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Lime
Legal's General Editor: Jan Luba QC |
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21st October 2015 Update |
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Booking now Programme includes:
•
Hoarding
and ASB
• Possession for ASB
• Injunctions
• Gangs • Dog related problems (including dogs as weapons)
• Other available tools to tackle ASB
• A practical session involving a fictitious case study to apply the law to the kind of problem you will encounter in practice •
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POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW
Finding a Housing Lawyer/Adviser
The GOV.UK web service provides a dedicated portal to help members of the
public find a Housing solicitor or adviser. Results are sorted by
geographic location and then by proximity. Click “Housing” under the
“Category of Law”. To access the portal,
click here Members of the public wanting to go direct to a
barrister can use the Advanced
Search facility to get the “Housing” category for barristers by
clicking here
Joint Tenancies
A new House of Commons Library Briefing Paper has been published on
Ending a joint tenancy of
residential accommodation in England. For a copy,
click here
Young Homeless People
Freedom of Information requests were issued to all local housing
authorities in England and Wales between March and June 2015. The requests
related to the numbers of 16-24 year-olds who: presented to their local
authorities as homeless or at risk of homelessness; were assessed under
the Housing Act 1996; were offered prevention and relief; and were
accepted as statutorily homeless. The findings have been published by the
Youth Homelessness Databank in
Beyond statutory homelessness. For a copy,
click here
Poor Condition Private Rented Housing
On 14 October 2015, Shelter released the results of a YouGov poll of over
3,700 private renters which revealed that bad living conditions are rife
in rented homes. Almost half (49%) said they had problems with poor
conditions or disrepair in the last year. Over a third lived in a property
with damp or mould (34%), over one-fifth suffered with poor insulation and
excess cold (22%), and electrical hazards were reported by 11% of renters.
For the full survey results,
click here
Lettings to Migrants
The Immigration Bill contains measures to penalise landlords who fail to
end tenancies granted to certain migrants (see
Housing laws in the pipeline,
below). The Bill has now been passed to a Public Bill Committee which is
able to receive written evidence until the end of the Committee stage on
17 November 2015. For further details, including arrangements to submit
evidence,
click here
Reduction to Social Housing Rents
On 15 October 2015, the Committee considering the detail of the Welfare
Reform & Work Bill (see Housing
laws in the pipeline, below) reviewed the proposals to reduce social
housing rents and to exempt certain lettings from the reductions (together
with amendments to the proposals). For the debate,
click here
Converting Offices into Housing
Temporary permitted development rights (introduced in 2013) have enabled
offices to be converted to homes without needing planning permission,
except in exempt areas. Between April 2014 and June 2015 almost 4,000
conversions were approved. On 13 October 2015, the Housing Minister
announced that: (1) these permitted development rights will now be made
permanent; and (2) those who already have permission will now have three
years in which to complete the change of use. For more details,
click here
Housing Associations and the Right to Buy
On 13 October 2015, the UK Government published a new Housing & Planning
Bill (see Housing laws in the
pipeline, below) containing measures designed to secure a right for
housing association tenants to buy their homes at a discount. The
provisions are based on an offer made to the Government by the National
Housing Federation. For a copy of that offer,
click here For the Ministerial statement made to Parliament
about the offer on 12 October 2015,
click here
Selling-off High Value Council Housing
The measures to compel such sales are contained in the new Housing &
Planning Bill (see Housing laws in
the pipeline, below). For
Selling off the stock, an interim analysis of the proposals for sales
of council houses in high-value areas, prepared by the Chartered Institute
of Housing (CIH),
click here
Unfit Homes
On 16 October 2015, a Private Member’s Bill designed to tackle rented
housing which is unfit for human habitation failed to complete its House
of Commons Second Reading stage after being talked-out. See
Housing laws in the pipeline
(below). For the debate,
click here
Accommodating Young People
In order to know whether they have a duty to accommodate a young person
under the Children Act 1989, councils need to know whether the applicant
is a ‘child’ i.e. under 18. The ADCS has just published
Guidance to assist social workers
and their managers in undertaking age assessments in England to enable
proper age assessments to be carried out. For a copy,
click here
Judicial Review in Housing Cases
On 16 October 2015, the Public Law Project published a major study into
the effects of judicial review in England and Wales:
The value and effects of judicial
review: the nature of claims, their outcomes and consequences. For the
full report,
click here For the summary,
click here
Tax due from Private Landlords
The HMRC’s Let Property Campaign
was launched in September 2013. It gives landlords the opportunity to
voluntarily disclose tax on what was previously undeclared income. HMRC
have now said that the campaign was one of its most successful voluntary
disclosure opportunities. Over 80,000 landlords and 50,000 customers used
the campaign’s online educational products and £50m of tax has been
declared and recovered. For more details,
click here
The Equality & Human Rights Commission has published a literature review
examining the impact of recent changes affecting access to civil justice
on equality and human rights. It found that disabled people, women, and
people from ethnic minorities are particularly affected by the reforms, in
cases involving important issues such as housing, welfare benefits and
domestic violence. For a copy
of the review,
click here For a summary,
click here
Housing & Disability
The Local Government Association and SITRA have published
A home is much more
than a house: Integrated approaches for the housing, health and care needs
of vulnerable adults.
The report highlights a number of specific aspects of the Care Act 2014
and the accompanying guidance, which are of particular relevance to
Housing: information and advice; prevention and early intervention; market
shaping and commissioning; and integration, cooperation and partnerships.
For a copy,
click here Another new report
Promoting people’s right to choice
and control under the Care Act 2014 brings together a range of
evidence, including a new survey of social care recipients and fresh
analysis of local authority guidance on the Care Act, to provide an
account of local authority’s performance in relation to choice and
control. It includes a checklist to assist local authorities to meet their
obligations and to help those seeking or receiving care and support to
understand and secure their rights. For a copy,
click here
Housing & Support
A new report, Evaluating the
Contribution the Supporting People Programme makes to Preventing and
Tackling Homelessness in Wales, considers whether the Supporting
People programme has helped prevent homelessness. For a copy,
click here
Housing Benefit
On 7 October 2015, the Rent
Officers (Housing Benefit and Universal Credit Functions) (Local Housing
Allowance Amendments) Order 2015 was made. It will come into force on
2 November 2015. The Order makes changes to how rent officers will
determine Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates which will apply from April
2016 through to 2019/20. It also changes the date that the LHA
determinations take effect for the
purposes of Universal Credit in relation to “existing awards”. For a copy
of the Order,
click here
For the Explanatory Memorandum,
click here
Investment in Private Renting
Landlords are buying up more properties to rent-out. Buy-to-let lending
for house purchase grew by 38% between August 2014 and August 2015. The
figures show stronger year-on-year growth for buy-to-rent loans than for
home-owner loans for house purchase. For the details,
click here
Private renting in Scotland
Govan Law Centre has published
Powerless: no expectations, choice or security - The voices of tenants
living in the private rented sector in Glasgow. For a copy of the
report,
click here
Home Ownership
The UK Government has launched a new home ownership portal to help people
find the right home-buying scheme for them. To access the new portal,
click here
Funding for Councils on Starter Homes
On 12 October 2015, the UK Government launched the £10m Starter Homes
Local Authority Funding Programme which is designed to accelerate the
supply of council land available for Starter Homes development. For that
announcement,
click here The
money will help councils prepare vacant and underused brownfield land so
that homes can be made available for first time buyers. Funding will be
paid on a non-recoverable grant basis and must be spent by March 2016, so
that Starter Homes can be built in 2017 to 2018. For the prospectus for
bidders,
click here For the bid documentation,
click here Bids must be in by noon on 2 November 2015.
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HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE
Housing and Planning Bill
This UK Government Bill was announced in the Queen’s Speech on 28 May 2015
and was published on 13 October 2015. For a copy of the Bill, which only
applies to Housing in England,
click here For the Explanatory Notes,
click here To
follow the progress of the Bill,
click here For
the CIH briefing on the Bill (members only),
click here For the Local Government Association’s briefing,
click here For
a summary from Citizens Advice,
click here
Welfare Reform and Work Bill
This UK Government Bill was published on 9 July 2015. It makes provision
about: (1) the benefit cap; (2) social security and tax credits; (3) loans
for mortgage interest; and (4) social housing rents. It had its Second
Reading in the House of Commons on 20 July 2015 and is being considered in
detail by a public bill committee during September and October. For the
Bill,
click here For the explanatory notes,
click here To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here. For the documents relating to the Bill
(including several impact assessments),
click here The Committee which will review the Bill has
issued a call for written evidence. For the details,
click here
For the official
records of the Committee debates to date,
click here For the latest CPAG update on the Bill,
click here For the Memorandum to the Joint Committee on
Human Rights from the UK Government about the Bill,
click here
Immigration Bill
This UK Government Bill was published on 17 September 2015. Clauses 12-15
address residential tenancies.
They would create four new offences to target those landlords and
agents who deliberately and repeatedly fail to comply with the
right-to-rent scheme by letting to tenants subject to immigration
restrictions or fail to evict tenants who they know or have reasonable
cause to believe are disqualified from renting as a result of their
immigration status. For a copy of the Bill,
click here For
the Explanatory Notes on Clauses,
click here
For the official Impact Assessment,
click here For a housing lawyer’s commentary,
click here The Commons Second Reading was completed on 13
October 2015. For the debate,
click here For the ILPA Information sheet on the Bill,
click here For the Migrant Rights Network’s Briefing on the
Bill,
click here To follow the progress of the Bill,
click here For the House of Commons Library Briefing on the
Bill,
click here
This is a Government Bill introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 7
October 2015. For a copy of the Bill, the Explanatory Notes and related
official documents,
click here For the final Business and Regulatory Impact
Assessment on the Bill,
click here For the Children’s Rights and Wellbeing Impact
Assessment on the Bill,
click here For the final Equality Impact Assessment for the
Bill,
click here the Committee considering the Bill has issued a
call for written evidence to be submitted by 19 November 2015. For the
details,
click here
Houses in Multiple Occupation Bill
This is a Bill introduced in the Assembly on 7 September 2015 by the
Northern Ireland Executive.
It would make provision for and in connection with the licensing of houses
in multiple occupation in Northern Ireland. For a copy of the Bill,
click here For the explanatory memorandum,
click here
To follow the
progress of the Bill,
click here
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Karen Buck MP. It would amend
the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 to require that residential rented
accommodation is provided and maintained in a state of fitness for human
habitation. For a copy of the Bill,
click here
It had its Second Reading on 16 October 2015 but was talked-out.
For the debate, click here For details on the (unlikely) future progress
of the Bill,
click here For a lawyer’s commentary on its content,
click here For the
Shelter Blog on the Bill and its importance,
click here For a commentary from Dr Stephen Battersby,
click here For the House of Commons Library Briefing on the
Bill,
click here
This is a Private Members Bill introduced by Dame Angela Watkinson MP. It
would amend the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make provision for
collecting information about tenure and the details of private landlords.
It had a First Reading on 24 June 2015 and its Second Reading is scheduled
for 30 October 2015. For details on the progress of the Bill,
click here
Crown Tenancies Bill
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NEW HOUSING CASES
R v David John Purdie and others
16
October 2015
The
defendants used two companies – North East Property Buyers and Newcastle
Home Loans – to build a buy-to-let portfolio of rented properties based on
fraudulent mortgage applications. The five-year scheme collapsed because
the defendants could no longer generate enough money to keep up with the
mortgage repayments. The three main mortgage lenders – Southern Pacific
Mortgages, the Chelsea Building Society and Mortgage Express – lost more
than £110m on sales of the repossessed houses and scores of tenants lost
their homes. At Teesside Crown Court, after pleading guilty to conspiracy
to defraud, the first defendant was sentenced to five and a half years
immediate imprisonment, with a company director’s disqualification for ten
years. In total, the five defendants were sentenced to more than 14 years
imprisonment. For further details,
click here
Serious Case Review in respect of ‘John’
13
October 2015
John was
born on 23 June 2013. He died aged only 10 weeks. His parents had been
social housing tenants. They had moved into the property on May 2012 with
their then young daughter. Within two months, they had fallen into rent
arrears. In September 2012, the social landlord made an application for
possession. The order was granted. The eviction warrant was suspended on a
number of occasions. Social care
agencies became involved and agreed to undertake an initial “child in
need” assessment in July 2013, following the birth of John. On 29 August
2013, the local council advised the parents that they would be likely to
be found intentionally homeless and that B&B would be offered if they
became homeless. The family was evicted on 1 September 2013. They moved to
the paternal grandparents’ home. John died the following day. The Serious
Case Review found that lack of understanding by professionals across all
agencies – of both the impact of eviction on a family and the eviction
process – increases the chance that children in these circumstances will
be left vulnerable. For the full report,
click here
12
October 2015
The
defendant was a 40-year-old homeless rough sleeper. He was found sleeping
in a sleeping bag in the grounds of a hospital on two occasions. At
Doncaster Magistrates’ Court, he was given an absolute discharge after
pleading guilty to failing to comply with a Community Protection Notice by
sleeping rough in the hospital grounds. For details of the prosecution,
click here
Lambeth Council v Gilbert Garrick
8
October 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. He owned a property which he divided-up
as separate flats to rent. He had no planning permission to do so. The
council served a planning enforcement notice. An appeal against it was
dismissed but the lettings did not stop. The defendant pleaded guilty to
non-compliance with the notice and was referred to Croydon Crown Court for
sentencing. He was fined £30,000 with costs of £15,000. The court made a
confiscation order for £382,000 – the amount made from rental income on
the unauthorised flats. Payment is to be made within three months, with a
prison sentence for any default. For details of the prosecution,
click here
North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service v Michael Hassall,
7
October 2015
The
defendant was the private landlord of a mid-terraced house which had a
number of bedrooms let out to separate tenants. A fire started in a ground
floor bedroom, quickly spreading to the hallway and forcing one tenant to
make his escape from an upstairs window. Another tenant also managed to
escape. Fire investigators found that there were no fire detectors fitted
and that the internal doors were not to the required standard for fire
protection. At Harrogate Magistrates’ Court, the defendant pleaded guilty
to two offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 (a
failure to take general fire precautions and to carry out a suitable and
sufficient Fire Risk Assessment of the property). He was fined £6,000 with
costs of £2,085.74 and a £120 victim surcharge. For details of the
prosecution,
click here
Southend Council v Hamlet Homes Properties Limited
7
October 2015
The
council’s private sector housing team received a complaint from a tenant
living in a rented property. The defendants were the letting agency for
the property. The council served a Requisition for Information Notice
seeking information about the owner/landlord within 14 days. The agency
was sent a reminder notice which it also failed to complete. At Southend
Magistrates’ Court, the defendant was convicted in its absence of failure
to provide the information required by the notice. The court imposed the
maximum £5,000 fine with £465 in costs. For details of the case,
click here
Bromley Council v Kanthasamy Sothilingam
7
October 2015
The
defendant was a private landlord. Following an inspection, council
officers served an Improvement Notice detailing serious defects and
deficiencies and requiring him to carry out necessary repair work. He did
not comply. Conditions at the property were later found to be so bad that
the council had to rehouse the tenant (a mother and her children).
At Bromley Magistrates' Court, the
defendant pleaded guilty to non-compliance with the notice. He was fined
£1,000 with £930.50 in costs, £100 victim surcharge and a £150 criminal
courts charge. For details of the prosecution,
click here
2
October 2015
The
defendant was the private landlord of a ground floor flat. Council
officers inspected it, following complaints from the tenant. They found:
no functioning toilet; penetrating damp; inadequate heating; and poor fire
protection. An Improvement Notice was served under the Housing Act 2004
requiring remedial work but it was not complied with.
At Chichester Magistrates’ Court,
the defendant pleaded guilty to breaching the Improvement Notice. He was
fined £2,700.00 with costs of £1,194.34 and a victim surcharge of £120.
For details of the prosecution,
click here
Watford Council v Zakaria Rmiki
30
September 2015
The
defendant was the owner and landlord of a House in Multiple Occupation
(HMO). It had none of the required fire safety measures in place. The
council served an Improvement Notice. The defendant failed to complete the
works within the timescales specified. At Stevenage Magistrates’ Court,
the defendant was found guilty of not complying with the notice. He was
ordered to pay a fine of £2,500 and £5,250 costs. For details of the
prosecution,
click here
Stockport MBC v Ogden
25
September 2015
In
January 2013 the council obtained an injunction which provided, in
particular, that the defendant should not use or threaten violence against
his wife, and that he should not enter the Close where his wife lived. The
order was breached in 2014 and again in July 2015. On 7 September 2015,
the defendant again entered the Close and assaulted his wife. He admitted
both those breaches of the injunction. He was sentenced to 26 weeks
immediate imprisonment for contempt. For the judgment,
click here
4 September 2015
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HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS
Renting Social Housing
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NEW HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS
Recent Developments in Housing Law
Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge
[2015] October issue of Legal Action magazine. Available in print
and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. To read the
article on-line,
click here
For back-issues of this series
of articles,
click here
There are children dying at the sharp end of the housing crisis
Dawn Foster
[2015] Guardian Housing
Network 16 October. To read the article,
click here
Right-to-buy deal backed by only 55% of housing associations
Henry Zeffman
[2015] Guardian Social
Housing 17 October. To read the article,
click here
The human cost of Britain’s housing crisis Peter Hetherington
[2015] Guardian Social Housing
13 October. To read the article,
click here
Landlords taking £5.6bn in rent on homes that 'don’t meet legal standards'
[2015] Guardian Money 17
October. To read the article,
click here
The new Housing Bill is even worse than expected
Tom Murtha [2015]
CLASS Blog 14 October. To read the article,
click here
New fast-track eviction powers could breach human rights, warns watchdog
Alan Travis [2015] Guardian Home
Affairs 12 October. To read the article,
click here
Landlord Tory MP Philip Davies says UK law requiring homes be fit for
human habitation is an unnecessary burden
Jon Stone [2015]
The Independent 16 October. To read the article,
click here
Youth homelessness figure eight times higher than Government admits, says
charity
Jonathan Owen [2015] The Independent
11 October. To read the article,
click here
Students awarded £100,000 over rat-infested housing
Natalie Gil
[2015] Guardian Students
16 October. To read the article,
click here
Tackling hoarding: Responsibility and ownership
Kathryn Hemensley
and Russell Davies [2015] 24dash.com
blog 16 October. To read the article,
click here
Worst landlords will be blacklisted
Tom Wall [2015]
Environmental Health News Blog 14 October. To read the article,
click here
Courtroom drama
(court training for EHOs)
Dr Stephen Battersby [2015]
Environmental Health News Blog 14 October. To read the article,
click here
'We've had to go without food' – personal stories of the bedroom tax
Naomi Larsson [2015] Guardian
Housing Network 14 October. To read the article,
click here
Children should be free to play, not prisoners in their homes
Rob Wheway [2015] Guardian Housing
Network 15 October. To read the article,
click here
Government accused of doing backroom deal over right to
buy Frances Perraudin
[2015] Guardian Housing 12
October. To read the article,
click here
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THE HOUSING LAW DIARY 30 October 2015 6 November 2015 13 November 2015 20 November 2015
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RECRUITMENT
Vacancy for Housing Options Officer with Three Rivers District Council
Three
Rivers District Council is looking to recruit an enthusiastic professional
to join the Housing Needs team providing housing advice to customers,
preventing homelessness and as required making decisions under the
homelessness legislation for customers approaching our Housing Needs
service.
ARE YOU RECRUITING?
If so,
make sure your recruitment opportunities come to the attention of
outstanding candidates – FREE
Take
advantage of the Housing Law Week free Recruitment service. |
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