§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they approve of proposals by local authorities, including at least one London Borough, to evict a whole household when one of its members is convicted of an arrestable offence; and whether such action is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights and the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. [HL1028]
§ Lord WhittyLocal authority landlords have a range of preventive measures that they can use to tackle antisocial behaviour. The Government continues to advise local authorities that eviction of nuisance tenants should be seen as a last resort, to be pursued only when such measures have failed to persuade the perpetrator to mend his ways.
Tenants should be in no doubt, however, that antisocial or nuisance behaviour, either by themselves, or by their family or visitors, is unacceptable and may lead to the loss of their tenancy. Ground 2 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985, as amended by the Housing Act 1996, enables local authority landlords to seek possession of a tenancy if a tenant, or a person residing in or visiting the dwelling house, has been convicted of an arrestable offence committed in, or in the locality of, the dwelling. It is for the courts to decide, taking into account all the circumstances, whether to grant an eviction order for the tenant concerned. The tenant has the right to make representations to the court about his and his family's circumstances.