Will the new mandatory ground for possession apply to retrospective convictions?
23rd May, 2014
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 was passed in March 2014.
The Act introduces a new mandatory ground for the possession of secure or assured tenancies where the tenant, a member of their household or visitor has been:
- convicted of a serious offence which was committed in the locality of the property, or against a person with a right to reside in the locality, or against the landlord, agent or contractor; or
- found to have breached a s.1 injunction to prevent nuisance or annoyance in the locality of the property, or against a person in the locality; or against the landlord, agent or contractor; or
- convicted for a breach of a Criminal Behaviour Order; or
- convicted of an offence for breach of a noise abatement notice or court order under the Environmental Protection Act 1990; or
- the property has been subject to a closure order.
The mandatory ground is of course subject to the proviso that a defence of “proportionality” might be raised under the Human Rights Act – indeed (and unusually), the statute makes specific reference to it.
Whilst the start date for this section of the Act has yet to be announced, one query practitioners have is whether this absolute ground can be relied upon in respect of convictions which pre-date the mandatory ground coming into force.
The answer, in short, is no.
Sections 94(9) and 97(1) of the Act state that for secure and assured tenancies respectively, a “serious offence” is one which has been committed “on or after” the day on which this part of the Act comes into force.
Not only must the offence be committed after the commencement of the provision – so too the Notice must be served within twelve months of the conviction relied upon.
Next steps
Do you have any queries in light of the Act? If so, please get in touch.
Please note that this briefing is designed to be informative, not advisory and represents our understanding of English law and practice as at the date indicated. We would always recommend that you should seek specific guidance on any particular legal issue.
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