Court of Appeal
Published November 28, 2007
Raglan Housing Association Ltd v Fairclough

A landlord could rely upon the commission of an indictable offence before a person took up a tenancy to obtain possession of the demised property under ground 14 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, as amended by section 14 of the Housing Act 1996.

The Court of Appeal (Lord Justice Chadwick and Lord Justice Moore-Bick) so stated on November 1, 2007, when dismissing an appeal by Alex Patrick Fairclough from Judge Burford, QC, who, on January 26, 2007, in Southampton County Court made a possession order in favour of Raglan Housing Association Ltd.

On May 6, 2004, Mr Fairclough was arrested on suspicion of offences under the Protection of Children Act 1978. On January 24, 2005 he was granted a tenancy and on March 10, 2006 he pleaded guilty to the charge and was imprisoned for 12 months.

LORD JUSTICE MOORE-BICK said that the court could exercise the possession power when it was satisfied that it was reasonable to do so and in making that decision it should take into account the effect that the tenant’s behaviour already had on other people in the locality, any continuing effect which was likely to follow and the effect that any repetition of the same behaviour would be likely to have.

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