Varying possession orders

Ms Finn was a secure tenant. The council obtained a possession order for arrears of rent. The order (called a "suspended" order) provided that the date to give up possession would be postponed so long as current rent was paid plus £2.60 per week towards the arrears of £1987. She complied but before the debt was cleared, she was convicted of offences relating to her home. The council asked the court to cancel the postponement so Finn could be evicted without a fresh possession claim, but the district judge decided he could not do that because the legislation only allowed for a "postponement" of possession.

The council successfully appealed. The Court of Appeal felt it was implicit in an order with such a long intended duration that the landlord and tenant should both have "liberty to apply" back to the court and the court could revisit the question of postponement.

Whether the postponement should be continued, cancelled, or imposed on new conditions would be decided in each case by local judges.