Book reviews

A Brief Guide to the Human Rights Act 1998 in Relation to Housing

As the title promises, this is a brief guide – some 39 pages long – to the application of the Human Rights Act 1998 to the field of housing law.  It consists of an introduction summarising the effect of the Human Rights Act, a more detailed discussion of some key points, a middle section discussing possible specific human rights issues that might arise in housing law, a summary of enforcement under the Act, suggested further reading, and the text of the articles of the European Convention incorporated by the 1998 Act.

The guide provides a generally accurate exposition of the main principles of the Human Rights Act, and interesting suggestions for possible human rights claims in a number of areas including the allocation of social housing, homelessness, eviction, and tenants rights,. repairs and succession. That section of the guide attempts both to explain how the Convention claim would be framed in terms of the relevant articles, and the extent to which the Human Rights Act makes the claim viable in our courts.  I did not spot any definite mistakes, although I do not agree with the statement that a homelessness claim does not involve determination of civil rights in terms of Article 6, and I wanted to see more argument to justify the Convention’s applicability to several of the suggested claims e.g. local authorities banning persons from housing lists.  However, I would have to acknowledge that there is genuine uncertainty over the application of the Convention to these areas, and that full argument would have been incompatible with a ‘brief ‘ guide.

That brings me to my next point.  The guide does not specify its purpose or its target audience.  I assume that it is not aimed at solicitors (although they would find some useful ideas in here).  If it is aimed at non-lawyers working in the housing field who need some understanding of the convention the treatment is perhaps a little too compressed.  There are some very difficult legal/conceptual issues involved and when presented as concisely as they are here may be difficult to grasp for those reading it as their first introduction to the Convention.  Perhaps they need something less brief!  If it is intended as a guide for the general public, then I think something simpler (not necessarily shorter) leaving out some of the technical detail is required.

Tom Mullen