Registered Providers (RPs) of Social Housing increasingly have reason to gain access to their tenants’ properties to fulfil their statutory, regulatory and contractual duties. It is well-established that if a tenant does not allow their landlord access to their property, the contractual access terms should be enforced by an injunction order. RPs of Social Housing also face situations where they require their tenants to decant whilst works are being carried out. However, they fail to do so. Our Housing experts, Tim Pearl, Samantha Rutter and Sarah Christy consider options to apply to the Court for a “forced access” clause in an access injunction or for an injunction including terms compelling a tenant to decant from their property temporarily.

Including forced access terms on an Injunction Order.

It has long been controversial whether Judges have the power to include a term in an access injunction permitting a landlord to force access to a property. Many Judges have refused to grant such a term, taking the view that it is outside Court’s power and indicating that the correct route forward would be to apply for committal for contempt of court for their non-compliance with the court order or to serve a Notice of Seeking Possession and subsequently seek Possession. Tightly worded tenancy clauses can persuade Judges to add such terms. However, care needs to be taken to ensure that these are drafted in such a way as not to fall foul of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Two recent cases have addressed this topic. In the case of Sovereign Housing Association Limited v Hall (2024), the Court considered Rule 70.2A of the Civil Procedure Rules, which gives the Court power to permit that the applicant can take action where a party has failed to comply with the term of an injunction order and make a further order allowing ‘another party’ to complete the act that the original order requires that other party to do. So, in the case of an injunction which compels a tenant to permit their landlord access upon written notice, the Court can permit a landlord to force access to a property where the tenant has failed to comply with injunction terms previously imposed. It is worth pointing out that the jurisdiction for the Court to order forced access in these circumstances arises from non-compliance with a court order and does not apply when the Claimant is requesting forced access at the first hearing. This remedy is also discretionary. In practice, if a court agrees with this approach, a Judge may not grant the forced access clause in the first instance, but may decide to vary the injunction and add a forced access clause in the event of non-compliance of the access injunction.

However, the controversy remains with the Court in Southern Housing v Emmanuel (2025) taking a different view, concluding that the County Court does not have the jurisdiction under these Civil Procedure Rules to grant a forced access clause on an injunction order, as these powers should come from statute or common law, rather than the Civil Procedure Rules which sets the framework for case management.

Therefore, until such time as there is a change in the law, whether by Parliament or the higher Courts making a decision, the approach may differ between Courts.  

Forced decants

Under statute and the tenancy terms, landlords have express and implied obligations to repair, and tenants have corresponding obligations to give access. 

However, on occasions, a tenant must temporarily vacate a property for the purpose of the repairing work to be undertaken, either because of the extent of the works required or because the tenant is engaging in threatening behaviour towards contractors.

What can you do if a tenant refuses to decant?

The Court of Appeal in the case of McGreal v Wake gives authority for the Court to make an order compelling a tenant to decant from their property and the Court stated, “The obligation to allow the landlord to enter and occupy to effect repairs does not seem to us to involve a further obligation to give the landlord exclusive occupation unless this is essential for the execution of the repairs”. Therefore, in cases where it is essential for a tenant to temporarily vacate the property, if they fail to do so, there is likely to be a breach of tenancy as the landlord has an obligation and a right to carry out the repairs.

Alternatively, RPs of Social Housing could seek an Injunction under Part 1 of the Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) Crime and Policing Act 2014 if the facts of the case show that the Defendant has (i) engaged in ASB, which is defined as;  

• conduct that has caused, or is likely to cause, harassment, alarm or distress to any person;
• conduct capable of causing nuisance or annoyance to a person in relation to that person's occupation of residential premises, or
• conduct capable of causing housing related nuisance or annoyance to any person.

(ii) That it is just and convenient to grant the order for the purposes of preventing the Defendant from engaging in the ASB; and

(iii) if the ASB includes violence or threats of violence, or there is a significant risk of harm to other persons from the respondent.

To be successful in injunction applications, it is important to keep records of all notices of appointments, correspondence with your tenant, attempts of access and file notes of incidents. If a tenant is protected by the Equality Act 2010, it is important to evidence your decision-making and carry out an Equality Impact Assessment before proceeding.

How Capsticks can help

At Capsticks, we provide housing management advice to over 200 social housing providers across the country.

Our team of experts can advise and assist with any such applications mentioned in this insight, including best options, pre-action work, and policies and procedures. For further information on how Capsticks can help, please contact Tim Pearl, Samantha Rutter, and Sarah Christy.