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HOUSING LAW NEWS
Policy
Issues in Housing Law
Eviction
of tenants
The latest official statistics show that in the three months October to
December 2014 there were 10,380 repossessions by county court bailiffs in
England and Wales in claims brought by landlords. That is up 8% on the
same period in 2013. The total number of repossessions in the year 2014
was 41,965. That is up 11% on 2013. For the full figures, click
here
Private rented sector: new statutory controls
On 11 February 2015, the UK Government successfully promoted amendments to
the Deregulation Bill to make a series of changes to the law relating to
private sector tenancies in England. For the debate on the amendments, click
here
For a briefing on these private renting provisions of the Bill submitted
by Citizens Advice, click
here For the relevant briefing note prepared by the House of
Commons Library on Retaliatory
eviction in the private rented sector, click
here For the DCLG policy paper explaining the changes, click
here For an
environmental health perspective on them, click
here
Private renting: tenant safety
The Chief Fire Officers Association has called for
the mandatory installation and repair of smoke alarms in rented dwellings
and the introduction of mandatory annual electrical safety checks by
landlords. For more details, click
here
Private renting: the CAB perspective
Citizens Advice is campaigning for better protections
for private renters. For details of its objectives and its campaign
activities, click
here
Housing disrepair
The regulator of social housing in England has issued
a regulatory notice to the housing association Circle Anglia Limited
indicating that it failed to meet the Home Standard and that as a
consequence of this breach there was the potential for serious detriment
to tenants. The risk of serious harm was evident because a large number of
tenants, including vulnerable tenants, have been, and continue to be,
affected by the failure to complete emergency and urgent repairs on time.
The regulator is considering what further action should be taken,
including whether to exercise any of its powers. For a copy of the notice,
click
here
Housing and anti-social behaviour
The procedures for serving closure notices and then
obtaining closure orders, in respect of properties that are the source of
nuisance and other anti-social behaviour, are not as often used as might
be expected. However, one London council reports that it has issued seven
notices and secured three closure orders in just three months. For
the details, click here
Short-term lets in London
The UK Government has published a paper setting out its policy on
short-term use of residential property in London. The paper explains the
intentions behind the provisions of, and amendments to, the Deregulation
Bill (see below) that the Government promoted at Lords Report Stage on 11
February 2015. For a copy, click
here
For the Housing Minister’s
statement to Parliament on the policy, click
here
Homelessness
The NSPCC has published a new report on homelessness which deals with the
prospects for babies living in homeless households. For a copy of An
unstable start - All babies count: spotlight on homelessness, click
here
Housing law reform
The Welsh Government has introduced at Renting
Homes (Wales) Bill in the Welsh Assembly which will reform the legal
basis for renting a home from a private landlord or community landlord,
including local authorities and registered landlords. The Bill, based on
Law Commission regulations, is dealt with under ‘Housing
Laws in the pipeline’ (below)
Housing & Mental Health
The National Housing Federation has published The
Mentally Healthy Society - the report of the taskforce on mental health in
society. For a copy, click
here
Shared ownership
The London Assembly is conducting an investigation
into shared ownership in the capital as part of which it is undertaking a
survey on Londoners' experiences of shared ownership. For the survey form,
click here Orbit HA and CIH have jointly
published Shared ownership 2.0:
towards a fourth mainstream tenure: final report. For a copy, click
here
Housing Benefit
The
DWP has just published the latest findings from its survey of local
authority activity on Housing Benefit fraud and error. For a copy, click
here
A new study from Sheffield
University entitled Direct Payment
of Housing Benefit: Are Social Landlords Ready? has been published.
For a copy, click here
Financing for council housing
A
new briefing note from Commons Library has been published: Local housing authorities: the self-financing regime, progress and
issues. For a copy, click
here
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Housing
Laws in the Pipeline
Household Safety (Carbon
Monoxide Detectors) Bill 2015
This private members Bill
would introduce a requirement that a functioning carbon monoxide detector
be installed in all newly built and all rented residential properties. A
second reading is scheduled for Friday 6
March 2015. For a copy of the Bill, click
here.
Private Rented Sector
(Decent Homes Standard) Bill
This private members Bill
would require private landlords to ensure that any property they let meets
the requirements of the Decent Homes Standard. It is moved by Conservative
MP Laura Sandys. For her description of the Bill’s proposals, click
here For the debate on
its introduction, click
here For more details
of the Bill itself, click
here The Second Reading is scheduled for Friday 6
March 2015.
Carers
Bedroom Entitlement (Social Housing Sector) Bill
This private members Bill is also expected to have its second reading
debate on 6 March 2015. I would provide that people in receipt of
Universal Credit and Housing Benefit and accommodated in the social
housing sector should be entitled to an additional bedroom related to
caring responsibilities or overnight care. For a copy of the Bill, 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. For
more details about the bill and its progress, click
here The bill has
completed its House of Lords stages and the consideration of Lords
Amendments by the House of Commons took place on 12 January 2015.
The Commons disagreed with Lords Amendment 12 and have returned
the Bill to the House of Lords. The Bill now travels back and forth
between the two Houses, until both agree on the text of the Bill. A motion
to extend the carry-over period of the bill by 67 days until 30 March 2015 was
agreed on 12 January 2015 following the consideration of Lords amendments.
The Bill is scheduled to receive further Parliamentary consideration on 24
February 2015. If passed, the Act is then expected to come into force in
October 2015. The UK Government is consulting on the draft guidance it
proposes to issue on the new unfair terms provisions. For the consultation
papers, 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 has completed its House of Lords Committee Stage and
Report Stage and is scheduled to have its Third Reading on 4 March 2015. For more
details about the bill and its progress, click
here For the
Government amendments passed on 11 February 2015 designed to insert
provisions relating to retaliatory eviction into the Bill (and to achieve
the other changes described above), click
here For the Bill as it appears with the amendments included, click
here
Renting (Homes) 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. There is a consultation exercise associated with the content
of the Bill, see below.
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NEW
HOUSING LAW CASES
Health
and Safety Executive v HIS Energy Ltd
13 February 2015
A householder agreed to have cavity wall insulation work carried out by
the defendant company as part of a scheme subsidised by energy suppliers.
The company’s employees drilled holes through the house bricks, before
using a machine to blow thousands of insulation beads into the cavity
between the outer and inner walls. A pile of beads lodged in the back of a
gas boiler. When it was used a few hours later, the blockage caused the
death of the homeowner and injury to her son by carbon monoxide poisoning.
At Manchester Crown Court, the company was found guilty of a single breach
of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and fined £500,000 with £24,968.44
costs. For details of the prosecution, click
here
Health & Safety Executive v Andrew and Deborah Hopkinson
12 February 2015
The defendants were private landlords. An HSE investigation found six
instances of the gas safety checks not taking place within the maximum 12
month period, with checks ranging between five days and 15 months overdue.
A gas boiler had not been serviced for 18 months when it was isolated for
safety purposes and found to be producing high levels of carbon monoxide.
At Truro Magistrates’ Court, each defendant pleaded guilty to two
breaches of gas safety regulations. They
were each fined £7,000 with £209 costs each.
For details of the prosecution, click
here
R (Kent County Council) v The Secretary of State for Health
11
February 2015
A disabled man had lived in two London boroughs before being provided –
in 2009 – with NHS accommodation in Kent. In 2010, NHS funding was
withdrawn and the two councils could not agree which of them had to fund
his further accommodation under National Assistance Act (NAA) 1948 section
21. On being invited to settle the dispute, the Secretary of State decided
Kent was responsible. It sought a judicial review. The Court of Appeal
dismissed the claim. The pre-amendment version of section 24(6) of the NAA
only deemed NHS hospital patients not to be residing in the area of a
hospital. It did not exempt residents of other NHS accommodation (although
it has since been amended). For the judgment, click
here
Sanneh v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and linked appeals
10
February 2015
The claimants were "Zambrano carers" i.e. non-EU citizens
responsible for the care of an EU citizen child. They sought to establish
that they were entitled to access to social housing and homelessness
assistance on the same basis as EU citizens lawfully resident in the UK.
The Court of Appeal rejected their claims and held that they were only
entitled to be given as much assistance under Children Act 1989 section 17
as would enable them to support themselves in order to be the carer for
the EU citizen child within the EU. Regulations made in November 2012 to
prevent their access to social housing and homelessness assistance had
been lawfully made. For the judgment, click
here For a commentary
on the decision, click
here
Royal
Borough of Kensington and Chelsea v Doveplay Limited
10
February 2015
The company was the owner of a building with planning consent for use as
an HMO. Council officers
discovered that the property had been converted without planning
permission into studio apartments for tourists and issued an immediate
planning contravention notice. In January 2015 the council served a
planning enforcement notice giving the company six months to convert the
property back into 13 HMO units and two months to stop using it as
temporary sleeping accommodation and revert it back to permanent
residential use. At Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court, the company pleaded
guilty to not responding to a request for information from the council and
was fined £800 for non-compliance with the planning contravention notice
with £3,214.60 costs. For details of the prosecution, click
here
Graham-York v York
10 February 2015
A mortgage borrower died. His estate did not meet his mortgage repayments
or defend a claim for possession. When the lender sought to execute the
warrant for possession, the borrower’s former cohabitee, who was living
in the house, applied to be joined in the proceedings and to be granted a
beneficial interest. A judge awarded her 25% of the proceeds of sale after
the mortgage had been cleared. She appealed, contending that 25% was too
little and in any event should be paid out to her before the lenders were
paid. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. For the judgment, click
here
Aylesbury Vale District Council v Kamran Qurban
10
February 2015
The defendant was a private landlord of a three storey, seven-bedroom HMO.
He had no HMO licence. The property had no smoke alarms, fire doors or
fire extinguishers and the kitchen and refrigeration facilities were
inadequate for the amount of people living in the house. At Aylesbury
Magistrates’ Court, he was fined £15,000 for failing to register the
property as an HMO and £1,000 each for breaching four HMO regulations. He
was also ordered to pay £5,521 costs and a £120 victim surcharge, taking
the total to £25,521. For details of the prosecution, click
here
R(James) v HMP Birmingham
9
February 2015
The defendant had been made subject to a gang injunction prohibiting him
from entering a prescribed area. He was arrested for breach of the
injunction, remanded in custody, and later committed for his contempt of
court for a period of three months. The Court of Appeal dismissed a claim
for judicial review relating to the period for which he had been detained
and gave guidance as to how periods spent on remand are to be discounted
from sentences for contempt. For the judgment, click
here
Lambeth LBC v Dr Enamuna Enobakhare
6
February 2015
The defendant was a council tenant. He applied to exercise the right to
buy (with a maximum discount of £100,000). Council enquiries established
that he was actually living in Romford at a property owned by his wife,
was registered to vote there and was also registered there with the NHS,
insurance companies, various government agencies and his employer. The RTB
claim was rejected and his council property repossessed. He pleaded guilty
to failing to disclose that he was not living in the council property. At
Blackfriars Crown Court, he was sentenced to carry out 80 hours of unpaid
work with costs of £3,000 and a £60 victim surcharge. (This is in
addition to £7,321 costs awarded against him in the possession
proceedings). For details of
the prosecution, click
here
Swindon Council v Bakara Joseph Shem
6
February 2015
The defendant was a private landlord. He granted a six month fixed term
tenancy but, after a few months, told the tenants he wanted them to leave
because he had found other tenants willing to pay a higher rent. They
returned home at 8pm one evening to find the door blocked by three men,
one of whom was so aggressive that he was arrested. On entry, the tenants
found all their belongings had been removed and the locks had been
changed. They were too scared to remain. The defendant failed to appear at
court to answer a charge of illegal eviction contrary to the Protection
from Eviction Act 1977 and an arrest warrant was issued. He was arrested
on returning to the UK. At Swindon Magistrates’ Court, he pleaded guilty
and was sentenced to 12 weeks immediate imprisonment. For details of the
prosecution, click
here
Hackney LBC v Desmond Rodney
3
February 2015
The defendant preyed on vulnerable tenants. He would befriend them and
abuse that relationship by taking over their home, using it as his own. In
2012 he was made subject to an ASBO preventing him from entering parts of
the council’s area. He appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court for breaching
his ASBO after he was caught in a part of the borough from which he was
banned. He was also charged with possession of Class A drugs. As part of
his sentencing, he was made subject to a Criminal Behaviour Order banning
him from residential properties indefinitely. For details of that hearing,
click
here
Mark v City of Edinburgh
20 January 2015
The applicant had been tenant of a council flat. He had to be decanted
from it as a result of serious disrepair. He was eventually offered a
secure tenancy of the alternative flat to which he had been temporarily
decanted and he accepted it. Later, he exercised the right to buy. While
he had been decanted, the law had changed in relation to the maximum
discount allowed. He applied to the Lands Tribunal for a declaration that
he was entitled to a higher discount based on the tenancy from which he
had been decanted. The application failed. The discount had been correctly
calculated based on the date of grant of the most recent tenancy. For the
judgment, click
here
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service v Eli Zohar
19 January 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Following an inspection of his rented
property, Fire Service officers issued an enforcement notice requiring him
to ensure the adequacy of fire precautions, and to maintain emergency
lighting. At Preston Crown Court, following a guilty plea, he was fined £6,000
for failure to comply with the enforcement notice and £4,500 for failure
to ensure that the emergency lighting was subject to a suitable system of
maintenance. In addition to the £10,500 in fines, £12,000 costs were
ordered and a £120 victim surcharge. For details of the prosecution, click
here
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HOUSING
LAW CONSULTATIONS
The UK Government has issued proposals for another significant
increase in civil court fees, including the costs of issuing possession
claims. For the consultation paper, click
here For
the impact assessment on the increase to possession claim fees, click
here Responses should be made by 27 February 2015. For
details of how to respond, click
here
The Welsh Government has published its consultation draft of its new
statutory Code of Guidance on Homelessness & Allocations. For details
of the consultation exercise and arrangements for responses, click
here
The deadline is 23 March 2015.
The UK Government has launched a consultation exercise seeking views on
changes to the Homes and Communities Agency guidance on shared ownership
and on the terms of the model shared ownership leases. The options include
changes to the operation of the pre-emption right in shared ownership
standard leases and other proposals to streamline the resale of shared
ownership properties. For the consultation details, click
here Responses
should be made by 28 February 2015.
The Welsh Government has initiated a consultation on the future of the
Right to Buy in Wales. The consultation runs until 16 April 2015. For the consultation arrangements, click
here
For the consultation paper itself, click
here
The Communities, Equality and Local Government Committee of the Welsh
Assembly is consulting on the contents of the Welsh Government’s Renting
Homes (Wales) Bill. For the consultation documents and details, click
here
Any submissions should arrive by 27 March 2015.
The Welsh Government has initiated a consultation on the provisions of new
regulations relating to aspects of the handling of homelessness
applications made to local councils in Wales. The consultation runs until 26
February 2015. For the consultation arrangements, click
here For the consultation paper
itself, click
here
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RECRUITMENT
Paralegal
Vacancy
Paralegal
with experience of housing and preferably costing work, required to work
in a busy Housing Department at Chambers/Legal
500 ranked firm Osbornes Solicitors LLP in
Camden
Town
.
Apply with covering letter and CV to Shilpa Mathuradas, Osbornes, Livery
House, 9 Pratt Street, London NW1 0AE (email:sandrahillard@osbornes.net)
Closing date: 12th March 2015
Housing
Law Solicitor Vacancy
Tower
Hamlets Law Centre is seeking a full time Housing Law Solicitor for an
initial 6 months with a view to it becoming permanent, subject to funding.
Request an application pack by emailing recruitment2015@thlc.co.uk
(Recruitment contact is Vicente Ciórraga, - email: vciorraga-cruz@thlc.co.uk
Tower Hamlets Law Centre is committed to equal opportunities and
welcomes applications from all sections of the community.
Salary:
up to £29,542.60 (negotiable)
Location:
Tower Hamlets
Closing
date for applications: Friday 20th February 2015 at
5 pm
Advertise
your housing jobs at no charge – simply email info@limelegal.co.uk
for
more information.
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