"Human rights may block evictions" - Landlord and BTL Magazine

drc

This was posted on the House buying, renting and selling forum but I thought it might be worth reposting here;

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1wkfq/LandlordampBuytoLetM/resources/22.htm

Andy_L

Seeing as how the HRA only applies to public authorities (eg the council in the linked article) I don't see how private sector landlords have anything to worry about. Shoddy, shoddy, fear-moungering reporting

Graham_Devon

I'd find this wrong on many levels.

However, I also find the excuse for it not to apply to private landlords wrong. It suggests that any human rights are railroaded over in the BTL sector as more landlords are needed and should be supported. Well so should tenants.

I don't like all this human rights nonsense. But neither do I like bodies trying to railroad over the law based on special treatment of a particular business.

Either it applies and applies to all, council and private alike, or it doesn't apply at all.

I'd rather it didn't apply at all, as it's a bit stupid really.

System

HRA was designed to prevent public authorities abusing people's human rights. It was never the intention of the convention to deal with anything else.

dtsazza

!!!!!! wrote: »

HRA was designed to prevent public authorities abusing people's human rights. It was never the intention of the convention to deal with anything else.

The problem is that everything seems to be interpreted as a human right these days, and as I see it the HRA is definitely being invoked way beyond its remit.

The-Joker

Sounds great to me, can I stop paying rent now and give it a go?

Maybe all those who will have their benefit cut next year when the caps come in will just stay put. The poor landlords will not be able to evict them when they stop paying rent. It will take months for the poor LLs to get repossessed and then the bank to put the property on auction. The tentants may get to stay in London after all.

Andy_L

The-Joker wrote: »

Sounds great to me, can I stop paying rent now and give it a go?.

I think you could, providing you are £3.5k in arrears but your landlord owes you £15k, in which case it wouldn't be "proportinate" to evict you

Generali

Graham_Devon wrote: »

I don't like all this human rights nonsense.

I would guess that a lot of other posters agree with you but personally I'm a human rights absolutist. There are certain rights that should be an entitlement within reason: freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to worship (or not) the deity of your choice, protection of property rights and the right to elect a representative to govern you are amongst them IMO.

The one thing the US-ians got spot on was the Bill of Rights and Constitution.

kabayiri

Generali wrote: »

I would guess that a lot of other posters agree with you but personally I'm a human rights absolutist. There are certain rights that should be an entitlement within reason: freedom of speech, freedom of association, freedom to worship (or not) the deity of your choice, protection of property rights and the right to elect a representative to govern you are amongst them IMO.

The one thing the US-ians got spot on was the Bill of Rights and Constitution.

Mr Blair also got Human Rights written into our legal framework. (I wonder how much of that was due to Cherie nagging?!)

The problem is other countries (as close as Italy). They pay lip service to the convention, but fall short in practise.

FTBFun

kabayiri wrote: »

Mr Blair also got Human Rights written into our legal framework. (I wonder how much of that was due to Cherie nagging?!)

It was already in our legal framework from joining the convention in the 1950's though - the HRA just gave legal recourse through the British courts.

I do find it strange that the ECHR being effectively a British idea based upon the British ideas of civil liberties is often regarded as a bunch of foreign johnnies interfering....

ruggedtoast

Everyone knows tenants in the UK don't really count as people, so I doubt they are afforded the protection of human rights laws designed to ensure human beings are treated with dignity and afforded somewhere suitable to live. Not like, Abu Qatada for example.