A solicitors’ firm is warning that a County Court case could be used to allow more tenants to defend Section 21 possession proceedings.

Paula Haverkamp, a senior associate and litigation executive at Nelsons law firm, this week wrote on her company website about the recent case of Byrne v Harwood-Delgado, which highlights issues regarding landlord gas safety certificates for tenants who have been served a Section 21 Notice and face eviction.

In a previous case – Trecarrell House Limited v Patricia Rouncefield – the Court of Appeal decided that as long as the certificate was dated before the tenancy start date then it was not fatal to action a possession order. The Court held that, as long as the certificate was given to the tenant before Section 21 Notice was served, the landlord would be able to give a valid Section 21 Notice. 

However Judge H H J Bloom, in the recent Byrne v Harwood-Delgado case, found that under the Section 21 Notice could not end a tenancy if the landlord had not secured a relevant gas safety certificate prior to the tenancy starting and, in Haverkamp’s words, “the situation could not be resolved further down the line.”

Haverkamp writes: “Although this case is not binding as it is a County Court case, however, it is extremely persuasive and being applied by the Courts, it could provide more protection for tenants and improve their ability to be successful in defending Section 21 possession proceedings. Tenants may not need this type of protection if the plans to abolish No Fault Section 21 evictions are enforced, however, in the meantime, it’s certainly positive news for tenants as it gives them and their representatives extra defences against Section 21 possession proceedings.”

You can see Haverkamp’s full blog here.