Bevan Brittan represent Stonewater Limited in significant access...

Bevan Brittan acted on behalf of Stonewater on significant access injunction proceedings. This judgment now represents the leading authority on 'forced entry' in access injunction proceedings.

The judgment affirms what His Honour Judge Berkley said in Sovereign Housing Association Limited v Ms Jane Hall in 2024: that a Judge at County Court level is empowered (by virtue of CPR 70.2A) to order that a claimant landlord may carry out the "act required to be done", namely the granting of access to the property in question for the purposes of inspection, by force if necessary.

In Stonewater v Harris, His Honour Judge Glen has held that:

• District Judge Cridge's conclusion (in Southern Housing v Emmanuel [2026] L &TR 9) - that a court has no power to authorise entry to someone's home absent statutory authority - cannot be supported;
• The 'deemed consent' approach of District Judge Le Bas in Taylor Clark Ltd v Mohamed (2026) (i.e. forced entry justified by virtue of a covenant to 'allow access' in the tenancy agreement) likewise cannot be supported;
• District Judge James' analysis in Plymouth Community Homes Ltd. V. Hammond (2026) is the correct approach: The "act required to be done" (CPR 70.2A) is 'enabling the landlord to obtain access'; and, "if it cannot be enabled by the tenant's consent, then in my [HHJ Glen's] judgment CPR70.2A(2) permits the Court to empower the landlord to enable access in another way".

His Honour Judge Glen further commented that: "in my judgment, District Judges and Deputy District Judges do in principle have the power to make an order permitting landlords to force access to rented property in order to carry out gas and electrical safety inspections."

Conor Turley, associate, Bevan Brittan "this judgment now represents the leading authority on the question of "forced entry" in access injunction proceedings. This is a major win for social landlords and confirms that judges do have the power to award forced entry."

To read the full judgement, click here.