Consent possession order

GIL v Bay green Properties Ltd (CA TLR 17 July)

On the hearing of a possession summons, agreement was reached for the tenant to receive a lump sum from the landlord in return for vacating his room. The judge, on being told of the agreement and without hearing oral evidence or having read the trial bundle made a consent order for possession in favour of the landlord. He had no jurisdiction to do so under s7 of the Housing Act 1988 unless he was satisfied, after making an investigation, that there was evidence that the requisite statutory requirements, in particular an admission by the tenant as to alleged rent arrears, were met.