Louise Irvine v Dr Anthony Metcalfe & Ors
[2023] UKUT 283 (LC)
Rakusen v Jepsen and others
1 March 2023
[2023] UKSC 9
Supreme Court
Landlords can be fined for breaking housing rules. If they break the rules, tenants can get some of their rent back (an RRO). This case asked if tenants could get money back from a landlord *above* their direct landlord. The court said no, only the landlord they pay directly can be sued for an RRO.
Key Facts
- •Martin Rakusen (superior landlord) leased a flat to KPIG, who sublet rooms to Mikkel Jepsen, Ronan Murphy, and Stuart McArthur (tenants).
- •The flat was an unlicensed HMO, contravening the Housing Act 2004.
- •Tenants applied for Rent Repayment Orders (RROs) against Rakusen under the Housing and Planning Act 2016.
- •The question was whether the 2016 Act allows RROs against superior landlords, not just immediate landlords.
Legal Principles
Statutory interpretation requires considering the words' natural meaning within their context and the provision's purpose.
Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5; Rittson-Thomas v Oxfordshire County Council [2021] UKSC 13; R (O) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKSC 3
The principle against doubtful penalisation dictates that doubt about a statute imposing a penalty should be resolved against the statute.
Bennion, Bailey and Norbury on Statutory Interpretation 8th ed, (2020) at section 26.4
Pre-legislative materials, such as consultation papers and explanatory notes, can aid statutory interpretation where ambiguity exists.
R (O) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2022] UKSC 3; R v Luckhurst [2022] UKSC 23
Outcomes
The appeal was dismissed.
A straightforward interpretation of section 40(2) of the 2016 Act shows that RROs can only be made against the immediate landlord under the tenancy generating the relevant rent. This interpretation is supported by the previous law under the 2004 Act, the purpose of RROs, the availability of other sanctions against rogue landlords, the practical complexities of applying RROs to superior landlords, other relevant provisions within the 2016 Act, pre-legislative materials, and the principle against doubtful penalisation.