Lime Legal's
Housing Law Week

General Editor: Jan Luba QC

7th October 2015 Update

POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW

New protections for private sector tenants

New UK Government guidance has been published describing the measures in the Deregulation Act 2015 to tackle retaliatory eviction which came into force on 1 October 2015. For a copy of the guidance, click here The free How to rent: the checklist for renting in England has been updated to reflect the changes. For a copy, click here

  

Ending private sector tenancies

On 30 September 2015, the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Notices and Prescribed Requirements (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 introduced a new prescribed form of Section 21 Notice for use under the Housing Act 1988. For the regulations, click here  For the explanatory memorandum giving reasons for the last-minute correction of the form of notice, click here For the official webpage containing the new notice, click here  For a legal commentary, click here

  

Council and housing association rent reductions

On 28 September 2015, the UK Government published an impact assessment of its proposed reductions to, and further restrictions of, social housing rents in England. For the document, click here  The proposals are at present contained in the Welfare Reform & Work Bill (see below) which will continue its passage through Parliament when it resumes on 12 October 2015 after the ‘conference-season’ recess.

  

Hoarding in social housing

The Chartered Institute of Housing has published a new guide for social landlords on how to tackle hoarding by tenants of social housing. For a copy, click here

  

Safety in private rented housing

From 1 October 2015, landlords have been required by law to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their rented properties. In its announcement accompanying the introduction of the new provisions, the UK Government estimated that this could help prevent more than 25 deaths and nearly 700 injuries a year. For the announcement, click here  Landlords who fail to install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms will face civil penalties of up to £5,000. Local fire and rescue authorities have purchased a limited number of alarms for free distribution to landlords. For further details, click here For a legal commentary on the new provisions, click here For the House of Commons Library briefing on the new obligations, click here

  

Homelessness in England

The latest quarterly official statistics on homelessness applications to local authorities in England have been published. For the full figures, click here For the latest information briefing from the House of Commons Library on the key homelessness indicators for England, click here

  

Tackling rogue landlords

The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for stronger sentencing guidelines for magistrates and a wider range of penalties so that the small minority of rogue landlords who exploit their tenants are properly held to account for renting out sub-standard accommodation. For details of the LGA’s position click here A new local Rogue Landlord project is bringing together council officers, the local fire service, the CAB and the law centre to tackle poor housing in Luton. For more details, click here

 

Housing benefit

The HB Direct newsletter provides information on policy changes, good practice and initiatives that affect Housing Benefit. On 2 October 2015, the DWP released the October issue of HB Direct. For a copy, click here

 

New Property Ombudsman Codes

The Property Ombudsman (TPO) has issued new Codes of Practice which came into effect from 1 October 2015. They have been approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. The Codes of Practice are to be used by TPO members when a property is located in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. For the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Letting Agents, click here For the TPO Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents, click here

 

Accommodation for Care Leavers

A new step-by-step framework document has just been published explaining how care leavers can best be helped with getting accommodation. For a copy, click here

 

Street Homelessness

On 2 October 2015, Homeless Link sent an open letter to local authorities inviting them to enhance their emergency support for people who sleep rough this winter. For the text of the letter, click here

 

Private sector tenancies in England

On 1 October 2015, the organisation Generation Rent launched a new rights guide for private sector tenants. For more details about Know your rights as a UK tenant, click here

 

Private sector tenancies in Wales

The provisions of sections 35 and 36 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 have been brought into force in Wales for tenancies entered into after 1 October 2015. The carrying on of a home business will no longer entitle domestic tenants to renew tenancy agreements as business tenancies. For the Act, click here For the commencement order in Wales, click here

 

Starter homes for young buyers

The UK Government’s forthcoming Housing Bill (see below) is expected to contain proposals to facilitate and encourage the building of starter homes for young first time buyers. For a copy of the new Commons Library Briefing on the topic, click here

 

Announcing Lime Legal's

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HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Welfare Reform and Work Bill

This UK Government Bill was published on 9 July 2015. It makes provision about: (1) the benefit cap; (2) social security and tax credits; (3) loans for mortgage interest; and (4) social housing rents. It had its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 20 July 2015 and is being considered in detail by a public bill committee during September and October. For the Bill, click here For the explanatory notes, click here To follow the progress of the Bill, click here. For the documents relating to the Bill (including several impact assessments), click here The Committee which will review the Bill has issued a call for written evidence. For the details, click here  For the official records of the Committee debates to date, click here For the latest CPAG update on the Bill, click here For the Memorandum to the Joint Committee on Human Rights from the UK Government about the Bill, click here

 

Immigration Bill

This UK Government Bill was published on 17 September 2015. Clauses 12-15 address residential tenancies.  They would create four new offences to target those landlords and agents who deliberately and repeatedly fail to comply with the right-to-rent scheme by letting to tenants subject to immigration restrictions or fail to evict tenants who they know or have reasonable cause to believe are disqualified from renting as a result of their immigration status. For a copy of the Bill, click here  For the Explanatory Notes on Clauses, click here   For the official Impact Assessment, click here For a housing lawyer’s commentary, click here The Commons Second Reading is scheduled for 13 October 2015. For the ILPA Information sheet on the Bill, click here For the Migrant Rights Network’s Briefing on the Bill, click here To follow the progress of the Bill, click here

 

Housing Bill

This UK Government Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 28 May 2015 but has yet to be published. For the official outline of its content, click here The official briefing about the Queen’s Speech contains the details at pages 27-29. For that, click here For a commentary on the likely content of the Bill, click here  On 4 July 2015 the Chancellor and the Prime Minister released a joint statement indicating that their plans, “which will form part of the Housing Bill to be introduced this autumn, include steps to build discounted homes for first time buyers on all reasonable sized developments, unlock public land for hundreds of thousands of new homes and back small builders with planning changes” (emphasis added). For the statement, click here

Renting Homes (Wales) Bill
This is a Welsh Government Bill introduced in the Welsh Assembly. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the Explanatory Memorandum, click here To monitor the progress of the Bill, click here The Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee has completed its examination of the Bill and has made 37 recommendations. The Bill is expected to resume its Committee Stage in the Assembly (Stage 2) tomorrow – 8 October 2015. For the amendments marshalled for discussion, click here and scroll to the foot of the webpage.

Housing (Amendment) Bill
This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 30 June 2015 by the Northern Ireland Executive. It would make provision for the better sharing of information relating to empty homes or to anti-social behaviour and provide for the registration of certain loans as statutory charges. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the explanatory memorandum (listed under ‘All associated documents and links’), click here  For a commentary on the Bill, click here The Bill has been referred to the Committee for Social Development which has responsibility for the Committee Stage of the Bill. For further details of that stage, click here . To read the evidence submitted to the Committee, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

 

Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill

This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 7 September 2015 by the Northern Ireland Executive. It would make provision for and in connection with the licensing of houses in multiple occupation In Northern Ireland. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the explanatory memorandum, click here  To follow the progress of the Bill, click here

 

Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill

This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Karen Buck MP. It would amend the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human habitation. It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled for 16 October 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill, click here For a commentary on its content, click here

 

Local Government Finance (Tenure Information) Bill

This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Dame Angela Watkinson MP. It would amend the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make provision for collecting information about tenure and the details of private landlords. It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled for 30 October 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill, click here

 

Crown Tenancies Bill

This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Mark Pawsey MP. It would provide that Crown tenancies (mainly of properties owned by Government Departments) may be assured tenancies for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988, subject to certain exceptions, and would modify the assured tenancies regime in relation to certain Crown tenancies (including by provision of a new ground for possession).  It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading had been scheduled for 11 September 2015 but was objected-to and has now been put back to 6 November 2015. For a copy of the Bill, click here For the Explanatory Notes, click here  For details on the progress of the Bill, click here For the House of Commons Library Briefing note that has been prepared for the Second Reading, click here  

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NEW HOUSING CASES

Lazar v Hungary

1 October 2015

The applicants brought a claim for damages against a housing cooperative and two individuals on 15 October 2002. Although the claim initially succeeded, it was finally dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 30 November 2010, over eight years later. The European Court of Human Rights held that the delay amounted to a breach of the right to a fair trial in Article 6 and awarded the applicants jointly 3,200 euros in respect of non-pecuniary damage and 1,000 euros costs. For the judgment, click here

 

Warwick District Council v Rajvir Rai and Bhajno Rai

26 September 2015

The defendants were private landlords of a four-storey HMO let as four bedsits. Council officers found:(1) no working fire alarms; (2) inadequate means of escape from fire; (3) many of the doors to the rooms were not fire doors; (4) only one smoke detector – which was not operational; (5) the door to the kitchen had been removed; and (6) no current Gas Safety Certificate. The defendants admitted a series of offences in relation to the property. At Nuneaton Justice Centre, they were fined £25,000 with £2,472.08 in costs and victim surcharges. For details of the prosecution, click here

  

London Fire Authority v Muhammad Ashraf

25 September 2015

Following a fatal fire at a property let by the defendant landlord, fire officers found a number of serious fire safety breaches including: (1) the front door was the only dedicated fire exit and was fitted with a mortice lock which, without use of a key, prevented  it from being used in case of an emergency; (2) no fire detectors or smoke alarms; (3) no firefighting equipment; (4) no proper fire risk assessment in place for the property; and (5) none of the doors provided 30 minutes fire resistance in the event of a fire. At Snaresbrook Crown Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to four offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. He was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. The sentence was suspended and he was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and pay £22,684 in prosecution costs. For details of the prosecution, click here

  

Peterborough Council v Nazia Sultana and Parvaiz Akhtar

24 September 2015

The defendants were the landlords of a property found to be very badly insulated, with defective windows and entrance door, and with an inadequate central heating system. There were also exposed electrical wiring and poor bathroom facilities. At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, they were found guilty of failing to comply with two improvement notices which had required remedial works. Each was fined £4,500 for the two offences with costs of £750: a total of £9,750. For details of the prosecution, click here

  

Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service v Ishaq Hussein

24 September 2015

The defendant was a landlord of a house converted into flats. An inspection identified several contraventions of the fire safety regulations, including no firefighting equipment, no emergency lighting, a fire alarm that had been inoperative for more than two years and no records of a fire risk assessment. He pleaded guilty to 12 charges brought under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order and was committed to Reading Crown Court for sentence. The sentencing judge said that the appropriate sentence was six months imprisonment on each offence, to run concurrently but this was  reduced to four months imprisonment in light of the early guilty pleas. For details of the prosecution, click here

  

Carmarthenshire County Council v X

23 September 2015

The defendant was a council tenant. After repeated but failed attempts to service his gas boiler, the council applied for an entry warrant under the Housing Act 2004. Llanelli Magistrates’ Court granted the warrant to enable the council to force entry into the property in order to allow gas contractors to check and service the boiler. Although forced entry was not, in the event, required on execution of the warrant, the tenant is now liable for the costs of the application. For more details, click here

 

CH/4631/2014

22 September 2015

A social housing tenant occupied a property which her landlord had designated as having three bedrooms. Her housing benefit was reduced on the basis that she had one ‘spare bedroom’. On appeal, the first-tier tribunal decided that the room in question was, by reason of its size and configuration, not properly capable of being described as available for use as a bedroom and it allowed an appeal. The council brought a second appeal. That was dismissed by the Upper Tribunal as there was no arguable error in the first appeal decision. For a commentary on the case (including a copy of the judgment), click here

 

Mann v Shelfside Holdings Ltd

15 September 2015

A tenant took a tenancy of a farm. The tenancy was binding as between him and his immediate landlord. At a time when the immediate landlord no longer had any proprietary interest in the land, the freeholder re-took possession. The eviction had not been unlawful. The High Court judgment contains a useful restatement of the rule that possession is granted in accordance with strict property rights. The tenant’s remedy (if any) lay against his own landlord. The freeholder had not, on the facts, been prevented by any earlier representation from recovering possession. For the judgment, click here

 

Complaint against London Borough of Lambeth

14 September 2015

In 2006, the complainant exercised the right to buy her council flat. It took until November 2014 for her to complete the purchase. She had complained to the Local Government Ombudsman about the council’s handling of the sale. The council only completed the sale shortly after she complained to the ombudsman for a fifth time. The LGO found the council at fault because it had again not progressed the sale for 13 months, and, despite assurances to the contrary, had not paid the £500 remedy it had agreed in 2013 on an earlier complaint. The LGO investigation also found the council at fault for its poor communication about the lack of progress of the sale. The council agreed to apologise and pay another £500 to acknowledge the uncertainty, frustration, distress and inconvenience caused. For the investigation report, click here

 

Peterborough Council v Giuseppe Liguori

9 September 2015

The defendant was a private landlord. A council inspection of the house he had let found serious mould growth, dampness and inadequate ventilation. The house also had an unsuitable electrical installation and no adequate external lighting. The council served improvement notices requiring remedial work. At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was found guilty of failing to comply with the notices. He was fined £4,500 for each of the two offences with costs of £800: total £9,800. For more details of the prosecution, click here

 

 
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS   

New measures on Local Courts for Housing Cases

The Ministry of Justice is consulting on the closure of 91 courts and tribunals across England and Wales, and the integration or merger of 31 more. This represents a reduction in capacity by 139 county court rooms (17% of all county court rooms) and 63 tribunal rooms (13% of all tribunal rooms). For the consultation documents, click here The consultation closes on 8 October 2015. The Law Society has produced a series of campaigner packs to help respondents raise the issue with MPs and AMs. For details, click here

Taxation of Private Renting
On 17 July 2015, the UK Government launched a consultation on the reform of the ‘Wear and Tear Allowance’ applicable to property businesses. The reform is designed to improve the consistency and fairness in the taxation of residential property businesses. For the consultation paper, click here Responses are due by 9 October 2015.


NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Recent Developments in Housing Law Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2015] October issue of Legal Action magazine. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the article on-line, click here  For back-issues of this series of articles, click here

Right to buy throws petrol on an already blazing housing crisis Dawn Foster [2015] Guardian Housing Network 2 October. To read the article, click here

Social landlords must be wondering how much longer they can survive Jane Dudman [2015] Guardian Housing Network 24 September. To read the article, click here

Is there a risk that housing associations could become ‘public bodies’ and be ‘privatised’? John Perry [2015] CIH Blog 30 September. To read the article, click here

Imposing conditions on selective licences Matthew Paul [2015] Local Government Lawyer 24 September. To read the article, click here

Above average fines for Peterborough landlords Stuart Spear [2015] Environmental Health News Blog 30 September. To read the article, click here  

London’s homelessness crisis is spilling into the home counties Lizzie Presser [2015] Guardian 30 September. To read the article, click here

Government must act now to stop rise in homelessness Jon Sparkes [2015] The Politics Blog 28 September. To read the article, click here

Baby who was forced to sleep in car with homeless parents in Bournemouth dies Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith [2015] The Independent 27 September. To read the article, click here

Homeless families forced to move from their local area doubles in a year Claire Miller and Julia Rampen [2015] The Mirror Group 2 October. To read the article, click here

Homelessness can and must be prevented Kevin Garvey [2015] Shelter Policy Blog 28 September. To read the article, click here

A gas safety reminder Chris Green [2015] Inside Housing 28 September. To read the article, click here

 

THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

8 October 2015           
Deadline for responses to UK Government consultation on court closures in England & Wales (see Housing Law Consultations, above)

9 October 2015            
Lime Legal’s Social Housing Tenancy Agreements Conference 2015 in London. For details click here

9 October 2015            
Deadline for responses to UK Government’s consultation on the taxation of income from residential property (see Housing Law Consultations, above)

13 October 2015           
House of Commons Second Reading of the Immigration Bill (see Housing Laws in the pipeline above)

16 October 2015         

Lime Legal’s Allocations Conference 2015 in London. For details click here

16 October 2015          

House of Commons Second Reading of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill (see Housing Laws in the pipeline above)

30 October 2015          
House of Commons Second Reading of the Local Government Finance (Tenure Information) Bill (see Housing Laws in the pipeline above)

6 November 2015          
House of Commons Second Reading of the Crown Tenancies Bill (see Housing Laws in the pipeline above)

13 November 2015          
Lime Legal's ASB & Social Housing Conference 2015. For further details click here

 

RECRUITMENT

Tower Hamlets Law Centre

Housing Law Solicitor/Experienced Caseworker (full time)

Tower Hamlets Law Centre is seeking to appoint a full time Housing Law Solicitor or Experienced Caseworker. 

We have recently had our funding from Tower Hamlets Council agreed to 2018, we also have a Legal Aid Agency Contract that covers legal help and certificated cases and representation at court as part of the duty solicitor scheme.  The post holder will take over an existing case load and must have at least one year experience of advising and assisting in all areas of housing law.

If you are interested in the post, please send an email to recruitment2015@thlc.co.uk to request an application pack.

Tower Hamlets Law Centre is committed to equal opportunities; we welcome applications from all sections of the community.

Closing date for applications is Monday 12th October 2015 and interviews are scheduled for Friday 16th October 2015.

Salary: £25,000 to £29,500 (negotiable)

Location: Tower Hamlets

Address: Unit 1 St Anne’s Street 2, off 789 Commercial Road, London E14 7HG.

 

Tenancy Sustainment Officer

 

Full time, permanent

 

Salary: £29,727 - £31,986

 

Are you passionate about helping people facing homelessness?

Can you work in a fast-paced environment?

The Housing Options Service at Barnet Homes is at the frontline of homelessness in Barnet, providing housing and homelessness advice in one of the most popular places to live in London.

We have restructured to meet the challenges of increasing housing demand and reduced supply and are now looking for highly motivated and enthusiastic people to join our Homeless Prevention team.

TheThe Tenancy Sustainment Officer will have a proven track record of preventing homeless by working with landlords to keep tenants in their homes. They will provide specialised casework and will need a strong working knowledge of Landlord and Tenant Law, court procedures, welfare benefits and the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 in order to be successful in the role.

Closing date: 11 October 2015

For more information please click here

 

GT Stewart Solicitors & Advocates



Three Housing Solicitor vacancies

We are a leading Legal Aid firm with vacancies in London and Kent for Housing solicitors to work within the Housing Team Department.

We are seeking the following:-

  1. A Housing solicitor who is very experienced in housing law or can attain Legal Aid Agency Housing Category Supervisor Status for our Dartford Office. 
  2. Two Housing solicitors for our Camberwell office. 

Interested candidates should email their CV and covering letter to recruitment@gtstewart.co.uk

Closing date for applications: 7 October 2015

Take advantage of the opportunity to advertise your job vacancies here FREE
Call us on 01249 701555 or email details of the vacancy to info@limelegal.co.uk

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If you have any comments, support queries, suggestions or ideas for articles or would like to subscribe to this newsletter please email info@limelegal.co.uk or call us on 01249 701555.