Hajan (Appellant) v The Mayor & Burgesses of the London Borough of Brent (Respondent)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0014

Parties

Appellant(s)

Amer Hajan

Respondent(s)

London Borough of Brent

Issue

Whether a landlord who serves a notice under section 83ZA of the Housing Act 1985 may apply to amend existing proceedings to allow reliance on a mandatory ground for possession, or whether such a landlord must begin fresh proceedings in order to rely on the mandatory ground.

Facts

In March 2010, the Respondents granted the Appellant a tenancy of a one-bedroom flat. In June 2022, the Appellant went to Brent Civic Centre, where he threatened staff and caused damage. The Appellant was charged with and sentenced for destroying or damaging property under section 1 of the Criminal Damage Act 1971. On 30 November 2022, the Respondents served the Appellant with a notice seeking possession of the flat on the grounds of non-payment of rent, breach of tenancy obligations and anti-social behaviour. These are discretionary grounds for possession; where a landlord relies on these grounds, the court may only make an order for possession if it considers it reasonable to do so. The Respondents issued possession proceedings on 21 December 2022. In April 2023, the Respondents received a certificate of the Appellant’s conviction and served on the Appellant a further notice seeking possession on the ground of anti-social behaviour. However, this time, the Respondents sought to rely on a mandatory ground for possession; if the court was satisfied that the Appellant had been convicted of a serious offence and certain other conditions had been met, the court was obliged to make an order for possession. The notice stated that court proceedings for possession would not be begun until after 5 June 2023. On 6 June 2023, the Respondents applied to amend the Particulars of Claim in the existing possession proceedings, so as to rely on the mandatory ground for possession. On 5 July 2023, DDJ Samuel granted permission to amend. The Appellant was granted permission to appeal this order and the appeal was transferred to the Court of Appeal, where it was dismissed. The Appellant now appeals directly to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

29 January 2025

Case origin

PTA

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