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HOUSING LAW NEWS
Policy
Issues in Housing Law
Housing & anti-social behaviour
(1)
The House of Commons Library has published a new free Briefing Note
setting out the substantial changes to the law on anti-social behaviour
which came into force last month as a result of the Anti-social Behaviour
Crime and Policing Act 2014. For a copy, click
here
Housing & anti-social behaviour (2)
The UK Government reports that its Troubled Families programme, of
funded intervention in the lives of 100,000 households associated with
anti-social behaviour, is working to reduce incidents of such behaviour.
For the announcement made on 29 October 2014, click
here For the statistical data relating to results claimed by
local authorities for families turned around within the Troubled Families
programme by the end of August 2014, click
here
Private Renting (1)
The House of Commons Library has published a new free Briefing Note
setting out the evidence on why private landlords might refuse to let to
Housing Benefit claimants and the extent of the problem. For a copy, click
here
Private Renting (2)
On 1 December 2014, the provisions of the Immigration Act 2014 relating to
landlord lets to migrants start coming into force (initially in the West
Midlands). The Immigration
(Residential Accommodation) (Prescribed Requirements and Codes of
Practice) Order 2014 sets out the requirements for the prescribed
identity checks which must be complied-with by landlords when entering
into a residential tenancy agreement. For a copy of the Order, click
here For the
Explanatory Memorandum about the Order, click
here The Order
also brings the statutory Codes of Practice into force. The Home Office
has been consulting about the content of the Codes. The Immigration
(Residential Accommodation) (Prescribed Cases) Order 2014 sets out
circumstances – in addition to those in section 20 of the 2014 Act –
in which a residential tenancy agreement will and will not be treated as
being entered into for the purposes of the civil penalty scheme. For the
Order, click
here. For the Explanatory
Memorandum, click
here
Private Renting (3)
The organisation Ombudsman Services has just published a new free
guide for students renting in the private sector. For a copy of Know
Your Rights, click
here
Migrants and housing
In October 2014, a new report – Migrants and Housing in the
UK: Experiences and Impacts – was published by the Migration
Observatory at University of Oxford. It found that UK-born individuals and
foreign-born individuals have similar levels of participation in social
housing. For the report, click
here
Homelessness
Researchers at Northumbria University have considered the life
histories and causes of homelessness of over 80 people in Newcastle. They
found evidence of anti-social behaviour on the part of homeless people,
with high incidences of drug and alcohol abuse, mental health problems,
violent behaviour, familial breakdown, negative social networks,
unemployment and dependency on benefits, begging, sex work and crime.
However, the research indicated that these problems were often caused by
homelessness itself. For more details of the research, click
here
The Law on Trespass
The House of Commons Library has published a new free Briefing
Note setting out the broad rules relating to trespass on land in criminal
and civil law. For a copy, click
here
Social housing tenants and debt
In October 2014 new research was published about how households in
social housing are responding to Welfare Reform and whether the reforms
are achieving their ambition of getting people into work and reducing
public spending. It shows that almost three quarters of all households are
in debt and average debts are at the highest recorded levels, as is debt
uncertainty. For the full report, click
here
Gypsies and Travellers
The House of Commons Library has published a new free Briefing
Note setting out the specific planning policies in relation to gypsy and
traveller site provision, recent changes made by Government to give
stronger protection to green belt and future proposed changes in this
area. For a copy, click
here
Discretionary housing payments
The
journal Inside Housing commissioned the New Policy Institute to
analyse how London Boroughs spent their allocation of funds for DHPs in
2013/14. For the results, click
here
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Housing
Laws in the Pipeline
Affordable Homes Bill
This Private Members Bill would (1) introduce three new exemptions
to the application of the under-occupation deduction from Housing Benefit
(or the housing element of Universal Credit) for claimants who are deemed
to be under-occupying their social rented homes and (2) secure a review of
the availability of affordable and intermediate housing by the Secretary
of State. The bill was in its House of Commons Committee Stage on 29
October 2014 but that stage has been adjourned until after the House
has passed a money resolution for the spending the Bill will incur. For
the sponsoring MP’s reaction to the adjournment of the proceedings, click
here For more
details about the bill and its progress, click
here
Consumer Rights Bill
This is a government bill that relates to housing by: (1) repealing and
replacing laws dealing with unfair terms in tenancy agreements and other
contracts; and (2) requiring letting agents to publish their fees. The
bill is currently in its House of Lords Committee Stage which resumed on 3
November 2014. For more details about the bill and its progress, click
here
Deregulation Bill
This is a government bill that relates to housing by: (1) reducing the
qualifying period for right to buy; (2) removing the power to require
preparation of housing strategies; and (3) amending the law on tenancy
deposits. The bill is currently in its House of Lords Committee Stage
which resumed on 4 November 2014. For more details about the bill
and its progress, click
here
Tenancies (Reform) Bill 2014-15
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Sarah Teather MP. For her
explanation as to why it is being introduced, click
here Its purpose is to protect tenants against retaliatory
eviction and to amend the law on notices requiring possession relating to
assured shorthold tenancies. The government has stated that it supports
the principles of the Bill which will have its second reading on 28
November 2014. For more details about the bill and its progress, click
here The All Party
Parliamentary Group for the Private Rented Sector has launched a
consideration of the Bill’s proposals and issued a call for the
submission of evidence. For more details, click
here For the response
submitted by the Race Equality Foundation, click
here
Carers Bedroom Entitlement (Social Housing Sector) Bill
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Barbara Keeley MP. Its
purpose is to provide that people living in the social housing sector, who
are in receipt of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit, be entitled to that
benefit based on needing an additional bedroom related to caring
responsibilities or overnight care. For a copy of the Bill, click
here
The Bill’s Commons Second Reading is scheduled for 21 November
2014. For further details, click
here
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NEW
HOUSING LAW CASES
Secretary
of State for Communities and Local Government v Ioannou
31
October 2014
Without planning permission, a house owner converted his house into five
flats. The local council served an enforcement notice. The owner appealed
to an inspector. In the course of the appeal, the council said that it
would prefer a three flat conversion, rather than restoration to a single
house, if the owner’s intention would be to rent out a single house as
an HMO. The inspector dismissed the appeal, holding that he had no power
to grant permission for three flats but extending time for compliance with
the notice so that a three-flat planning application could be made. The
High Court decided that he could have granted planning consent to three
flats. The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal. The inspector had no such
power. For the judgment, click
here
Francis v Phillips
31
October 2014
This appeal raised two major issues about service charges. First, did the
threshold for statutory consultation about ‘qualifying works’ trigger
when aggregated costs across all items of work hit the £250pa threshold
or only when specific sets or types of work did? Second, could a landlord
charge both a fixed percentage for management services and the actual
costs of the staff of its management company? The Court of Appeal rejected
the aggregating approach to the first issue and, on the second, it held
that the particular leases did not allow for double-recovery. For the
judgment, click
here
Eze (Ezeugo) & Anor v Health and Safety Executive
31
October 2014
Mr Eze’s wife became the owner of an office block in Harwich. The couple
obtained planning permission to convert it into flats. In 2013, as a
result of complaints from residents during the conversion works, the HSE
sent in inspectors who considered the works were being carried out in a
dangerous fashion. Prohibition notices were served but work continued. In
June 2014 at Chelmsford Crown Court, Mr Eze was convicted of five offences
under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. He was sentenced to a
total of 30 months imprisonment. He appealed to an Employment Tribunal
against the notices. It dismissed his appeal. He brought a further appeal
to the High Court. It dismissed his appeal but allowed an appeal by his
wife. For the judgment, click
here
Oldham MBC v Tricia O’Connor and Jason Wakeford
30
October 2014
Using new powers contained in the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2014 Part 4
Chapter 3, the council and Greater Manchester Police worked together to
deal with premises let by the social landlord First Choice Homes Oldham
which were a source of drug-related anti-social behaviour. Tameside
Magistrates’ Court made a three-month premises closure order after
Community Safety Officers and police received numerous complaints from
residents over anti-social behaviour and criminality. For further details,
click
here
R(Moseley) v Haringey LBC
29
October 2014
Following the abolition of council tax benefit, the council consulted
residents about the introduction of a local council tax reduction scheme.
The consultation document was premised on the assumption that the council
could not absorb the costs of granting a 100% rebate to all the poorest
households in its area. The Supreme Court declared that the consultation
had been unlawful. A fair and open consultation would have set out the
range of options, including the possibility of the council absorbing the
costs and making savings elsewhere. The judgments set out the latest
modern guidance of what the law requires in a lawful consultation
exercise. For the judgment, click
here For a longer summary, click
here
R(Mensah and Bello) v Salford CC
28
October 2014
Because of their immigration status, the claimants – who were single
parents – were not eligible for homelessness assistance, social housing
or welfare benefits. The council agreed to accommodate them with their
children under Children Act 1989 section 17. It covered utility bills and
council tax and then provided the cash equivalent of what the Home Office
paid to destitute asylum seekers. The High Court dismissed a claim for
judicial review which had suggested that it was unlawful for the council
to set the payment level that low. For the judgment, click
here
Cambridge CC v Coppola
24
October 2014
The defendant was a private landlord. The council carried out inspections
of an HMO he ran. It found that the property was unsafe due to the risk of
fire and the danger of smoke spreading at the property. The kitchen and
bathroom were also inadequate for the number of people living there. The
council served an improvement notice but works were not carried out. At
Cambridge Crown Court, the defendant pleaded guilty to four offences under
Housing Act 2004 and a further offence under the Local Government
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976. He was fined £10,000 with costs of
£2,500. For more details of the prosecution, click
here
Salford CC v Ismail Wan
16
October 2014
The defendant was a private landlord. He was prosecuted by the council
after failing to respond to a series of improvement notices and leaving a
vulnerable tenant living in ‘dangerous, unhygienic, cold and unpleasant
conditions’ for over a year. At Manchester Magistrates Court, he was
fined £510 and ordered to pay costs of £1,500 and a £20 victim
surcharge. For more details of the prosecution, click
here
Bondarenco v Moldova
16
October 2014
A council tenant lived in block of flats which was under threat of
collapse. In 2000, the council moved the tenants out and demolished the
block. The tenant sought a replacement council flat. In a judgment in
2003, she obtained a court order requiring the council to provide her with
a flat. By 2014 it had not been enforced. The government said that there
were a number of such unenforced judgments with which local councils did
not have the funds to comply. The European Court of Human Rights held that
the failure of the state to comply with the court’s order amounted to a
breach of Article 6 and Protocol 1, Article 1.
For a copy of the judgment, click
here
Campbell v Secretary of State for Communities
6
October 2014
The claimant was a Traveller. She bought land, placed her caravan on it
and sought planning permission to live in it. The local council refused
permission and she appealed. An inspector refused to grant temporary,
conditional or full permission. The High Court rejected an appeal. The
inspector had made a lawful decision.
The neutral citation is [2014] EWHC 3375 (admin).
Hillingdon LBC v Shalini Largey
3
October 2014
The defendant was the principal director of McKane Holdings, a property
company. She appeared for sentencing at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court having
pleaded guilty, on behalf of the company at an earlier hearing, to failing
to comply with enforcement notices requiring it to cease the illegal use
of an outbuilding and to demolish it. A couple with a young baby had been
living there as tenants. McKane Holdings was fined £14,666, ordered to
pay costs of £1,655 and a victim surcharge of £120. For more details of
the prosecution, click
here
Ealing LBC v Antonio Ioviera
3
October 2014
The defendant was a private landlord.
He owned a three storey house divided into seven bedsits. It was an
unregistered HMO. A council inspection found a catalogue of safety
hazards. The only smoke alarm in the building, which was home to up to 12
people at a time, had been dismantled and water was leaking from the first
floor bathroom into light fittings and the rooms underneath, making the
ceiling unsafe and the electrics dangerous. There were many other defects.
At Ealing Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was found guilty of 13
offences including being responsible for an unlicensed HMO. He was fined
£18,150 with £5,510.01 costs and a £120 victim charge, making a total
of £23,780.01. He was given one month to pay. For more details of the
prosecution, click
here
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