Short-life properties

In the early 1980s, Lambeth granted London & Quadrant Housing Trust informal licences for dozens of poor-quality council properties to use as “short-life” accommodation for homeless families (who were subsequently rehoused) and for single people (who remained in occupation for many years).

In 1986, a written licence was made covering all the homes. That licence was replaced in 1995 by leases to L&Q of the individual properties. In 2000, Lambeth gave notice to end those leases. It then claimed possession from the remaining occupiers.

The occupiers defended the claims. They argued L&Q had been acting as Lambeth’s agent and they had been council tenants.

If that was wrong and they had been L&Q tenants, they said they became Lambeth tenants when the 1995 leases were granted because they were occupying the homes as tenants at the time.

In any event, they claimed the security of tenure provisions for occupiers of council housing, or the 1998 Human Rights Act, protected them from eviction because they had occupied their homes for more than 20 years.

The local judge dismissed their defences. The Court of Appeal has now dismissed their appeal.

It decided that in dealing with single occupiers, L&Q had never been Lambeth’s agent. The occupiers had only ever been L&Q tenants. They did not become Lambeth tenants on the making (or ending) of the 1995 leases because their L&Q tenancies were not “interests in land”.

The security of tenure provisions only protect council tenants where the council is the immediate landlord. Their human rights could not defeat Lambeth’s legal right to possession.