Each applicant had been accepted as homeless by the respondent, but was then offered alternative accomodation under terms which they found unacceptable. They argued that the Regulations applied. The council had disapplied one statutory guidance in order to meet another administrative target.
Held: ‘to depart from national guidance given under statute in order to achieve a national guidelines target, which has been set administratively, is to run the risk of acting unlawfully by failing to follow the guidance.’ As to whether the policy was oppressive, its administrative efficeiency was not relevant. Where European legislation wanted to give broad effect to consumer protection legislation, it did so typically by making explicit exclusions to areas not to be covered. No such limitation was present here, and it was contrary to the stated intention to exclude housing rental provisions from protection. Contracts for the letting of property were covered by the regulations.
Judges:
The Honourable Mr Justice Newman
Citations:
[2003] EWHC 2326 (Admin)
Links:
Statutes:
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999, Council Directive 93/13/EEC
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Regina v Secretary of State for Health, ex parte Gallaher and others (Judgment) ECJ 22-Jun-1993
Member States may decide size of government health warnings on cigarettes
ECJ Articles 3(3) and 4(4) of Directive 89/622 on the labelling of tobacco products provide respectively that the indications of tar . .
Cited – Marshall v Southampton and South West Hampshire Area Health Authority (No 2) ECJ 2-Aug-1993
The UK law limiting awards of damages in sex discrimination cases is unlawful, and fails to implement European directive fully. Financial compensation must be at a level adequate to achieve equality between the workers identified. . .
Cited – Commission v United Kingdom (Judgment) ECJ 29-May-1997
The UK provision in the 1987 Act did not conflict with the EC Directive on liability for defective products; there was an overriding provision as to interpretation.
Europa Approximation of laws – Liability . .
Cited – Oceano Grupo Editorial and Salvat Editores (Judgment) ECJ 27-Jun-2000
Europa Where a jurisdiction clause is included, without being individually negotiated, in a contract between a consumer and a seller or supplier and where it confers exclusive jurisdiction on a court in the . .
Cited – Starmark Enterprises Ltd v CPL Distribution Ltd CA 31-Jul-2001
The parties were landlord and tenant. The landlords served a notice to increase the rent, but the tenant failed to serve a counter-notice within the relevant period. The landlord claimed the tenant was bound, and appealed a decision against them. . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – London Borough of Newham v Khatun, Zeb and Iqbal CA 24-Feb-2004
The council made offers of accommodation which were rejected as inappropriate by the proposed tenants.
Held: The council was given a responsibility to act reasonably. It was for them, not the court to make that assessment subject only to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Housing, Consumer
Updated: 02 April 2022; Ref: scu.186739
