The Case

Housing Local authority houses. The Demoted Tenancies (Review of Decisions) (England) Regulations 2004, SI2004-1679, (concerning demoted tenancies, and which were subject to the provisions of the and 1996, as amended by the ), were not incompatible with art6 of the European Convention on Human Rights insofar as a review of a decision by an officer of a local authority, in relation to the determination of a demoted tenancy, was carried out by an independent and impartial tribunal, even though the reviewing officer might have been from the same authority. Article 6 of the Convention only applied to a determination of civil rights and obligations; a reviewing officer's decision did not determine any right or obligation, on the contrary, rights were conferred and obligations were imposed upon tenants. Under the scheme, the local authority had a right to apply to a county court for an order for possession, the determination of the demoted tenancy's rights would then be made by a decision of the county court, and unless and until the county court made an order for possession, the tenant's tenancy continued unaffected by the reviewing officer's decision. If however, following a decision to seek possession, the local authority failed to bring proceedings for possession within six months of the service of the notice of proceedings for possession, the demoted tenancy would revert to a secure tenancy. Further, art6 of the Convention was concerned with procedure, and could not be used to confer substantive rights, such as a right not to be evicted unless further anti-social behaviour was proved, which Parliament had not conferred. Lastly, having regard to the authorities, it could not be said that the Regulations were materially distinguishable from other like Regulations, for example, a scheme which related to an internal local authority review of a decision to seek possession of a property held under an introductory tenancy, pursuant to the Introductory Tenants (Review) Regulations 1997, .