Reproduced by the kind permission of
INSIDE HOUSING
By Keith Cooper
Last updated: 26 June 2008 at 14:54 GMT
Landlords teeter on brink of public sector as tenants gain
judicial review rights
England's 1.8 million housing association tenants have won
the right to challenge their landlords' decisions before a
judge thanks to a landmark High Court ruling.
Until now only those renting from local authorities were
able to seek a judicial review if they disagreed with the
way they were being treated.
The shock decision threatens housing associations' status
as independent organisations, free from the rules
constraining public sector providers.
Lord Justice Richards said in his judgement that L&Q
Housing Trust should be considered a public authority in
relation to the allocation, management and termination of
tenancies. This meant it had to stick to the provisions of
human rights laws and should be subject to judicial review
like any other public body.
'In so far as a function of L&QHT is a public function,
which makes it a public authority for the purposes of the
Human Rights Act 1998, then it seems to me that it should
equally be amenable to judicial review on conventional
public law grounds,' he said.
The ruling allowed the court to consider whether L&Q
had acted fairly when attempting to evict a tenant from her
home using ground 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The court
ruled the association had acted reasonably.
Robert Latham, a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers,
said: 'Housing associations sit very uneasily on the fence
between being public authorities and private landlords.
This is more significant given stock transfers from local
authorities to registered social landlords.
'The court found that L&Q is a public authority in
respect of the management and allocation of its housing
stock.'
Mike Donaldson, group resident services director at
L&Q, said the ruling jeopardised housing associations'
ability to fund new affordable homes.
'[They] have operated as private sector organisations for
many years and are dependent upon raising private finance
in the market place to make their operations viable,' he
added. 'The sudden transposition of registered social
landlords into the public sector seems to misunderstand the
nature of such organisations.'
John Bryant, policy leader at the National Housing
Federation, said it was concerned about the potential
implications of the judgement. 'This highlights the
legitimacy and the importance of our concerns with regard
to the Housing and Regeneration Bill,' he said.
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