Home, Human Rights and Horizontal Effect: An English Approach to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

In McDonald v McDonald [2016] UKSC 28, the Supreme Court held that there was no breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights if a private landlord sought to evict a tenant using the accelerated possession procedure. In reaching this decision, it refused to imply a proportionality test into the Housing Act 1988 or make a declaration of incompatibility under the Human Rights Act 1998. Against that background, this article provides an analysis of the theoretical and practical concerns affecting a tenant’s Article 8 rights to respect for the home, as well as a landlord’s correlative duties. It concludes that these rights will only be protected adequately and in accordance with the rule of law if legislation is introduced, with the aim of protecting a tenant’s dignity. That is necessary both for legal certainty and to ensure that a fair balance is struck between the interests of landlord and tenant.