West London National Health Service Trust v Keith Douglas Palmer

Facts

The claimant is West London National Health Service Trust, freehold owner of Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital and of a house at 29 Eastern Lane, Crowthorne, within the hospital estate. The defendant, a retired nurse who had worked at Broadmoor since 1976, was granted a monthly service tenancy of the property on 29 November 1988 by the claimant's predecessor in title, the Secretary of State for Social Services. His full-time employment ended in 2009 and his part-time work in 2014, but he remained in occupation with his wife, daughter and grandchild. Ownership of the estate passed through the Special Hospitals Service Authority and the Broadmoor Hospital Authority to the Trust in 2001. The rent, £750 per month since 2010, was said to have been increased to £950 from 1 June 2021 following a district valuer's review; the defendant continued to pay £750 and had paid no utilities invoices since April 2014. A Notice to Quit was served on 30 January 2024, expiring on 31 March 2024. The Trust claimed possession, rent arrears, mesne profits and utilities charges. The defendant contended that section 13 of the Rent Act 1977, which excludes Crown tenancies from protection, discriminated against him contrary to Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and that possession would breach Article 8.