Supported housing
On 1 May 2017 the House of Commons Select Committees for Work and Pensions, and Communities and Local Government published a joint report on the future of supported housing. The Committees “share the concerns expressed across the sector that the funding proposals, as they stand, are unlikely to achieve [the Government’s] objectives [to find a long-term, sustainable funding mechanism that ensures quality, provides value for money, and which protects and boosts the supply of supported housing].” The Committees propose that “the Government introduces a Supported Housing Allowance, banded to reflect the diversity of provision in the sector and sufficient to ensure supported housing tenants will only require recourse to top-up funding in exceptional circumstances.” It is further recommended that “emergency accommodation is funded through a locally administered grant system, while refuges—which operate as a national network—should have a separate funding mechanism that reflects their unique role.” For the report,
click here For comment by Homeless Link,
click here
Interim Housing Ombudsman
On 5 May 2017 the DCLG announced that David Connolly will act as the interim Housing Ombudsman whilst recruitment for a permanent post-holder takes place. This will be effective from 5 June 2017 when the current Housing Ombudsman, Denise Fowler, leaves that position.
Housing White Paper – response
On 2 May 2017 Garden Court Chambers Housing Team published its response to the Government’s Housing White Paper published on 17 February 2017. Overall, the response is that the proposals in the White Paper are disappointing, and will not solve the current housing crisis. For the response,
click here For the White Paper itself,
click here
Homes and Communities Agency – investment in real estate investment trust
On 5 May 2017
LocalGov reported that the Homes and Communities Agency has agreed to invest up to £25m in a real estate investment trust, Sigma Capital, established to invest in the private rented sector. For the report,
click here
Benefit cap
On 3 May 2017 the Department for Work and Pensions published statistics on households that have had their benefits capped between 15 April 2013 and February 2017. 134,000 households had their benefits capped between 15 April 2013, when the benefit cap was introduced, and February 2017. The increase in the number of capped households in the last quarter (up by 46,000) is due to the implementation of lower cap levels from 7 November 2016. For the statistics,
click here
Welfare Reform Act 2012 regulations – guidance
On 26 April 2017 the Department for Work and Pensions published guidance (updated especially in respect of universal credit) setting out a list of regulations and statutory instruments relating to the Welfare Reform Act 2012. For the guidance,
click here
Housing legal aid
On 5 May 2017 the Law Society of England and Wales launched its
General election 2017: Our vision for law and justice. The five-point plan includes: “Reinstate legal aid for early advice, particularly in housing and family law.” To read the document,
click here
Private rents
On 8 May 2017 HomeLet published its latest Rental Index showing that UK rents in April were 0.4 per cent higher than a year ago, with the average monthly rent now standing at £904; this is the lowest rental price inflation figure since February 2010. Rents on new tenancies in London fell by 1.2 per cent in April compared to the same month a year ago, the first such fall since December 2009. Wales, North-East England and Scotland saw the highest levels of rental price inflation during April. For full details,
click here
Homelessness Fund – Greater Manchester
On 8 May 2017 homelessness charity Crisis was announced as the facilitator of the new Greater Manchester Mayor’s Homelessness Fund. The manifesto of Andy Burnham, the newly elected mayor, included a commitment of “a decent and affordable home for everyone to rent or to own, with nobody forced to sleep rough on our streets”. For the response of Crisis,
click here
Social Housing Survey: private flat owners and refurbishment
As part of the Futureproofing Flats project, a University of Oxford research study into refurbishment of blocks of flats and leasehold law, Sue Bright and David Weatherall are carrying out a survey of the experiences of social housing providers in delivering refurbishment in blocks of flats with leaseholders. The survey comprises questions intended for social housing staff who are involved in the delivery of refurbishment projects. For more details of the survey,
click here
Landlord disqualification order – Scotland
On 4 May 2017
BBC News reported that a private landlord in Fife had been become the first to be disqualified by a Scottish court. He had been found guilty on 27 April of breaching the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland) Act 2004 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, and was fined £500 and banned as a private landlord for 12 months. For the report,
click here
Letting agents
At a meeting of the Fair Fees Forum on 26 April 2017 members gave an “overarching message” that “there was a need for a coherent framework for the regulation of the private rented sector, instead of the current piecemeal approach to legislation, which did not help consumers or the industry. It should include registration of all letting agents, the conduct of their business and effective enforcement. The Forum recognised the need for a working group to draw up a regulatory framework with which to approach Government. There were also calls for a more cohesive approach to licensing by local authorities.” For the communique arising from the meeting,
click here
Re-purchasing Right to Buy housing
On 3 May 2017
BBC News reported that local authorities “have spent millions buying back homes they sold at a discount under Right-to-Buy laws to meet housing shortages.” A freedom of information request revealed the purchases. The report says that, for example, Islington Council spent £6.2million buying back housing stock it had sold for less than £1.3m, and Cornwall spent nearly £438,000 on four properties. For the report,
click here
Prosecution of landlords
On 5 May 2017
The Guardian published details of the most prosecuted landlords in the England and Wales. The list was compiled by the newspaper following freedom of information requests to local authorities in England and Wales. “Data from the three-quarters of councils that responded revealed that 651 landlords were convicted of housing offences between January 2015 and December 2016. They were fined a total of just £3m – an average of about £4,600 per conviction.” For the report,
click here