R v London Rent Assessment Committee ex p Lester
R v London Rent Assessment Committee ex p Lester
- 2003
- Weekly Law Reports [2003] 1 WLR 1449-1460(13) .
[2003] EWCA Civil 319, 12 March 2003. Appeal by the tenant (L) from (QBD [2003] 10 EG 168). L's landlord served her with a notice under the Housing Act 1988 s13(2) proposing a rent increase. L, using the prescribed form 5, referred the notice to the respondent London Rent Assessment Committee (LRAC). LRAC was of the view that it could not determine L's application, following s13(4) of the 1988 Act stipulating that any referral had to be made before the date upon which the proposed rent was due to take effect. L brought proceedings in which she contended that the application had been referred to LRAC on the day upon which it was sent or when it would have arrived in the ordinary course of the post. L's claim was dismissed on the basis that 'refer' in s13(4) meant 'deliver to'. L appealed, relying upon the wording of the guidance notes attached to form 5 in support of her construction of s13(4) and arguing further that the judge's interpretation infringed her right to a fair hearing under the European Convention on Human Rights Art 6. "Held" appeal dismissed. The ordinary meaning of 'refer to' connoted 'receipt by', the meaning attributed to it in the 1988 Act s13(4), not the meaning of the wording in the guidance notes. Such notes could not be used as an aid to construction of the primary legislation. Nor did construing s13(4) as 'receipt' rather than 'despatch' infringe Art 6 of the Convention and thus L's civil rights.
CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS ART 6
RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE
NASH V RYAN PLANT INTERNATIONAL LTD
JACKSON V HALL
HOUSING ACT 1988 S13(4)
HOUSING ACT 1988 S13(2)
R V LONDON RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE EX P LESTER
[2003] EWCA Civil 319, 12 March 2003. Appeal by the tenant (L) from (QBD [2003] 10 EG 168). L's landlord served her with a notice under the Housing Act 1988 s13(2) proposing a rent increase. L, using the prescribed form 5, referred the notice to the respondent London Rent Assessment Committee (LRAC). LRAC was of the view that it could not determine L's application, following s13(4) of the 1988 Act stipulating that any referral had to be made before the date upon which the proposed rent was due to take effect. L brought proceedings in which she contended that the application had been referred to LRAC on the day upon which it was sent or when it would have arrived in the ordinary course of the post. L's claim was dismissed on the basis that 'refer' in s13(4) meant 'deliver to'. L appealed, relying upon the wording of the guidance notes attached to form 5 in support of her construction of s13(4) and arguing further that the judge's interpretation infringed her right to a fair hearing under the European Convention on Human Rights Art 6. "Held" appeal dismissed. The ordinary meaning of 'refer to' connoted 'receipt by', the meaning attributed to it in the 1988 Act s13(4), not the meaning of the wording in the guidance notes. Such notes could not be used as an aid to construction of the primary legislation. Nor did construing s13(4) as 'receipt' rather than 'despatch' infringe Art 6 of the Convention and thus L's civil rights.
CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS ART 6
RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE
NASH V RYAN PLANT INTERNATIONAL LTD
JACKSON V HALL
HOUSING ACT 1988 S13(4)
HOUSING ACT 1988 S13(2)
R V LONDON RENT ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE EX P LESTER