星空传媒

Ms Famuyiwa is the secure tenant of a flat in Norwich. The council claimed possession on the grounds of breach of tenancy and/or nuisance.

The judge was satisfied that Famuyiwa had, over a period of years, shown 鈥渁n unacceptable level of aggression鈥�. He did not consider an 鈥渙utright鈥� possession order justified but he rejected the alternative of a 鈥渟uspended鈥� order because tensions between Famuyiwa and other tenants were such that breach of the suspension would almost immediately be alleged and the case would be back before the court. He dismissed the possession claim and made injunctions designed to control Famuyiwa鈥檚 future behaviour.

The Court of Appeal allowed the council鈥檚 appeal. The judge had been wrong not to make a possession order. He had not considered properly the scope for making an order but postponing the date for possession. That would not bring the tenancy to an end (until the postponed date) but would enable the court to add conditions for postponement directed at the tenant鈥檚 behaviour. If the conditions were breached, the tenancy would be lost. The judge鈥檚 concern that this might happen too readily could be met by the order stating that the council had to apply to the court to determine whether the conditions had been breached.