The right to private and family life, home and contact

The right to private and family life, home and contact is article 8 of the Human Rights Act. This right protects lots of day-to-day things like:

Your wellbeing
Having control and being involved in decisions about you
Being a part of your community, including the people and places that are important to you
Keeping in touch with people who are important to you
Keeping your private information safe
Being able to enjoy where you live. This does not mean you can be given a home automatically. But, it does mean if you have a home that you like, this shouldn’t be taken away from you.

There are some cases where staff in public services don’t need to follow this right to a family life. This should only happen if it is:

Lawful – is there a law saying this is allowed?
For a good reason – why is this decision being made? The good reasons are written down in the law and they cannot be made up. Normally a good reason is to keep you or other people safe.
It is the best option – All options have been thought about and considered to find the best thing to do. This is also called the least restrictive option.

Tim and Sylvia’s story is an example of this right being important in real life.