Fraud Not Sufficient to Extend Time Limit for Possession.

A recent case dealt with issues arising when a tenant is less than honest in his dealings with his landlord - in this instance, a local authority.

The circumstances were that a tenant hid the fact of his mother's death from his local council for three years because he knew that were the council to discover the fact, it would seek possession of the council house in which he lived and to re-house him in a smaller property.

The tenant continued to pay rent in his mother's name and did not inform the Registrar or the council of her death. In general, he continued to behave exactly as though she were still alive.

When the council eventually learned what had happened, it sought possession of the property. By this time, however, the normal time limit laid down by statute for commencing repossession proceedings (no later than 12 months after the mother's death) had expired. The council claimed that the proceedings had not been commenced in time because of the tenant's deception.

The Court of Appeal agreed that the fraud of the tenant was not in doubt, but held that since the local authority had failed to act within the time limit laid down by statute for commencing repossession proceedings, it could not be granted a possession order. The fact that the result was unfair and frustrated the purpose of the statute, as well as depriving tenants in greater need of a property of that size, was considered to be unfortunate, but a wrong that needed to be righted by Parliament, not by the Court.

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