Caroline Crawford joined Sheikh & Co in February 2003 as head of the housing departments at our Finsbury Park office and our Southall branch. Caroline is a caseworker specialising in housing law and has done so for over 11 years. As supervisor of housing she also provides training throughout the firm on housing law and in particular the relationship between immigration and housing rights. She firmly believes in proactive supervision and training for team members under her guidance

She is committed to legal aid work and has been practicing for over 11 years in publicly funded work. Caroline started out in the voluntary sector advising in a housing rights centre in Oxford and representing tenants at Oxford County Court on the free advice scheme. This experience sealed her commitment to representing people who are homeless, threatened with homelessness or in unsuitable housing. She has wide advocacy experience in possession proceedings, disrepair and unlawful eviction cases and a large proportion of her cases are homelessness appeals, judicial reviews of public bodies, (such as local authorities and central government) and disrepair.

Caroline left the voluntary sector in 2000 for her first position in private practice at a leading legal aid firm leaving there to take up her first position as a housing supervisor. After 3 years in that position she joined Sheikh & Co in order to set up our new housing Departments.

Caroline has successfully challenged refusals of council’s to provide accommodation under the Housing Act 1996, failures to treat permanent housing applications fairly, obtained orders for works and compensation for tenants suffering in properties in disrepair, compensation for unlawful eviction, emergency injunctions where NASS or the Government have refused to accommodate and support people subject to immigration control and prevented possession Orders being made in cases ranging from rent arrears to allegations of subletting, nuisance and abandonment.

Caroline and her team are committed to approaching their client’s cases proactively and holistically which often means addressing multiple and related issues such as Housing Benefit problems and Community Care and Children Act issues.

Finally Caroline has been actively involved in campaigning and working with Community Groups over the years including management committee work for advice centres on a voluntary basis . She is also a member of HLPA and the legal aid sub group.