Although the government is planning to abolish the s153 housing injunctions that were introduced by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003, there is no need to stop using these remedies for dealing with a wide range of ASB activity. It could be some time before the proposals turn into something more concrete, and finally turn into legislation and enacted. Therefore, if you are having to deal with cases of anti-social behaviour that do not warrant outright eviction - and some would argue that this is not an effective remedy as it only moves the problem elsewhere - then the use of injunctions can be very useful. And post-Pinnock, many social landlords are looking towards other remedies as possession may not be deemed as being proportionate.
The aim of an injunction is to try to change the offending behaviour rather than to punish the perpretator. Injunctions can be quick to obtain and can be less expensive than using possession. The threat of an unlimited fine and/or up to two years imprisonment for contempt of court can often be successful in stopping the ASB. Some social landlords use this remedy whilst they are waiting for possession cases to be heard in order to prevent a continuation of the behaviour or the intimidation of witnesses. Injunctions can include exclusion orders and the power of arrest for the most serious cases, but injunctions can also be used to deal with those lower-level 'nuisance' cases which can sometimes be very difficult to address. The new government proposals for anti-social behaviour include the use of a new injunction to replace the existing ones, so it has been recognised that these legal tools can be very useful.
For more information on the use of injunctions for tackling anti-social behaviour, please contact me on 07986 246406 or at skills@learning4housing.co.uk
David Wardle
I agree that Injunctions can be very useful. We have just dealt with a case where there was relatively serious ASB but we had no witnesses willing to come forward as they feared reprisals if they did. As we feared that, as we only had hearsay evidence, a court may not be persuaded to order possession we applied and obtained an injunction on the hearsay evidence. This had the effect of substantially reducing the ASB. There have been some further incidents of ASB but we now have witnesses prepared to come forward due to the effect that the Injunction has had. Definately a useful tool.
ReplyDeletePaul Reader - Solicitor/ Linkedin Social Housing Group Member
Paul - good to hear that the use of injunctions was useful. Many landlords do not realise that hearsay evidence can be used and courts will accept this. However, depending on the circumstances, they may give such evidence a lower weighting than direct evidence. It is therefore necessary to explain in very clear terms to the court why witnesses may be reluctant to give evidence. This must be more than just saying that they are 'scared', but should explain why they are scared and cite examples of incidents that have led to their reluctance.
ReplyDeleteDavid