5th April 2017
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HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Disabled people and housing
On 3 April 2017 the Equality and Human Rights Commission published a report – Being disabled: a journey less equal – which, it says, is the most comprehensive analysis ever on how the rights of disabled people are protected in Great Britain. The report covers six key areas of life. Within the section on ‘Standard of Living’ the report notes that disabled people face problems in finding adequate housing and this is a major barrier to independent living. There is a shortage of accessible housing across Britain: of councils in England with a housing plan, fewer than 17% have set out strategies to build disabled-friendly homes. The report also states that a higher proportion of disabled people have been affected by the under-occupancy charge (bedroom tax) than non-disabled people: at least 47% of housing benefit claimants affected by the under-occupancy charge have a disability. Families with a disabled child have also been affected by the charge. In Scotland the amount of wheelchair-adapted local authority housing for physically disabled people has decreased. “As resources become scarcer, and funding for specialist services for disabled people disappears, disabled people are finding it more and more difficult to access support.” To read the report, click here To read the executive summary, click here To read a press release, click here For supporting information and a video, click here

Local Housing Allowance
On 31 March 2017 the Chartered Institute of Housing published research showing that “in some areas the gap between the shared room rate of the local housing allowance (LHA), which single people who are under 35 and renting in the private sector receive to contribute to their housing costs, and the cheapest private rents in the area, means virtually all of the properties are out of reach.” CIH has urged the government to review LHA rates “as this research highlights they clearly no longer reflect the price of renting in the private market in many areas”. For more details, click here

Client Money Protection
On 27 March 2017 the DCLG published the outcome of its working group review into whether it would be appropriate to recommend mandating that Client Money Protection (CMP) be taken out by letting agents. The recommendation of the working group was that the government should use its powers in the Housing and Planning Act 2016 to make Client Money Protection mandatory for agents in England that handle client money. For the outcome document, click here For an article on the matter by Shelter, click here

Retirement properties – Law Commission report on unfair fees
On 31 March 2017 the Law Commission published a report concerning retirement leasehold properties. The report says that residents could be being hit with unfair fees. After a two-year investigation, the independent law body has found that there is real potential for abuse in the charging of so called “event fees” or “transfer fees”. For the report and related press release, click here

Retirement properties – management fees
On 28 March 2017 the Homes and Communities Agency  published a note advising private registered providers who own or manage retirement leasehold accommodation of the management fee limits for the financial year 2017 to 2018. From 1 April 2017, the basic limit for the Leasehold Scheme for the Elderly management fee will be £430. The limit when management is contracted out to an agent who charges VAT will be £493. For the note, click here

Children and housing
On 27 March 2017 the Children’s Society published a study – Growing up in Hard Times – produced in partnership with the University of Bath. It follows the lives of 60 children, giving a child’s-eye view of growing up in poverty in Britain. The study says that the stress and uncertainty of repeatedly moving home is becoming a worryingly normal part of life for some children. The charity is calling for the government to ensure that financial support for housing costs increases in line with local rents for families who are renting privately. To read the report, click here To read the press release, click here

Homelessness Reduction Bill
On 30 March 2017 the DCLG published its response to two reports by the Commons Select Committee for Communities and Local Government: (1) on its inquiry into the causes of homelessness as well as the approaches taken by national and local government to prevent and tackle homelessness; and (2) its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Homelessness Reduction Bill, published on 14 October 2016. To access the response, click here

Households in temporary accommodation – England
On 28 March 2017  the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper providing background information on the increase in the number of homeless households placed in temporary accommodation by English local authorities and outlining various initiatives and issues associated with the increased use of temporary accommodation. To read the briefing, click here

Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme
On 30 March 2017 the DCLG published statistics showing cumulative sales since the launch of the Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme on 1 April 2013. They show that over that period 112,338 properties were bought (legal completions) with the support of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme; the majority of sales were to first-time buyers (90,724) representing 81 per cent of total sales; the average (mean) purchase price was £233,403; and the top six local authorities in terms of completed sales are Wiltshire (1,895), Central Bedfordshire (1,626), Leeds (1,604), County Durham (1,497), Wakefield (1,480) and Bedford (1,408). For the cumulative statistics, click here

Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme
On 30 March 2017 HM Treasury published statistics since the launch of the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme on 8 October 2013. Since then 101,960 mortgages have been completed with the support of the scheme. Of these, 80 per cent were purchases by first-time buyers. The total value of mortgages supported by the scheme is £15.2 billion. Compared to total mortgage completions in each region, the scheme has supported a higher proportion of mortgages in the East of England and Scotland, and a lower proportion in the South East and London. The mean value of a property purchased or remortgaged through the scheme was £158,248, compared to a national average house price of £220,000. For the statistics, click here

Help to Buy – Wales: Shared Equity Loan Scheme
On 29 March 2017 the Welsh Government published data which include information on the number of homes purchased and the value of the loans received under the Help to Buy – Wales: Shared Equity Loan scheme for October to December 2016. During that period 555 property purchases (to a value of equity loans of £20.4 million) were completed under the scheme, bringing the number of purchases since the scheme’s introduction on 2 January 2014 to 4,619. At 31 December 2016 there were 528 applications for loans still outstanding. Homes purchased through the scheme between 1 October and 31 December 2016 to first time buyers accounted for 78 per cent of all completions. To access the data, click here

Legal aid and housing cases
On 30 March 2017 the Ministry of Justice published legal aid statistics for 1 October to 31 December 2016. Following the introduction of LASPO 2013 the volume of legally-aided housing work halved between July to September 2012 and July to September 2013. The trend then fluctuated for around 18 months but since 2014 it has been falling, and in October to December 2016 there was a 12 per cent decrease compared to the same quarter the previous year. Workload figures in this category of law are driven by legal help, which comprised 80 per cent of overall housing legal aid volume in the latest quarter. For the whole of 2016 housing accounted for £30 million of spending on civil legal aid. For the statistical bulletin, click here

Private rented housing – rent control
On 3 April 2017 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper providing an overview of the debate around rent control/regulation and including some information on a small selection of international rent regimes. To read the briefing, click here The House of Commons Library has also published a short history of rent control. To read the history, click here

‘Bedroom tax’ amendments – Northern Ireland
The Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (Size Criteria) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017, which for the most part come into force on 20 April 2017, amend the Housing Benefit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 [Housing Benefit Regulations], the Housing Benefit (Persons who have attained the qualifying age for state pension credit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (the Housing Benefit [State Pension Credit Regulations], and the Universal Credit Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 [Universal Credit Regulations]. The Regulations give effect to the judgment of the Supreme Court in R (Carmichael and Rourke) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and R (Rutherford and another) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions) [2016] UKSC 58 relating to “bedroom tax”. For the 2017 Amendment Regulations, click here For the Housing Benefit Regulations, click here For the State Pension Credit Regulations, click here For the Universal Credit Regulations, click here

Gypsy and traveller sites – Wales
On 29 March 2017 the Welsh Government published its latest biannual report which includes information on authorised, unauthorised and local authority sites. There were 934 Gypsy and Traveller caravans reported in Wales on 16 January 2017. There were 115 sites across Wales. Comparing the January 2016 and January 2017 count, the number of caravans has increased by 5 per cent (39 caravans) on authorised sites. There were 44 caravans on unauthorised sites on land owned by Gypsies and Travellers, accounting for 5 per cent of all caravans. A further 69 caravans (7 per cent of all caravans) were on unauthorised sites not owned by Gypsy and Travellers. There were 409 pitches on Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities in Wales on 16 January 2017. For the report, click here

Affordable homes
On 3 April 2017 the Human City Institute published The Human City Manifesto to mark HCI’s 21st anniversary. The Manifesto is based on more than two decades of HCI’s research, initiatives and experiments, and a review of literature related to health and sustainable cities. It sets out 12 indicators of what makes settlements – cities, towns villages – more “human”: these include “Affordable Lives”, including an affordable home. The report makes 30 practical suggestions for operationalizing a more “shared society” by realising the potential of citizens and communities. To read the report, click here

House Purchase Grant – Wandsworth
On 31 March 2017 Wandsworth Council reported that the number of council tenants buying a home on the open market or through shared ownership through a local scheme has reached a ten-year high, “freeing up dozens of homes for families in need”. Forty-seven tenants have taken up a House Purchase Grant from the council in the past 12 months, up from 32 last year. This has saved an estimated £2.8million in temporary accommodation and housing costs. For more details of the council’s House Purchase Grant, click here and of low cost home ownership initiatives, click here

Rough sleepers
On 2 April 2017 Crisis published a report which states that councils across England and Wales are targeting rough sleepers with antisocial behaviour measures such as Public Space Protection Orders and Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs). An accompanying survey of 458 recent or current rough sleepers found that nearly three in four (73 per cent) had experienced some kind of enforcement in the past year, with one in ten having experienced a formal measure with legal penalties. Experiences of informal measures not involving legal penalties were far more common – with the most frequent experience having been informally moved on by a police officer or enforcement agent (56 per cent within the last 12 months). To read the report, click here To read the associated press release, click here
HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Homelessness Reduction Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Bob Blackman which seeks to amend the Housing Act 1996 to make provision about measures for reducing homelessness; and for connected purposes. The Bill has completed all its stages in the House of Commons and received its Third Reading in the House of Lords on 23 March 2017. The Bill now awaits Royal Assent, for which a date has yet to be set. For the Bill as introduced in the House of Lords, click here For progress of the Bill, click here For all the debates on all stages of the Bill click here On 17 January 2017 the DCLG announced that councils would receive a further £48 million funding to help deliver new and expanded services under the Bill; for the announcement, click here and for the Local Government Association’s response to the announcement, click here The House of Commons Select Committee for Communities and Local Government has published a report following its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill; to read the report, click here For the Government’s response, published 30 March 2017, click here For the Law Society’s parliament briefing on the Bill, click here For the House of Commons Library briefing paper published on 27 March 2017, click here For a series of factsheets published by the DCLG and providing further background information on the measures within the Bill, click here

Renters’ Rights Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Grender which seeks to provide tenants and prospective tenants with certain rights, including affording access to a local housing authority’s database of rogue landlords, ending certain letting fees and providing for certain mandatory electrical safety checks. The Bill had its Second Reading on 10 June 2016 and completed its Committee stage on 18 November 2016; for a record of the debate, click here It will enter its Report stage on a date to be announced. For the Bill as amended in Committee, click here To read debates at all stages of the Bill’s passage, click here For progress of the Bill, click here

Crown Tenancies Bill

This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Wendy Morton which seeks to provide that ​Crown tenancies may be assured tenancies for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988, subject to certain exceptions; to modify the assured tenancies regime in relation to certain Crown tenancies; and for connected purposes. It completed its Committee stage, without amendment, on 1 March 2017 and is due to have its Report stage and Third Reading on 12 May 2017. To read debates on all stages of the Bill, click here For the Bill as introduced, click here For progress of the Bill, click here For a research briefing from the House of Commons Library providing background on the Bill, click here

Housing (Tenants' Rights) Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced by Caroline Lucas which seeks to establish a Living Rent Commission to conduct research into, and provide proposals for, reducing rent levels in the private rented sector and improving terms and conditions for tenants; to require the Secretary of State to report the recommendations of the Commission to Parliament; to introduce measures to promote long-term tenancies; to establish a mandatory national register of ​landlords and lettings agents; to prohibit the charging of letting or management agent fees to tenants; and for connected purposes. The Bill is being prepared for publication and its Second Reading has been postponed to 12 May 2017. For progress of the Bill, click here

Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill
This Bill is currently at Stage 1. The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Bill. The Committee is inviting submissions of written evidence to assist in its consideration of the Bill. Submissions should arrive by 28 April 2017. For progress of the Bill, the text of the Bill itself and explanatory memorandum, click here and scroll down.
NEW HOUSING CASES

Turley v London Borough of Wandsworth (Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government intervening) [2017] EWCA Civ 189
In 1995, Wandsworth LBC (“the First Respondent”) granted a secure tenancy to Roger Doyle under the Housing Act 1985 as a sole tenant of a four-bedroom property (“the Property”). Mr Doyle lived at the Property with his long-term partner, Susan Turley (“the Appellant”), and their children.

Mr Doyle moved out of the Property in December 2010 following a breakdown in the relationship with the Appellant. He returned to the Property in January 2012 and died in March 2012 due to poor health.

The Appellant sought to argue that she was entitled to succeed to Mr Doyle’s tenancy under section 87 of the Housing Act 1985 (“HA 1985”). This provided that a person can succeed to a secure tenancy if they occupied the property as their only or principal home at the time of the tenant’s death and either (a) they are the tenant’s spouse or civil partner or (b) they are another member of the tenant’s family and resided with the tenant throughout the period of 12 months ending with the tenant’s death.

On an ordinary reading of section 87 HA 1985, the Appellant was therefore not entitled to succession. She did not fall under section 87(a) because she was not married to Mr Doyle and nor did she satisfy section 87(b) because only three months had elapsed since Mr Doyle moved back in to the Property before he died.

Issues
The essential issue raised in this case was whether this state of affairs breached the Appellant’s rights under the European Convention of Human Rights (“ECHR”).

The Appellant argued that married couples and unmarried couples living as man and wife (which the court referred to as ‘common law spouses’) were in an analogous position. Section 87 of the HA 85 should therefore be construed to provide the same treatment for married and unmarried couples to avoid breaching Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) and Article 8 (right to respect for private family life) of the ECHR. Accordingly, she contended that she had a right to succeed to the tenancy or that the First Respondent were obliged to grant her a fresh secure tenancy. The Appellant also sought a declaration of incompatibility in the alternative. Because the case included a claim for a declaration of incompatibility, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government was joined as an interested party.

Judgment
Appeal dismissed. The Court of Appeal held that the 12 month residence requirement served a legitimate aim and that it was a proportionate means of achieving that aim.

Local authority secure tenancies are a valuable and limited resource and the right of succession to family members must be balanced against the interests of others on the council waiting list and of the council themselves in making the best use of housing stock. For this reason, it has been a policy to require a degree of permanence in the relevant relationship. This is inherently satisfied in cases of spouses who have entered a legal marriage or civil partnership but there is no such formal commitment in the case of a common law spouse or other family member. The 12 month condition could not be said to be manifestly without reasonable foundation. It was the best available objective demonstration that a relationship has the necessary quality of permanence and constancy.

NOTE
The court also noted two recent legislative changes. Firstly, the Localism Act 2011 inserted section 86A into the HA 1985 for secure tenancies granted after 1 April 2012. This would, inter alia, equate the position of a common law spouse with that of a legal spouse and remove the 12 month residence requirement for unmarried couples. However, section 86A did not apply in the present case because Mr Doyle’s tenancy had been granted before 1 April 2012. (This change does not apply to Wales, where section 87 remains in force even for tenancies granted after 1 April 2012.)

Secondly, the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will, when brought into force, insert section 86G into the HA 1985, which will bring succession provisions for pre-April 2012 secure tenancies into line with those for tenancies granted since that date. Section 86G did not apply in the present case as it will only apply to cases where the tenant dies after the amendment has come into force. (Changes will also be made to the Welsh legislation by a different statutory route.)

The court stated that the change in the statutory regime did not mean that the old regime had always been unjustifiable. Whether the change should have retrospective effect was a decision on which the legislature had a wide margin of appreciation and the decision to apply it prospectively only was not manifestly without reasonable foundation.

Summary by Clara Zang, barrister, Arden Chambers.  For the full judgment click here.

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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 – Guidance relating to supported accommodation
The Welsh Government is consulting on: statutory guidance landlords must follow when temporarily excluding a contract-holder under a supported standard contract; and non-statutory guidance to assist landlords and local authorities in carrying out their functions relating to extending the relevant period before a tenancy or licence for supported accommodation becomes an occupation contract. The aim of the guidance is to make the legal process clearer for landlords and local authorities to follow and implement. For the consultation document and for the means by which to respond, click here The consultation ends on 28 April 2017.

Fixing our broken housing market
As part of the housing white paper the DCLG is also consulting on changes to planning policy and legislation in relation to planning for housing, sustainable development and the environment. The consultation, including details of how to respond, can be found in the white paper. For the white paper, click here To respond online, click here The consultation ends on 2 May 2017.

Planning and affordable housing for Build to Rent
This consultation seeks views on planning measures to support an increase in Build to Rent schemes across England. This includes changing the National Planning Policy Framework policy to support and to increase the number of new Build to Rent homes, and the provision of Affordable Private Rent homes as the main form of affordable housing provision on Build to Rent schemes. The consultation seeks to promote the availability of longer tenancies (of 3 years or more) in Build to Rent accommodation, to those tenants who want one. For the consultation paper, click here To respond online, click here The consultation ends on 1 May 2017.

Changes to the frequency of Help to Buy Wales statistical outputs
Data on the Help to Buy – Wales Shared Equity Loan Scheme are published on Stats Wales on a monthly basis, covering activity at the local authority level. The Welsh Government publish a Statistical Headline every three months plus an annual release. On 1 March 2017 the Welsh Government opened a consultation on proposals to reduce the frequency of these data outputs from May 2017 onwards to bring them in line with the publication of other statistics on housing supply. To respond to the consultation, click here The consultation closes on 24 May 2017.

EHRC inquiry and Call for Evidence: Housing for Disabled People
The Equality and Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry into housing for disabled people in December 2016, and called for evidence in February 2017.  Submissions from disabled people and relevant organisations should be made by 18 April 2017. The Commission will look at whether the availability of accessible and adaptable housing, and the support services around it, is fulfilling disabled people’s rights to live independently.  For more information, click here

Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill
The  Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of this Bill. The Committee is inviting submissions of written evidence to assist in its consideration of the Bill. Submissions should arrive by 28 April 2017. For more details, see Housing Laws in the Pipeline.
HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Housing repairs: update John Beckley [2017] March issue of Legal Action. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. For the latest issue, click here

RTB and Airbnb in Southwark Giles Peaker [2017] Nearly Legal 28 March. To read this article, click here

Why private renters in England worry about losing their home John Bibby [2017] Shelter Blog 28 March. To read this article, click here

Recent Developments in Housing Law Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2017] March issue of Legal Action. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. For the latest issue, click here

Change afoot for homeless families on Universal Credit Vicky Pearlman [2017] Shelter Blog 29 March. To read this article, click here

Just too much effort… Barnet and homeless applications Giles Peaker [2017] Nearly Legal 30 March. To read this article, click here

Supported housing is a vital lifeline for thousands. So why is it being cut? David Orr [2017] Guardian 30 March. To read this article, click here

The Housing and Planning Act Starts to Bite David Smith [2017] Residential Landlords Association 30 March. To read this article, click here

It's a housing class war as the Tories set their sights on young people Dawn Foster [2017] Guardian 31 March. To read this article, click here

This benefit cut will make youngsters homeless. It’s another Tory failure John Healey [2017] Guardian 1 April. To read this article, click here

A game-changing approach to repairs and maintenance James Shaw and Colin Harnor [2017] CIH Online 3 April. To read this article, click here

Does enforcement play a role in addressing rough sleeping? Dr Ben Sanders [2017] Crisis Blog 4 April. To read this article, click here
THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

6 April 2017                  
Commencement of Rent Repayment Orders and Financial Penalties (Amounts Recovered) (England) Regulations 2017

10 April 2017                
Commencement of various sections in Part 2 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016

18 April 2017                
Deadline for submissions to EHRC inquiry and Call for Evidence: Housing for Disabled People (see Housing Law Consultations)

28 April 2017                
Consultation closes on Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 – Guidance relating to supported accommodation (see Housing Law Consultations)

28 April 2017                
Consultation closes on Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill (see Housing Law Consultations)

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Neighbourhood Officer
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
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Housing Solicitor
Ealing Law Centre
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Homeless Prevention Officer
Wyre Forest District Council
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Trailblazer Coordinator (Homeless Prevention)
Brighton & Hove City Council
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Voids & Legal Disrepair Manager
Hackney Council
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Housing Advice Officer
Boston Borough Council
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Housing Support Officer Tier 1
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Housing Officer
Riverside
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Information and Advice Officer
Cornwall Housing
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Ashfield District Council
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