Developed by CIH and a range of partners, the new tool - The Community Harm Statement - will enable landlords to highlight the harmful impact of ASB on a community, and not just the individual, when taking legal action and ensure evidence is presented to the court in a consistent manner. It gives a stronger voice to communities by helping ensure that the damage inflicted by ASB is properly voiced and listened to when landlords take legal action. It can also be used to support non-judicial actions, casework and partnership working.
Grainia Long, Chief Executive of CIH, said: “The Community Harm Statement is an industry leading document that will be useful for social landlords to adopt as part of their toolkit for tackling ASB. It has been designed to help social landlords when they take legal action on ASB to present evidence to the court in a consistent manner, and in a way that properly captures the impact not only on individuals but also the wider community. As such it is an opportunity to give communities a stronger voice in the judicial process.
“Anti social behaviour has such a detrimental affect on communities, the impact of last summer’s riots are testament to that, and until now the voice of the community hasn’t been put forward in the courts. We know the government is soon to announce new measures to deal with anti social behaviour and this document is the first of its kind to focus on communities and not just individuals.”
Helen Tucker concluded, “We’d like to thank the CIH for giving us the opportunity to contribute towards the development of this ASB tool. As a firm we’re committed to achieving social justice through the work we do with clients and partner organisations - this ASB tool will contribute to helping to secure justice for local communities who are suffering due to anti-social behaviour.”
To download a copy of the guidance notes for social landlords click here.
As we continue to emerge from lockdown measures and deal with local measures and the short and long term economic impact of Covid-19, local authorities will need to re-assess how services will be delivered for years to come.
The Government first announced plans for a shared ownership right to buy in October 2019. At the time the sector raised concerns about the impact the plans would have on housing associations ability to borrow. An election and a pandemic later the Government announced, during the CIH Housing Festival last week, the return of the right to shared ownership as part of its Affordable Homes Programme (AHP).
Two final pieces of the possession jigsaw have been published on 15 September 2020. Mr Justice Knowles’ working group on possession proceedings has issued its guidance on the “overall arrangements” for possession proceedings.
One change proposed by the Building Safety Bill is the introduction of a duty holder regime, which will see statutory responsibility for the safety of higher risk buildings placed on key individuals
Throughout this pandemic, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been publishing various “Statements on Coronavirus” (Statements) which provide guidance on consumer rights during this time.
A recent increase in COVID-19 cases in the UK means new measures are being put in place in an effort to reduce the risk of a second wave. Whilst the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt, it is important to remain focused on the sector’s road to recovery.
Sometimes half an hour at a conference gives you the reality that has been staring you in the face all along. That was my experience watching “Change is on the Horizon”
Following our recent e-briefing on Possession Notices, Helen Tucker and Emilie Pownall from our housing litigation team discuss the impact of the changes on social landlords.
Not only has the possession stay been extended until 20 September, the notice periods to be given to tenants has been extended in certain circumstances with some important exceptions.
The Court has confirmed that a party cannot withhold its consent in order to re-write the original bargain.
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