Almshouses have put CCTV cameras which looks onto my door!

PasturesNew

Find the biggest/gobbiest old dear there then .... and point them at the MP.

G_M

Yes.

MP might be helpful.

Or find a charity that will provide some legal clout and take up their case, so counter the 'solicitor' the trustees are using.

Don't think AgeUK do legal support, but there may be a local charity? or Shelter? Or a neighbourhodd law centre?

It comes down to the type of occupancy, though, and how much security she has as a tenant/licencee/whatever.

kodiplod

G_M wrote: »

Yes.

MP might be helpful.

Or find a charity that will provide some legal clout and take up their case, so counter the 'solicitor' the trustees are using.

Don't think AgeUK do legal support, but there may be a local charity? or Shelter? Or a neighbourhodd law centre?

It comes down to the type of occupancy, though, and how much security she has as a tenant/licencee/whatever.

I did send a letter of complaint regarding the CCTV to my MP but did not get anything back unfortunately. Yeah thats what I am trying to work out. She pays rent (£450) but the trustees have told her its not rent it is for maintenance, if that helps.

G_M

The Data Protection Act 1998, only applies to businesses and organisations and NOT to domestic property, but covers the use of CCTV.

I'm not sure which this scenrio would fall under though.

Additionally

While home installation of CCTV does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Data Protection Act, if the home installation has not been carried out correctly or is being used for a purpose other than for which it was designed, then you may have a case for taking further action under totally different laws.For example, if you have a camera which is pointed directly at another person’s property or it’s suspected that it can capture part or all of a neighbour’s property, they might have a case to take action against you under legislation covered by the Human Rights Act. They might have sufficient grounds to say that they have had their privacy violated, that your CCTV system is tantamount to harassment and even voyeurism.
In such cases, they can get the police involved if you're not able to come to some agreement with regards to what the camera(s) can capture and to make modifications to the installation, if necessary.

http://www.problemneighbours.co.uk/cctv-privacy-and-the-law.html

The government is also considering extending the rules to protect home owners:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/16/domestic-cctv-users-tougher-laws-privacy-neighbours

The Protection of Freedom Act 2012 unfortunately only applies to 'relevant authorities' (S33):

(5)In this section “relevant authority” means—

(a)a local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1972,

(b)the Greater London Authority,

(c)the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority,

(d)the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple or the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple, in their capacity as a local authority,

(e)the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

(f)a parish meeting constituted under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1972,

(g)a police and crime commissioner,

(h)the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime,

(i)the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a police authority,

(j)any chief officer of a police force in England and Wales,

(k)any person specified or described by the Secretary of State in an order made by statutory instrument.

(5)In this section “relevant authority” means—

(a)a local authority within the meaning of the Local Government Act 1972,

(b)the Greater London Authority,

(c)the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a local authority,

(d)the Sub-Treasurer of the Inner Temple or the Under-Treasurer of the Middle Temple, in their capacity as a local authority,

(e)the Council of the Isles of Scilly,

(f)a parish meeting constituted under section 13 of the Local Government Act 1972,

(g)a police and crime commissioner,

(h)the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime,

(i)the Common Council of the City of London in its capacity as a police authority,

(j)any chief officer of a police force in England and Wales,

(k)any person specified or described by the Secretary of State in an order made by statutory instrument.

HappyMJ

kodiplod wrote: »

I did send a letter of complaint regarding the CCTV to my MP but did not get anything back unfortunately. Yeah thats what I am trying to work out. She pays rent (£450) but the trustees have told her its not rent it is for maintenance, if that helps.

That does help...she'll be occupying under a licence.

If you are found on the property by yourself then yes she may be breaching the terms and conditions of her right to occupy the premises so can be asked to leave.

Don't visit the property unless your nan is actually there. Don't wait in for packages without your nan. You can get them delivered to your address instead and you take them round or she can pick them up from the post office.

G_M

kodiplod wrote: »

I did send a letter of complaint regarding the CCTV to my MP but did not get anything back unfortunately. Yeah thats what I am trying to work out. She pays rent (£450) but the trustees have told her its not rent it is for maintenance, if that helps.

Go and see her MP. Most MPs run surgeries for this purpose.

Local Councillor is another option. The council may have influence.

PasturesNew

"Residents pay a weekly maintenance contribution which is similar to rent but different in law, and less than a commercial rate."

From a random website about almshouses, of which yours might/might not be members.

http://www.almshouses.org/almshouse-association/

moneyistooshorttomention

My sympathies re those unreasonable trustees.

I've been googling to see what there might be about almshouse tenancies specifically.

http://justiceforalmshousevictims.org.uk/dir/

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4764734

I'm afraid a quick glance didn't look too hopeful about almshouse management having adapted to 21st century expectations.

But I think it would be worth a read - to see what you can ascertain from those links.

Personally - I'm wondering about the right to privacy (think that's there in the Human Rights Act). If these trustees weren't spying so on you then they wouldn't know about visits (either incoming or outgoing) anyway.

kodiplod

HappyMJ wrote: »

That does help...she'll be occupying under a licence.

If you are found on the property by yourself then yes she may be breaching the terms and conditions of her right to occupy the premises so can be asked to leave.

Don't visit the property unless your nan is actually there. Don't wait in for packages without your nan. You can get them delivered to your address instead and you take them round or she can pick them up from the post office.

Even though in the rules it does not state anything about being there during the day? My nan wants me to go in and water plants etc and check everything is ok. Last time she went away I didn't go in and a power cut happened which led to her freezer leaking and food being ruined.

HappyMJ

kodiplod wrote: »

Even though in the rules it does not state anything about being there during the day? My nan wants me to go in and water plants etc and check everything is ok. Last time she went away I didn't go in and a power cut happened which led to her freezer leaking and food being ruined.

To visit the property whilst your nan is away you should approach the warden, trustee whatever they want to call themselves and ask permission. Assuming she definitely only has a licence to occupy then you have no right of entry to the property at any time.

Next time she leaves for her maximum two week holiday you could take all of her frozen food and turn her freezer off to avoid that happening. The plants can be watered for two weeks using a automatic self watering system. It's basically a bottle next to the plant with a tube leading into the soil.