Janet d’Sa v Hammersmith and Fulham Council

Facts

The applicant, Janet D'Sa, was the defendant to possession proceedings brought against her by Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council in the Wandsworth County Court. Following an earlier hearing on 21 July 2025 which gave directions on her opportunities to defend, an order of 14 November 2025 had the effect of dismissing her substantive defence and warned that a possession order could be made in her absence if she did not attend the next hearing. On 25 March 2026 District Judge Cheunviratsakul made an outright possession order in her absence, finding Ground 2 of Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1985 made out and that it was reasonable to order possession; the order was drawn up on 20 April 2026. The applicant's account, on which the judge made no findings of fact, was that she had been at a hospital accident and emergency department that day with chest pains and assault injuries, that appeal notices on Form N161 lodged at the county court in March and April 2026 were never processed, and that her letters went unanswered. A notice of eviction dated 30 June 2026 scheduled her eviction for 11 August 2026. She applied by Form N244 in the High Court to stay the eviction and to have her High Court appeal processed and heard.