• Home
• About
  • History of Grant Saw
  • What we do
  • The team
  • Our business associates
  • Work with us
• News
  • Legal update
  • The Greenwich Peninsula
• Our clients
• Other services
  • Immigration
  • Commissioning of Oaths
• Contact us
  • Contacts
  • Find us

Return to full list of news stories >

Court Backs Landlord in Discrimination Case

A disabled tenant who was evicted from his flat for breach of the terms of his tenancy agreement had not suffered discrimination, according to a recent House of Lords ruling. The decision overturns a previous decision by the Appeal Court in favour of the tenant. The decision has important implications for landlords, says Sarah-Kate Jackson of Grant Saw Solicitors.

The case concerned Courtney Malcolm, a tenant of Lewisham London Borough Council, who had schizophrenia. He sublet his flat in breach of the tenancy agreement and so was served notice to quit. Mr Malcolm contested that he was disabled under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and that Lewisham Council had discriminated against him.

In considering whether or not Mr Malcolm had been discriminated against, Lord Bingham asked 'To what treatment had the tenant been subjected?' The landlord had sought to repossess the flat and it was agreed that the reason behind this decision was the tenant's having sublet the flat.

Lord Bingham pointed out that Lewisham Council, as a social landlord with a long waiting list, could not allow a tenancy to continue where the tenant was absent. He argued that Lewisham's decision was a pure housing management decision that had nothing to do with Mr Malcolm's disability. Indeed, at the time of the decision, Lewisham was not aware of the disability.

In deciding whether Mr Malcolm had been treated unfairly, Lord Bingham stated that a comparison should be made with tenants who did not have any disability but who had breached the terms of their tenancy by subletting. In such circumstances the non-disabled tenants would have been equally in breach of their tenancy agreement.

For these reasons it was held that Mr Malcolm had not been treated unfairly and had not been discriminated against.

"Landlords should not be afraid to stick to the principles of the tenancy agreement, providing it has been properly worded," says Sarah-Kate Jackson. "A landlord would only fall foul of the Disability Discrimination Act by treating a disabled tenant less favorably than a tenant without a disability."

For more information visit our litigation department >

Return to full list of news stories >