Capital Prime Plus v Willis [1998]

A possession order was not made under ground 8, as the landlord could not prove that he had served a s. 8 notice on the tenant.

A landlord brought possession proceedings under section 8 Housing Act 1988, grounds 8. 10, and 11. The tenant denied ever receiving the section 8 notice. At the hearing, ground 8 would have been made out if the landlord had been able to prove service of the s. 8 notice, but a suspended possession order was granted, apparently by consent, without any evidence being called. The terms of the suspension were breached and a warrant of possession was issued.  The tenant applied to have the warrant suspended, but the district judge held that he had no power to suspend a possession order under ground 8, because when the possession order was made the court must have been satisfied that ground 8 was made out.

On appeal:
HELD: The Court of Appeal allowed the tenant’s further appeal. It held that the fact that the tenant may never have received the s. 8 notice should have been considered at the earliest stage.  The case was therefore remitted to the county court to consider the merits of the application, as the possession order had not been made under ground 8.

Citation: Capital Prime Plus v Willis [1998] 31 HLR 926