HCR Law’s housing and later living team expands again

HCR Law has expanded its Social Housing team again within less than a month.

Bukola Obadun-Craigs has joined the firm as a Partner and Head of Housing Management. She is based between our London and Birmingham offices.

Bukola specialises in residential property litigation in the social and affordable housing sector and in the last 12 months alone has acted for more than 100 registered providers of social housing including large housing associations and smaller not-for-profit providers.

Within the same timeframe she has acted for property developers, large housebuilders, private estates and individual property owners and acts as a board member on a Birmingham-based housing trust.

Litigation in the social and affordable housing sector is increasing, with public sector bodies facing an 11% rise in High Court litigation in the first half of last year.

Organisations are increasingly facing stricter regulatory standards and repair backlogs. This includes Awaab’s Law: a landmark piece of legislation in England that mandates strict timeframes for social landlords to fix serious housing hazards, such as damp and mould.

The law was named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who tragically died in 2020 due to prolonged exposure to mould.

Bukola said: “I’ve specialised in housing litigation within the social housing sector because I feel I can contribute to making a positive social impact in the sector. My work often sits at the intersection between law, public policy and social impact.”

Joint Head of Healthcare at HCR Law, Louise Crook, said: “Our team is growing to meet a significant increase in work in this sector.

“Welcoming Bukola on board, with her experience in this sector, will really benefit our clients.”