Burrows v Brent LBC [1996] 4 All ER 57
Secured tenancy; claim for possession; agreement reached allowing tenant to remain on terms; whether agreement created new tenancy
Facts
Ms Burrows was a secured tenant in a flat owned by the council. She fell behind with her rent and the council successfully obtained a possession order. Prior to the order being put into effect, the council agreed with Ms Burrows that they would not evict her if she made certain payments to reduce the arrears. She failed to make these payments and was evicted. Ms Burrows sought to claim damages for wrongful eviction.
Issues
Ms Burrows claimed the agreement she reached with the council whereby she would make payments to reduce the rent arrears operated to create a new tenancy by operation of law. As such the order for possession which the council had obtained would be ineffective as against this new tenancy and she had, therefore, been wrongly evicted. The council argued the agreement was merely an agreement not to evict her providing she met certain conditions regarding the reduction of the rent arrears. It was not intended to create a new tenancy, and the secured tenancy terminated on the day the order required her to give up possession, and not when it was actually surrendered, under s82 Housing Act 1985.
Decision/Outcome
The agreement made between the council and Ms Burrows to reduce the rent arrears did not operate to create a new tenancy. An agreement not to enforce a possession order whether there are conditions attached to it or not, would not create a lease or a license and, therefore the possession order was validly executed, and Ms Burrows had not been wrongly evicted.
Updated 21 March 2026
This case summary remains accurate. Burrows v Brent LBC [1996] 4 All ER 57 is a House of Lords decision and continues to represent good law. The principle established — that an agreement by a landlord not to enforce a possession order does not, of itself, create a new tenancy or licence — has not been overturned and remains relevant in housing law. Section 82 of the Housing Act 1985, which governs when a secure tenancy ends following a possession order, remains in force (as amended), and the interpretation applied in this case is consistent with the current statutory framework. Students should note that the broader law on secure tenancies and possession proceedings has been supplemented by subsequent legislation, including the Housing Act 1996 and the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, but these developments do not affect the core principle decided in this case.
