The authority appealed a fine of pounds 5,000 for a breach of an undertaking to carry out repairs to their tenant’s property. They complained that there had been no evidence of previous breaches, and that the judge had been wrong to take account of other breaches.
Held: The authority might have applied for an adjournment, anticipating the order to be made. It had not. The judge was exercising a proper discretion, was entitled to take account of other breaches, and also to use his own special knowledge of the respondent’s behaviour in other cases. An affidavit from the authority that it had only broken one such order in the previous twelve months was not to the point.
Citations:
[1996] EWCA Civ 767
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Housing, Litigation Practice
Updated: 01 November 2022; Ref: scu.140634
