Forbes Solicitors
Housing & Regeneration eNews

July 2021

Impact of social media - the backlash for employers

 

CCTV and ASB:  Do Perpetrators have a Right to Privacy?

 

Building Safety Bill - Update


Impact of social media - the backlash for employers

Following the disappointment of the Euro 2020 Final, many no doubt expected they would be getting up the morning after to an influx of press articles and social media posts centred around a technical critique of the football skills on display in the final along side messages of support for the players. Few probably expected to be faced with such a concerning level of racially motivated criticism, leading to the press being dominated not by the loss itself, but the racist backlash against a number of team members.

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CCTV and ASB:  Do Perpetrators have a Right to Privacy?

The Court of Appeal has recently heard a case where the defendant argued that a breach of his injunction, proved by his neighbour’s CCTV, breached his right to privacy.  The Court of Appeal has dismissed this argument and decided that the right of the victim’s respect for their private and family life, overwhelmingly outweighed the defendant’s right to privacy.

Background of the Case

In the case of Molloy v BPHA Limited, BPHA obtained a without notice injunction against Mr Molloy, following complaints of racist harassment against his neighbour.  The victim installs CCTV and captures evidence of Mr Molloy’s racist abuse.  After receiving evidence that the injunction had been breached, BPHA began committal proceedings against Mr Molloy for breaching the injunction.  The judge in the committal proceedings finds that a breach of the injunction did occur and imposed a suspended sentence.

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Building Safety Bill Update

We are continuing to keep a close eye on progression of the Building Safety Bill through Parliament. You can view our webinar discussing the main proposals of the draft Bill here. The Bill was formally introduced to Parliament on 5 July 2021 and awaits Second Reading.

Much pre-legislative consultation has taken place and last year, the Communities and Local Government Select Committee scrutinised the draft Bill. The Committee was critical that significant amounts of secondary legislation would be required once the Bill became law, to put its intentions into practical effect. For example, the Bill omitted key definitions including classification of "high-risk buildings".

 

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Hate Crime in Social Housing Webinar

Over 80 delegates joined our Hate Crime in Social Housing webinar on 13th July presented by Kirsty Varley, Partner, and Rebecca Webster, Associate, in Housing Litigation.  The team have seen an increase in ASB cases where a hate crime, whether it be motivated by racism, homophobia or disability,  has been committed. This includes verbal abuse, assault, vandalism, graffiti or threatening behaviour.

Rebecca and Kirsty covered case studies, the tools social housing providers can use to tackle the perpetrators and how housing officers can help residents feel safe in their neighbourhoods.

Click here to watch the webinar.


The New Model Shared Ownership Webinar

On 15th July the Development & Home Ownership, Governance, Procurement & Information and Complex Case teams came together to explore the obligations on landlords introduced by the new model and how to tighten up your contracts and processes to deal with funding, development and defects.

Click here to watch the webinar. 

The presenters have also recorded a short podcast following the webinar covering the key points to be aware of when it comes to the New Model Shared Ownership, click here to listen.


Development podcast

Darren Burton, Head of ASC Forbes, sat down with Catherine Kennedy, Head of Housing and Regeneration (Property) and Lauren Fisher, Head of Home Ownership, to discuss the current UK housing market, how the development and home ownership teams work at Forbes, funding and the new shared ownership model.

Click here to listen.

 


July inquiry on housing demand

Chaired by Baroness Neville-Wolfe, the new House of Lords Built Environment Committee launched its inquiry on 6th July 2021 into the demand for housing in the UK and how to overcome barriers to meeting this demand. The Conversative Manifesto published in 2019 included a commitment to continue with their progress towards the target of 300,000 homes a year by mid-2020s and to see at least a million more homes built, of all tenures, over the next parliament in areas that need them. This new inquiry will be looking at the government’s pledge and whether this target accurately reflects current and future housing demand and if it is in fact achievable. To assist the Committee, there has been a call for evidence from a broad a range of people as possible with a view on housing and submissions are welcome until Friday 10th September 2021 to answer the following questions: 

 

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The content of this e-alert is merely informative and should not be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice