Rights body seeks new law on local-authority evictions

The Human Rights Commission is calling on the Government to change the law governing the eviction of tenants from local authority housing.

The body says the 1966 Housing Act does not comply with the European Convention on Human Rights because it fails to give tenants the right to a fair hearing.

It says it understands local authorities have to deal with anti-social behaviour in some housing estates, but tenants should not have less protection from being evicted than those in the private sector.