21st June 2017
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HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Grenfell Tower – assistance to local authorities
On 15 June 2017 Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, confirmed that the government emergency assistance scheme – the Bellwin scheme – had been activated to “support the immediate response operation following the horrific incident at Grenfell Tower”. Under the scheme, financial assistance is available to local authorities to help with immediate costs following a disaster or emergency in their area that involves danger to life or property. They can apply to have 100 per cent of their eligible costs above a threshold reimbursed. For the DCLG announcement, click here

Grenfell Tower – letter from the London Mayor to the Prime Minister
On 16 June 2017 Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, wrote to the Prime Minister regarding the Grenfell Tower fire. He set out the action that he believed the Government needed to take as a matter of urgency. Those actions related to: victim support and information; relief organisation; tower block safety; and the need for a public inquiry. With regard to the last issue, his letter concludes: “I would urge you to ensure, in the terms of reference of the inquiry, that an interim report is published this summer, at the latest, and that the terms of reference include all aspects of fire safety standards and inspection in high-rise towers. I would also urge you to ensure that residents and other interested parties are not saddled with any legal costs for participating in the inquiry, and receive the quality legal representation they deserve. Finally, I would seek an assurance that if the inquiry or police investigation finds any individual or organisation to have been negligent in their duties, then they will be prosecuted.” To read Sadiq Khan’s letter, click here

Grenfell Tower – response of Local Government Association
On 16 June 2017 the Local Government Association issued an updated response (following that of the previous day). Lord Porter, Chairman of the LGA, said: “Following the horrific fire at Grenfell Tower, councils with tower blocks in their local area have been working with their local fire service, and undertaking urgent reviews of their high-rise buildings. Fire risk assessments and the construction of buildings are being reviewed and double checks are being made to ensure remedial work recommended under previous assessments has been carried out. Councils are also working closely with tenants to review and offer fire safety advice. Councils take the safety of residents extremely seriously. We need to know with certainty how this fire started and why it spread so quickly so that councils can start to take any action needed. The LGA continues to work closely with councils, the Government and fire chiefs to help coordinate national efforts in response to this dreadful disaster. The thoughts of the whole local government family remain with the victims and families affected by this devastating fire, the local community and the emergency services.”

Grenfell Tower – legal framework under which fire risks in tower blocks are managed (England)
On 16 June 2017, following the fire at Grenfell House, the House of Commons Library developed a page to provide an overview of the legal framework under which fire risks in tower blocks are managed in England. It covers the building regulations, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the Housing, Health and Safety Rating System. To access that page, click here

Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund
On 18 June 2017 the Prime Minister confirmed further details of how the £5 million emergency Grenfell Tower Residents’ Discretionary Fund will be distributed. Every household whose home has been destroyed as a result of the fire will receive a guaranteed £5,500 minimum down payment from the fund. This will be made up of a £500 cash payment and £5,000 delivered through the Department of Work and Pensions into bank accounts or similar in a single payment. For further details, click here BBC News reported that as of 19 June 2017 more than £200,000 of the fund had been distributed among 180 families directly affected by the fire. For the report, click here

Grenfell Tower – safety checks
On 19 June 2017 Melanie Dawes CB, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Communities and Local Government, wrote to local authority and housing association chief executives about safety checks following the Grenfell Tower fire. In the letter she says: “While the exact reasons for the speed of the spread of fire have yet to be determined, we have concluded that there are additional tests that can be undertaken with regard to the cladding. We are therefore asking local authorities and other registered providers of social housing to identify whether any panels used in new build or refurbishment are a particular type of cladding made of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM). More details on how to identify this cladding are in the attached technical note and the Homes and Communities Agency can offer expert support in surveying your properties if necessary. It is important to stress that ACM cladding is not of itself dangerous, but it is important that the right type is used.” To read the letter and to access the attached technical note, click here For a statement from Sajid Javid, the Secretary of State, concerning the safety checks, click here

Grenfell Tower – support for people affected
On 19 June 2017 the DCLG and Home Office published advice on where to seek urgent assistance and information, including the official helplines for the incident. It also provides guidance on support services available for victims and all those affected by the fire. To access the information, click here

Grenfell Tower – pro bono legal help
On 19 June 2017 The Law Society Gazette reported that lawyers and specialist housing advisers from homelessness charity Shelter and the Housing Law Practitioners Association are working with North Kensington Law Centre to run free daily drop-in advice clinics. The sessions, at Unit 15, Baseline Studios, Whitchurch Rd, will run from 10am-5pm every day. For more details, click here

Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman
On 19 June 2017 it was announced that the name of the Local Government Ombudsman has been changed to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman. This has been done to help people know that the office looks at complaints about all areas of adult social care, including privately arranged or funded care. The LGSCO emphasises that nothing has changed about the way it works. For the announcement, click here

Armed Forces housing
On 15 June 2017 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper looking at current issues with Service accommodation including reports of poor maintenance, increased rents and uncertainty over future accommodation plans. To read the briefing, click here

Housing Benefit
On 14 June 2017 the DWP published Housing Benefit subsidy circular S10/2017. The circular contains details of the Rent Rebate Subsidy Limitation arrangements. Provisions for the 2017/18 arrangements are being made by an amendment order to the Income-related Benefits (Subsidy to Authorities) Order 1998. This order is subject to consultation with the local authority associations before being laid before Parliament. To access the circular, click here

Local Housing Allowance and the social rented sector
On 16 June 2017 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper explaining the Government's intention to apply Local Housing Allowance rates to tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit in the social rented sector. Implementation has been delayed until April 2019. Legislation to implement this measure has not been introduced yet. For the briefing paper, click here

Planning for housing
A number of reforms to the system of planning for housing were put forward in the previous Conservative Government's Housing White Paper, which the new Government will need to respond to and decide how to take forward. On 14 June 2017 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper setting out how local authorities are directed to plan for housing, concern about unplanned developments, and the proposals for reform in this area. To read the briefing, click here

Private housing rental prices
On 13 June 2017 the Office for National Statistics published an experimental price index of prices paid for renting property from private landlords. The index states that private rental prices paid by tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.8% in the 12 months to May 2017; this is unchanged from April 2017. In England, private rental prices grew by 1.9%, Wales saw growth of 0.9% while Scotland saw rental prices decrease (negative 0.1%) in the 12 months to May 2017. London private rental prices grew by 1.3% in the 12 months to May 2017, 0.5 percentage points below the Great Britain 12-month growth rate. To access the index, click here

Rough sleeping – detention and removal of migrants
On 16 June 2017 Crisis reported that a complaint has been filed with the EU Commission against the UK Government’s policy of detaining rough sleepers from the European Economic Area and sending them back to their country of origin. The complaint comes from FEANTSA, an umbrella body representing homelessness organisations across Europe, who claim the policy abuses EU free movement rights and criminalises vulnerable people. To read the Crisis report, click here

House building – Wales
On 14 June 2017 the Welsh Government published information for 2016-2017 on the number of new dwellings started, where building has commenced and those completed. The number of new dwellings started increased by 2 per cent, compared to the previous year, to 6,871 dwellings. This is the second highest annual number recorded since the start of the recession in 2007 -08. In contrast, the number of new dwellings completed fell slightly (by 1 per cent) during 2016-17. However the 6,833 new dwellings completed during 2016-17 still represented the second highest number of completions recorded since 2008-09. During 2016-17, the number of new dwellings completed for both the private and social sectors decreased by 1 per cent compared to the previous year. For the full statistics, click here

Public spaces protection orders
On 13 June 2017 the Local Government Association published guidance setting out the issues to consider where local areas are contemplating introducing a PSPO, and offering practical guidance on the steps to take if councils choose to do so. The LGA says that the guidance should be read in conjunction with the Home Office’s statutory guidance on the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. For the LGA guidance, click here For the Home Office’s information note concerning PSPOs, click here For the 2014 Act, click here

Right to rent
On 16 June 2017 the Residential Landlords Association reported the results of a survey of its members which indicated that nearly half of landlords are less likely to rent homes to tenants without a British passport as a result of the immigration tests they have to make. 58 per cent of landlords were now less likely to consider letting to those with permission to stay in the UK for a limited time-period. For the full results of the survey of 912 landlords, click here For an RLA article concerning the findings, click here
HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Abolition of the Right to Buy and Associated Rights (Wales) Bill
This Bill is currently at Stage 1 in the Welsh Assembly. The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Bill. The Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee considered the Bill on 3 April 2017. For progress of the Bill (including the Committees’ scrutiny), the text of the Bill itself and explanatory memorandum, together with proceedings of the ELCG Committee and correspondence arising from them, click here and scroll down.

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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Energy efficiency and condition standards in private rented housing in Scotland
The Scottish Government has designated energy efficiency as a National Infrastructure Priority, the cornerstone of which will be Scotland’s Energy Efficiency Programme. This 15 to 20 year programme is intended to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings, supporting efforts to reduce climate change emissions and tackle fuel poverty. This consultation asks for views on proposals to improve the energy efficiency and condition standards in privately rented housing in Scotland. The consultation closes on 30 June 2017. For more details, click here

Regulatory reform of social landlords – Wales
On 8 May 2017 the Welsh Government launched a consultation on reforms that will enable the Office for National Statistics to reclassify RSLs back to the private sector for accounting purposes, including:
disposal consents; power to direct the permitted use of disposals proceeds; restructuring and dissolution; regulatory powers; and local government controls. The consultation closes on 3 July 2017. To access the consultation document, click here
HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

The election result may have more to do with housing than we think John Perry [2017] CIH Blog 14 June. To read this article, click here

The election is over, the country has decided – what comes next for housing and homelessness Robin White [2017] Shelter Blog 14 June. To read this article, click here

The Guardian view on the Grenfell Tower fire: never again Editorial [2017] Guardian 14 June. To read this article, click here

The need for answers in response to the Grenfell Tower Kate Webb [2017] Shelter Blog 15 June. To read this article, click here

Lenders in crackdown on 'secret' buy-to-lets Richard Dyson [2017] Telegraph 15 June. To read this article (for which a subscription is necessary), click here

Fire safety: what should housing organisations be thinking about? Debbie Larner [2017] CIH Blog 16 June. To read this article, click here

Grenfell Tower fire litigation ‘inevitable’ John van der Luit-Drummond [2017] Solicitors Journal 16 June. To read this article, click here

Preference for existing social housing tenants Christopher Baker and Richard Granby [2017] Local Government Lawyer 16 June. To read this article, click here

Grenfell Tower fire: Lawyer calls for inquest instead of public inquiry asking 'What needs to be hidden?' Jon Sharman [2017] The Independent 16 June. To read this article, click here

After Grenfell Tower, councils and experts need to take back control of housing Letters [2017] Guardian 16 June. To read the letters, click here

Crisis? What crisis? John Stewart [2017] RLA Online 16 June. To read this article, click here

In the wake of the Grenfell Tower calamity – and regardless of it – asserting property rights is not enough Paul Goodman [2017] Conservative Home 16 June. To read this article, click here

Eight failures that left people of Grenfell Tower at mercy of the inferno Sarah Knapton and Hayley Dixon [2017] Telegraph 16 June. To read this article, click here

Six vital questions that must be answered about Grenfell Tower Poppy Noor [2017] Guardian 16 June. To read this article, click here

Housing benefit: update 2017 Bethan Harris, Desmond Rutledge and Kevin Gannon [2017] June issue of Legal Action. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. For the latest issue, click here

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

After Grenfell Tower unbridled anger won’t make our homes any safer Deborah Orr [2017] Guardian 17 June. To read this article, click here

The Observer view on the Grenfell Tower fire Editorial [2017] Observer 18 June. To read this article, click here

The Grenfell protesters are right. Red tape saves lives Chi Onwurah [2017] Guardian 18 June. To read this article, click here

Why the Grenfell Tower tragedy needs a rapid public inquiry, not an inquest Louise Christian [2017] Guardian 19 June. To read this article, click here
THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

30 June 2017                
Consultation closes on Energy efficiency and condition standards in private rented housing in Scotland (see Housing Law Consultations)

3 July 2017                  
Consultation closes on Regulatory reform of social landlords – Wales (see Housing Law Consultations)
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