Baygreen Properties v Gil
Ms Gil was an assured tenant. Her landlord brought a claim for a possession order alleging rent arrears, which would provide a mandatory ground for possession. Gil disputed that the arrears were lawfully due but after negotiations the parties agreed that the landlord would have possession and would pay Gil £2500 before she left.

Gil consented to a possession order being made on this basis but later declined to leave and lodged an appeal, which the Court of Appeal allowed. It felt the point of security of tenure for tenants was that a court had to be satisfied that statutory grounds were made out before granting a possession order.

The statutory ground had to be proved by evidence or by an explicit admission by the tenant. An agreement between the parties did not give the court jurisdiction to order possession. Consent to an agreement involving the giving of possession was not an admission that the ground was made out.

Source

Housing Today

Reference

This case is a cautionary reminder to all landlords that a court should only be asked to grant possession on the basis of hearing the evidence or receiving clear admissions. A valid possession order "by consent" will be rare indeed.