Guernsey Judgment 24/2009 - Kinley v Dept of Housing

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Housing (Control of Occupation) (Guernsey) Law, 1994 (s.56) - appeal from refusal of application for housing licence - whether unreasonable exercise of the Department's powers - confusion as to the relevance of the "Excellent Teacher Scheme" - held the application should firstly have been considered on employment related grounds (s.6 (2)(a) of the Law) - failure to notify the appellant that her application had not been considered under s.6 (2)(a) - European Convention on Human Rights (Art. 8) - right to respect for private and family life, home etc - held that the Dept had failed to demonstrate, pursuant to Art. 8 (2), that the interference with the right under Art. 8(1) was justified - reliance on the Housing Needs Survey - held that the Department had failed in its duty to exercise meticulous care in arriving at the decision under appeal - reasons for rejection of application not properly explained - held that he decision was so unreasonable that it must be set aside Royal Court Civ