ASB / Breach of tenancy Injunctions & Committal – You MUST personally service the injunction!
18th May 2022
The recent case of MBR Acres Ltd & Ors v Maher & Anor [2022] EWHC 1123 (QB) is a cautionary tale on service when it comes to injunctions.
The Claimant secured injunctions which prevented the Defendants from entering a site. They did not personally serve them, instead they served on their solicitors. The Claimant issue a Committal Application for breach of the injunctions and the Court had to consider if service had been effective.
Mr Justice Nicklin held that the obligation to personally serve an injunction had not changed by the new CPR81 and he refused an application to dispense with service.
So, it’s clear, in Social Housing we MUST always ensure injunctions are personally served, if we are to have any hope of later bring a committal application. This applies to ASB injunctions as well as Breach of Tenancy injunctions.
After service, it is also good practice to file at Court a certificate of service and retrain a copy of this should you require it in the future.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact our Social Housing team.
Louise Murphy
Louise is the Head of Social Housing and Regeneration at MSB and has an in-depth knowledge of Social Housing law throughout her 15 year career.
She has developed our Housing Disrepair team into a formidable unit; she is tenacious and achieves outstanding results.
