Housing Law: Legal aid change may help tenants’ rights

During April 2013, the Government changed the law on housing legal aid, and in doing so, reduced the types of cases for which we can we can help. They did, however, also make a change which can sometimes assist our clients defend a possession claim on their home.

If a landlord is seeking possession of your home on grounds of nuisance and anti-social behavior and rely on previous convictions, these cannot be “spent convictions”.

A “spent conviction” is one where a person is deemed to be rehabilitated and this cannot be brought up in any other court action. The change in the law reduced the time frames for rehabilitation, meaning that convictions become “spent” sooner.

This has fallen under the radar for some landlords who are still trying to rely on “spent convictions” where they shouldn’t be.

If your landlord is seeking possession of your home and relying on any criminal conviction,  please contact one of our housing solicitors on +44 800MANSTEIN to see if we can help.