If a tenant has committed an indictable offence (one tried at crown court) before they have moved in to a letting property, the landlord may still evict them.

This was established at the Court of Appeal, when an appeal by Alex Fairclough was dismissed against a possession order in favour of the Raglan Housing Association granted at Southampton County Court in January 2007.

In May 2004, Fairclough was arrested for downloading pornographic images of children from the internet. In January 2005, he signed a tenancy agreement for a property owned by the housing association and was subsequently pleaded guilty to the offences and was jailed for 12 months.

Lord-Justice Moore-Bick said: "The court could exercise the possession power when it was satisfied that it was reasonable to do so and in making that decision it should take into account the effect that the tenant’s behaviour already had on other people in the locality, any continuing effect which was likely to follow and the effect that any repetition of the same behaviour would be likely to have."