HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Index of Private Housing Rental Prices: January 2020
On 19 February 2020 the Office for National Statistics published an index tracking the prices paid for renting property from private landlords in Great Britain during January 2020. Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 1.5% in the 12 months to January 2020, up from 1.4% in December 2019. Private rental prices grew by 1.5% in England, 1.3% in Wales, and by 0.6% in Scotland in the 12 months to January 2020. London private rental prices rose by 1.3% in the 12 months to January 2020. For the full index, click here.

Five landlords named and shamed over cladding
Housing secretary, Robert Jenrick has named five building owners who have not fixed dangerous cladding on their properties - Adriatic Land 3 Limited, Chaplair Limited, Grangewalk Developments Limited, RMB 102 Limited and STG Management (London) Limited. For The Guardian article click here.

Welsh Government outline plans for social house building
Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are at the forefront of the Welsh Government’s plans for social housing building. The plans involve as much of each house being factory constructed in order to reduce labour times. Re-imagining social house building in Wales A Modern Methods of Construction Strategy for Social Housing can be downloaded here.

Plans for major expansion of dormant assets scheme
On 21 February 2020 the Government announced new plans to expand the dormant assets scheme. The government is consulting on expanding the scheme to the following sectors: Insurance and pensions, investment and wealth management, along with securities.

Assets proposed to be within the scope of the expansion include: dormant insurance policy proceeds, dormant share proceeds, dormant unit proceeds, dormant distributions and proceeds from investment assets, other dormant security distributions. Since the scheme was launched in 2011, redistributed funds have been used for affordable housing amongst other things. For the full announcement click here.

Citizens Advice figures: Council tax hardship
New research and statistics have been released in relation to those who seek help from Citizens Advice with council tax debt and their finances. 29% of debt problems seen by Citizens Advice in England during 2018-2019 were related to council tax. For the research and figures related to council tax click here. For the statistics into the budgets of those in debt click here. For related figures for council tax recovery originally published in November 2019 click here.

Biffa Waste Management: “New approach urgently required as risk of people sleeping in bins grows”
A new report by Biffa Waste Management has highlighted a rise of people sleeping in bins, industry guidelines not being actioned and makes several key recommendations. For the press release click here. To download the PDF report click here.

Landlord ordered to repay rent and pay fines totalling over £202,000
Harrow Crown Court heard that Olu Soyebo had converted a property in Wembley in 2009 without planning permission and that notice was served on him in 2001. Multiple notices had been sent to a number of London addresses to ensure that Mr Soyebo would be reached at home in Nigeria. His Honour Judge Tregilgas-Davey ordered Mr Soyebo to repay £190,000 in rent, fined him £12,000 and ordered him to pay the council’s legal costs. Click here for the full article.   

Fees for social housing regulation updated
On 20 February 2020 the Regulator of Social Housing updated the fees for social housing regulation guidance. To view the updated guidance click here.

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Sublet Property (Offences) Bill 2019-21
This private member’s bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would make the breach of certain rules relating to sub-letting rented accommodation a criminal offence; to make provision for criminal sanctions in respect of unauthorised sub-letting; and for connected purposes. The first reading was on the 10 February 2020 and the second reading is scheduled to take place on Friday 10 July 2020. The text of the bill has not yet been published. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Domestic Premises (Energy Performance) Bill
This private member’s bill, sponsored by Lord Foster of Bath, would require the Secretary of State to ensure that domestic properties have a minimum energy performance rating of C on an Energy Performance Certificate; to make provision regarding performance and insulation of new heating systems in existing properties. The first reading was on 8 January 2020 and the second reading on 7 February 2020. The committee stage will commence on a date to be appointed. For the bill, as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Rented Homes Bill
This private member’s bill, sponsored by Baroness Grender, would amend the Housing Act 1988 to abolish assured shorthold tenancies; and to extend the grounds upon which landlords of residential housing may recover possession. First reading took place on 22 January 2020. The second reading will be on a date to be announced. For the bill, as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill
This Welsh Government Bill seeks to amend the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to provide greater security for people who rent their homes in Wales. This will particularly affect those who live in the private rented sector and occupy their homes under a ‘standard occupation contract’, the equivalent to the current assured shorthold tenancy, after the 2016 Act comes into force. This additional security will primarily be achieved by extending the minimum notice period for issuing a section 173 notice under the 2016 Act (the equivalent of the current section 21 notice under the Housing Act 1988) from two months to six months. Landlords will also be prevented from issuing such a notice until at least six months from the date of occupancy. Further provisions will also ensure that landlords are unable to issue rolling ‘speculative’ notices on a ‘just in case’ basis. The bill was introduced in the Senedd on 10 February 2020. The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee has issued a call for evidence, which closes on 12 March 2020. For the bill, as introduced, all other documents relating to it, and to follow progress on the bill, click here.

Caravan Sites Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would amend the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 to remove planning permission requirements for caravan site licence applicants. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020 and is due to receive its second reading on 12 June 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Evictions (Universal Credit Claimants) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, seeks to place a duty on the Secretary of State to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants in rent arrears. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020 and is due to receive its second reading on 27 November 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Peter Bone, would require banks to provide current accounts for homeless people seeking work. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020 and is due to receive its second reading on 15 January 2021. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amendment) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, seeks to amend the Mobile Homes Act 1983. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020 and is due to receive its second reading on 12 June 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Mobile Homes and Park Homes Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would require the use of published criteria to determine whether mobile homes and park homes are liable for council tax or non-domestic rates; make provision in relation to the residential status of such homes; and amend the Mobile Home Acts. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020 and is due to receive its second reading on 16 October 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments
The Government is consulting on measures to criminalise the act of trespassing when setting up an unauthorised encampment in England and Wales and, in particular, on:

• amending section 62A of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to permit the police to direct trespassers to suitable authorised sites located in neighbouring local authority areas
• amending sections 61 and 62A of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to increase the period of time in which trespassers directed from land would be unable to return from three months to twelve months
• amending section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to lower the number of vehicles needing to be involved in an unauthorised encampment before police powers can be exercised from six to two or more vehicles
• amending section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to enable the police to remove trespassers from land that forms part of the highway.

For the consultation, which closes on 4 March 2020, click here.

Review of the ban on the use of combustible materials in and on the external walls of buildings
This consultation seeks views on the ban of the use of combustible materials in and on external walls of buildings, including building types covered, height threshold, list of exemptions, attachments such as blinds, shutters and awnings, and a proposal to specifically ban the use of metal composite panels in and on the external walls of all buildings. In the Explanatory Memorandum published alongside the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2018 the Government committed to review the effectiveness of the ban after one year. This is a consultation on proposed changes to the Regulations following that review. As part of the review, in June 2019 the Government commissioned a study of the impact of the ban which took the form of an online survey issued to 100 relevant organisations. The full analysis of responses to this survey have been published alongside this consultation. For the consultation document, which closes on 13 April 2020, click here. For the analysis of survey responses, click here. To respond to the consultation, click here.

Housing supply; net additional dwellings statistics: proposed changes to revisions policy
Housing supply; net additional dwellings statistics is the MHCLG’s main officially published measure of housing supply and currently no revisions to these figures are permitted after they have been published, except every ten years at the time of the new census. MHCLG is proposing to change this policy to have more frequent annual revisions to the release which will improve the accuracy of previous years’ estimates of housing supply. The consultation closes on 26 March 2020. For the consultation document, click here. Responses should be by email to Housing.Statistics@communities.gov.uk.

Regulator of Social Housing’s consultation on equality objectives
The Regulator of Social Housing has proposed three equality objectives which seek to strike an appropriate balance in meeting its general equality duty in its day to day work alongside a co-regulatory approach to regulation. Private registered providers, local authority registered providers, tenants, lenders and other interested stakeholders are invited to give feedback on whether they think the proposed objectives meet the RSH’s obligations under the Equality Act, and if appropriate activity has been identified to help achieve the overall objective. The consultation will close on 26 March 2020. For the consultation document, click here.

First Homes
This consultation seeks views on First Homes for local people, considering both the design of this policy and options for its implementation.

It covers the following areas:

• what First Homes are and who should be eligible for them
• how the scheme should work in practice
• how to deliver more of these homes through developer contributions
• the requirement for delivering these homes through planning or legislation.

The consultation closes on 3 April 2020. For the consultation document, click here.

Estate charges on housing developments – Wales
The Welsh Government is calling for evidence on:

• the services provided and the reasons why the practice might have become more common
• the costs involved and the experience of residents in relation to these charges.

The consultation closes on 30 April 2020. For the consultation document and to respond, click here.

Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill: call for evidence
The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee of the National Assembly for Wales is undertaking an inquiry into the general principles of the Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill.  The Committee’s terms of reference are to consider:

• the general principles of the Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill and the need for legislation to deliver the stated policy intention. In coming to a view on this you may wish to consider addressing the individual sections of the Bill;
• any potential barriers to the implementation of the Bill’s provisions and whether the Bill takes account of them;
• the appropriateness of the powers in the Bill for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation (as set out in Chapter 5 of Part 1 of the Explanatory Memorandum);
• whether there are any unintended consequences arising from the Bill; and
• the financial implications of the Bill (as set out in Part 2 of the Explanatory Memorandum).

The Committee seeks written evidence to assist in its consideration of the Bill and asks that respondents use the above terms of reference to frame their responses. The consultation closes on 12 March 2020. For the consultation letter, click here. For other information concerning the call for evidence, click here.

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Housing: recent developments Sam Madge-Wyld and Jan Luba QC Legal Action March 2020 ‒ to read the article (subscription required), click here

Housing conditions: update (Feb 20) Catherine O’Donnell Legal Action February 2020 ‒ to read the article (subscription required), click here

HOUSING LAW DIARY

4 March 2020                           
Consultation closes on Strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments (see Housing Law Consultations)

12 March 2020                         
Call for evidence closes on Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill (see Housing Law Consultations)

26 March 2020                         
Consultation closes on Housing supply; net additional dwellings statistics: proposed changes to revisions policy (see Housing Law Consultations)

26 March 2020                         
Consultation closes on Regulator of Social Housing’s consultation on equality objectives (see Housing Law Consultations)

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RECRUITMENT

Featured Job of the Week

Housing Needs Officer:
(CHOU012)

Mid Sussex District Council – Haywards Heath, West Sussex
Salary: £25,801 pa - £27,905 pa  + Car Allowance up to £1,239 pa

The right candidate will enthusiastically embrace our proactive housing options approach in preventing homelessness – involving finding innovative and imaginative solutions for people in housing difficulties, enabling them to retain their current home or achieve a planned move to alternative accommodation. 

It is essential that you have a full driving licence and use of car, for which an allowance will be paid.

For more details about the role please go to: 
https://www.midsussex.gov.uk/about-us/working-at-mid-sussex/

Close date: 23 March 2020          

Various Positions

Housing Solutions (Maidenhead)
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Coventry City Council
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Coventry City Council
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Tower Hamlets Council
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Brent Council
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Leeds City Council
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Three Rivers District Council
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