that the impugned decision had a legitimate purpose under paragraph 2 of Article 8, namely the protection of the rights of others.’
Citations:
(1999) 28 EHRR CD 175
Statutes:
European Convention on Human Rights 8
Cited by:
Cited – London Borough of Harrow v Qazi HL 31-Jul-2003
The applicant had held a joint tenancy of the respondent. His partner gave notice and left, and the property was taken into possession. The claimant claimed restoration of his tenancy saying the order did not respect his right to a private life and . .
Cited – O’Rourke v United Kingdom ECHR 26-Jun-2001
The applicant was a sex offender who on release from prison had found temporary accommodation from which he had been evicted for pestering female residents. He ignored advice to go to a night shelter whilst a decision on permanent re-housing was . .
Cited – Anufrijeva and Another v London Borough of Southwark CA 16-Oct-2003
The various claimants sought damages for established breaches of their human rights involving breaches of statutory duty by way of maladministration. Does the state have a duty to provide support so as to avoid a threat to the family life of the . .
Cited – Ghaidan v Godin-Mendoza HL 21-Jun-2004
Same Sex Partner Entitled to tenancy Succession
The protected tenant had died. His same-sex partner sought a statutory inheritance of the tenancy.
Held: His appeal succeeded. The Fitzpatrick case referred to the position before the 1998 Act: ‘Discriminatory law undermines the rule of law . .
Cited – Kay and Another v London Borough of Lambeth and others; Leeds City Council v Price and others and others HL 8-Mar-2006
In each case the local authority sought to recover possession of its own land. In the Lambeth case, they asserted this right as against an overstaying former tenant, and in the Leeds case as against gypsies. In each case the occupiers said that the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Human Rights, Land, Housing
Updated: 29 April 2022; Ref: scu.185435
