Getting to the bar

Acton Housing Association, part of the Dominion Housing Group, has been using housing staff instead of solicitors in some antisocial behaviour cases for some time now, with great success.

Usually only solicitors are allowed to instruct barristers to represent clients in legal proceedings. But we have been granted special licence, known as “licensed access”, allowing us to instruct barristers in antisocial behaviour cases.

But we do not rely on training housing officers to do this work; the key to success at Dominion is using a suitably qualified person. Our tenancy enforcement manager is a former policeman with more than 25 years’ experience in the force and has been granted the licence on behalf of the association. He is fully trained in current legislation and giving evidence in court, and has in-depth knowledge of the cases at hand.

The new licence has already saved us thousands of pounds and all of the cases completed so far have been successful.

Prior to obtaining the licence, a single case could cost as much as £18,000 in legal fees. Acton has since taken 16 antisocial behaviour cases to court, the total cost of which is far below this figure.

But of course, this initiative is not just about making financial savings; housing associations are committed to taking firm action against the perpetrators of antisocial behaviour and the licence is helping us, so far, to do this more quickly and efficiently.

Paul Yates, director of Housing Services Dominion Housing Group