15th February 2017
Quick Links
HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Housing possession statistics – England and Wales
On 9 February 2017 the Ministry of Justice published figures, covering the period October to December 2016, in respect of mortgage and landlord possession statistics. Landlord possession claims (30,920), orders for possession (24,674), warrants of possession (14,137) and repossessions by county court bailiffs (9,067) were down 16%, 13%, 24% and 7% respectively, continuing the annual downward trend seen since April to June 2014. The continuing downward trend seen for warrants of possession and repossessions, may reflect a time lag of cases progressing through the system. Mortgage possession claims (4,798) and orders for possession (2,963) have both increased by 10% and 1% respectively, breaking the quarterly downward trend, seen since January to March 2009. The fall in average time to mortgage repossession breaks the long term rising trend. It has decreased to just over 2 years (110 weeks), down from 116 weeks in the previous year (Oct-Dec 2015). For the full statistics, click here

Housing possession statistics – Wales only
The statistics released by the Ministry of Justice show that in Wales there were 1,216 landlord possession claims made during October to December 2016, a decrease of 8% on the same quarter of 2015. There were 1,066 landlord possession orders made during the quarter, down by 5% compared with October to December 2015. During October to December 2016, 72% of claims and 77% of orders were made on behalf of social landlords. During the same period, there were 357 mortgage possession claims and 261 mortgage possession orders made, an increase of 18% and by 16%, respectively, on the same quarter of 2015. For more details, click here

Homes and Communities Agency
On 6 February 2017 the House of Commons Communities and Local Government Committee examined the role of the Homes and Communities Agency in increasing housing supply. To view the session, click here For more details of the inquiry, click here

Housing White Paper responses
The Housing White Paper, published on 7 February 2017, has elicited responses from several organisations which we were not able to include in last week’s Housing Law Week. For the White Paper itself, click here. For the consultations associated with the White Paper, see Housing Law Consultations. For a House of Commons Library briefing in respect of the planning aspects of the proposals in the White Paper, click here For the response of the Local Government Association, click here For the response of Shelter, click here For the response by Crisis, click here For the RICS response, click here For the response of the National Federation of ALMOs, click here For the response of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, click here For the joint response of the Association of Residential Letting Agents and National Association of Estate Agents, click here For letters to The Guardian in response to the White Paper, click here

Housing Bulletin – Northern Ireland
on 7 February 2017 the Department for Communities (Northern Ireland) published its latest quarterly housing  bulletin, containing information on: new housing starts and completions; social renting demand, specifically the number of households presenting as homeless by reason and household type, and the number accepted as full duty applicants; the Northern Ireland House Price Index including breakdown by property type; and new dwelling sales and prices for each Local Government District. For the bulletin, click here

Right to Rent
On 13 February 2017 the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants published a report which states that foreigners and British citizens without passports, particularly those from ethnic minorities, are being discriminated against in the private rental housing market as a result of the Right to Rent scheme designed to stop irregular immigration. According to the report: 51% of landlords surveyed said that the scheme would make them less likely to consider letting to foreign nationals; 42% of landlords stated that they were less likely to rent to someone without a British passport as a result of the scheme: this rose to 48% when explicitly asked to consider the impact of the criminal sanction; and an enquiry from a British Black Minority Ethnic tenant without a passport was ignored or turned down by 58% of landlords, in a mystery shopping exercise. To read the report, click here To read the JCWI press release, click here

Low cost housing
On 8 February 2017 the House of Commons held a debate in Westminster Hall on ‘low cost housing’. To read the Hansard record of the debate, click here The House of Commons Library published a pack in advance of the debate. To read the pack, click here

Private renting solutions for homeless and vulnerable people
On 8 February 2017 the House of Commons held a debate in Westminster Hall on 'private renting solutions for homeless and vulnerable people'. The House of Commons Library published in advance of the debate a pack which provides background information on the use of the PRS to prevent and relieve homelessness. To read the Hansard record of the debate, click here To read the pack, click here

Housing regulation: non-profit registered providers
On 9 February 2017 the Homes and Communities Agency set out how it intends to approach the transition from the current consents regime to the new notification and registration environment, as required by section 92 of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 which comes into force on 6 April 2017. For more details, click here For the 2016 Act, click here

Rough sleepers – Hammersmith and Fulham
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham has created a new taskforce led by Jon Sparkes, the chief executive of Crisis, in an effort to put an end to rough sleeping in Hammersmith & Fulham. For more details, click here

Private landlord licensing scheme – Woking
Woking Council is proposing a three year licensing scheme for private landlords in some parts of the borough and is carrying out a consultation. For details of the proposal and consultation, click here

Right to Buy – Cardiff
On 10 February 2017 BBC News reported that on 16 February 2017 councillors in Cardiff Council will vote on whether to suspend right to buy for five years. BBC News says that the city's social housing stock has dropped from 23,000 homes in 1985 to 13,807, mostly due to right to buy sales. To read the report, click here

Private rents
On 9 February 2017 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors published its UK Residential Market Survey for January 2017. It stated that over the next five years, rental projections point to a cumulative increase of just over 25%, outpacing house price inflation over the same period (respondents anticipate prices will rise a little under 20% on the same basis). Buy-to-let investment is anticipated to decline given the ‘current policy landscape’. To read the survey, click here
HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Homelessness Reduction Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Bob Blackman which seeks to amend the Housing Act 1996 to make provision about measures for reducing homelessness; and for connected purposes. The Bill has won the support of the Government; for the DCLG press statement in that respect, click here On 17 January 2017 the DCLG announced that councils would receive a further £48 million funding to help deliver new and expanded services under the Bill; for the announcement, click here and for the Local Government Association’s response to the announcement, click here The Bill has now completed all its stages in the House of Commons. The Bill received its First Reading in the House of Lords on 30 January 2017. It is due to receive its Second Reading on 24 February 2017. For the Bill as introduced in the House of Lords, click here For progress of the Bill, click here For all the debates on all stages of the Bill click here The House of Commons Select Committee for Communities and Local Government has published a report following its pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill; to read the report, click here For the Law Society’s parliament briefing on the Bill, click here For the House of Commons Library briefing paper prepared for the Commons Report and Committee Stages of the Bill (published on 10 February 2017), click here

Renters’ Rights Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Grender which seeks to provide tenants and prospective tenants with certain rights, including affording access to a local housing authority’s database of rogue landlords, ending certain letting fees and providing for certain mandatory electrical safety checks. The Bill had its Second Reading on 10 June 2016 and completed its Committee stage on 18 November 2016; for a record of the debate, click here It will enter its Report stage on a date to be announced. For the Bill as amended in Committee, click here To read debates at all stages of the Bill’s passage, click here For progress of the Bill, click here

Crown Tenancies Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Wendy Morton which seeks to provide that ​Crown tenancies may be assured tenancies for the purposes of the Housing Act 1988, subject to certain exceptions; to modify the assured tenancies regime in relation to certain Crown tenancies; and for connected purposes. The Bill received its Second Reading on 3 February 2017. It will enter its Committee stage on a date to be announced. For the Bill as introduced, click here For progress of the Bill, click here For a research briefing from the House of Commons Library providing background on the Bill, click here

Housing (Tenants' Rights) Bill
This is a Private Members’ Bill introduced by Caroline Lucas which seeks to establish a Living Rent Commission to conduct research into, and provide proposals for, reducing rent levels in the private rented sector and improving terms and conditions for tenants; to require the Secretary of State to report the recommendations of the Commission to Parliament; to introduce measures to promote long-term tenancies; to establish a mandatory national register of ​landlords and lettings agents; to prohibit the charging of letting or management agent fees to tenants; and for connected purposes. The Bill is being prepared for publication and is due to have its Second Reading on 24 March 2017. For progress of the Bill, click here
NEW HOUSING CASES

Powell and Co Property (Brighton) Limited v. Mr D Patel (1) Mr U Patel (2) [2016] UKUT 565 (LC)
The landlord appealed against the 6th April 2016 decision of the First-tier Tribunal Property Chamber (Residential Property) (“F-tT”) refusing to allow architect’s fees of £7,066.40, surveyor’s fees of £3,870 and legal fees of £6,167.73 for the service charge year ended 24th March 2014.

The decision of the F-tT

Whilst the F-tT did not question that the monies had been expended by the appellant, it held that the appellant had failed to discharge its burden of proof because insufficient evidence had been adduced for it to determine whether or not the expenditure fell within the service charge provisions of the leases and, if so, whether it was reasonable and had been reasonably incurred.

The day after the hearing the F-tT had, in respect of insurance premiums only, invited the appellant to furnish further information to enable it to determine recoverability.

The F-tT also said that it did not regard itself as bound by a previous decision of the F-tT in which a differently constituted F-tT with different long-leaseholder applicants had approved estimated costs of £6,000 for both architect’s and surveyor’s fees for the same year.

The appeal to the Upper Tribunal

It was common ground before the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) that all sums were in principle recoverable under the service charge provisions of the leases.

The sole ground of appeal was that the F-tT should have exercised its discretion and invited and allowed the appellant to provide further information and explanation in relation to each of the three sums and, further, that there was a requirement for consistency of decision bearing in mind the treatment of the insurance costs and also the previous decision of the F-tT in approving the estimated architect’s and surveyor’s fees for the same period.

The respondents’ position was that the appeal should be dismissed because the appellant had failed to adduce evidence before the F-tT and should not have been should not now be given a further opportunity to do so.

Neither party appealed against the F-tT’s decision to permit further evidence in relation to the insurance premium.

The UT decision
After completion of evidence and close of submissions and once the tribunal (as with any court) has withdrawn to deliberate, the tribunal nonetheless retains a discretion to invite further evidence or submissions on any point in issue which discretion, no doubt, will generally be exercised sparingly because it is for the parties to ensure that all relevant evidence is before the tribunal in compliance with previous directions and there must be finality. However, once exercised, the discretion must be exercised in a way which is consistent and promotes consistency of judgment.

There will generally be a reluctance of any appellate tribunal (or court) to intervene with the exercise of discretion at first instance unless it can be shown that the inferior tribunal has acted perversely, that is, has acted in such a way as no reasonable tribunal vested with the knowledge and information of the instant tribunal would do.

HHJ Gerald held that this was such a case. On the facts it was irrational for the F-tT not to have afforded the appellant the opportunity in respect of the architect’s and surveyor’s fees which it did in relation to the insurance costs.

Whilst it was not inaccurate for the F-tT to say that the approval of the estimated fees was not binding upon it, the fact that the reasonableness of expending (estimated) service charge monies on these architect’s and surveyor’s fees was approved by the previous tribunal coupled with the fact of the ongoing major works being carried out to the subject premises give a strong steer in the direction that at least some if not all of the actual fees being sought were or were likely to be recoverable.

The F-tT had overlooked the fact that it had declined the opportunity to inspect the premises which would or might have afforded it an opportunity to evaluate the nature and extent of the work and the likely involvement of architect and surveyor. The F-tT’s complaint of insufficient evidence was or might have been in part because it had chosen not to inspect.

Whilst all relevant evidence should have been before the F-tT at the time of the hearing, if it was going to allow more time for some evidence, then there is no rational reason, or none that the Judge could discern, why it should not have permitted more time for further evidence in relation to the architect’s and surveyor’s fees.

The appeal was allowed and remitted to the F-tT for reconsideration of the reasonableness of the fees.

Case summary by Alice Richardson, barrister, Arden Chambers. For the full judgment click here.

Property Agent Fined for breach of HMO Regulations
Cambridge City Council report the successful prosecution of a property agent for offences under the Housing Act 2004.  The offences are described as relating to failure to comply with HMO regulations and led to fines totalling £16,000 plus costs. 

The Council has also announced an extension in the Landlord amnesty which will now run until 28 February 2017 which will “allow landlords who own licensable properties within the city to be able to apply for a licence without the threat of prosecution and associated financial penalties for not holding a licence”.  For the full report click here.

Local Authority and Housing Association co-operation leads to successful unlawful subletting prosecution
The Royal Borough of Greenwich reports how its Unauthorised Occupation Team (UOT) was able to assist Charlton Triangle in a case of suspected unlawful subletting. The UOT utilised powers und the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 to investigate. The Council’s Audit and Anti-Fraud team then conducted further investigations.  Subsequently, following Charlton Triangle serving a notice to quit on the tenant he returned the keys to the property.  The Council’s legal team initiated a criminal prosecution and the tenant is reported to have pleaded guilty to a number of offences at Woolwich Crown Court where he was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for 18 months, ordered to undertake 180 hours of unpaid community work and to pay the unlawful rental profit he had made of £4,330.29. He was also ordered to pay £500 costs and a victim surcharge of £100. For the full report click here.
Sign up here to ensure you receive your own copy of this invaluable free weekly update
HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Funding for supported housing
On 21 November 2016 the DCLG and DWP launched a consultation seeking views on the government’s plans for a new housing costs funding model for supported housing as well as views on how funding for emergency and short term placements should work. It covers the following areas: devolved top-up funding to local authorities in England; and funding for emergency and short term supported housing placements across Great Britain. At the same time the government has published an evidence review of supported accommodation in Great Britain which seeks to provide a helpful insight into the estimated scale, scope and cost of the sector which respondents may find useful in responding to the consultation. For the consultation, click here For the evidence review, click here The consultation closes on 13 February 2017.

Consultation on extending coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords
The consultation sets out proposals to extend coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) to registered social landlords (RSLs). Extending coverage of FOISA would give the same 'access to information' rights to tenants of RSLs as local authority housing tenants currently have. RSLs would have a statutory responsibility to reply to information requests within set timescales. Under FOISA, if an applicant is dissatisfied with how an authority responds they can ultimately appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner who is the independent regulator of the legislation. For the consultation document, click here. To respond online, click here.  The consultation closes on 23 February 2017.

Procedure of the First Tier Tribunal Housing and Property Chamber
The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 establishes an integrated structure of tribunals with a First-tier Tribunal (F-TT) and an Upper Tribunal. Jurisdictions within the First-tier Tribunal will be organised into ‘chambers’ according to the nature of the dispute. On 1 December 2016, the Private Rented the Private Rented Housing Panel/Homeowner Housing Panel transferred to the F-TT – the first of the existing tribunals to move to the new structure. A single set of operational rules is being developed to apply across all jurisdictions in the Housing and Property Chamber. These are required for the expansion of the Chamber to other private rented sector disputes. Views are sought on the operational procedure of the Housing & Property Chamber for hearing the disputes transferring from the Sheriff court, disputes under the new letting agents’ regime and disputes involving the new tenancies established by the Private Tenancies (Scotland) Act 2016.  For the consultation document, click here The consultation closes on 31 March 2017.  

Private Rented Sector in Northern Ireland – Proposals for Change
This consultation document is the second stage in the Department for Communities’ review of the role and regulation of the private rented sector. It proposes a number of changes which will impact on both landlords and tenants. The document sets out proposals on: supply, affordability, security of tenure, tenancy management, property standards and dispute resolution. The Department will hold four public events to facilitate discussion on this document. For the consultation document and details of the discussion events, click here The consultation closes on 3 April 2017.

Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme: Commissioning Sustainable Services
This is a consultation on a competitive tendering approach for the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme which will consolidate the current number of schemes through joining courts allowing for larger and more sustainable contracts for providers. Providers will offer their services at a price, without an administrative cap or floor, that reflects the costs of delivery in their local area and represents a fair market price for the work carried out whilst maintaining a quality service. For the consultation document, click here To participate in the consultation, click here The consultation closes on 7 March 2017. Results are expected by 28 April 2017.

Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 – Guidance relating to supported accommodation
The Welsh Government is consulting on: statutory guidance landlords must follow when temporarily excluding a contract-holder under a supported standard contract; and non-statutory guidance to assist landlords and local authorities in carrying out their functions relating to extending the relevant period before a tenancy or licence for supported accommodation becomes an occupation contract. The aim of the guidance is to make the legal process clearer for landlords and local authorities to follow and implement. For the consultation document and for the means by which to respond, click here The consultation ends on 28 April 2017.

Fixing our broken housing market
As part of the housing white paper the DCLG is also consulting on changes to planning policy and legislation in relation to planning for housing, sustainable development and the environment. The consultation, including details of how to respond, can be found in the white paper. For the white paper, click here To respond online, click here The consultation ends on 2 May 2017.

Planning and affordable housing for Build to Rent
This consultation seeks views on planning measures to support an increase in Build to Rent schemes across England. This includes changing the National Planning Policy Framework policy to support and to increase the number of new Build to Rent homes, and the provision of Affordable Private Rent homes as the main form of affordable housing provision on Build to Rent schemes. The consultation seeks to promote the availability of longer tenancies (of 3 years or more) in Build to Rent accommodation, to those tenants who want one. For the consultation paper, click here To respond online, click here The consultation ends on 1 May 2017.

Amendment to the Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard
From 6 April 2017, the deregulatory measures of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 will come into force, which remove the regulator’s consent powers over constitutional matters and the disposal of social housing assets. As a result, the regulator has considered whether any amendments to its regulatory framework are necessary to continue to meet the consumer regulation objective, specifically to ensure that: actual or potential tenants of social housing have an appropriate degree of choice and protection, and tenants of social housing have the opportunity to be involved in its management and to hold their landlords to account. This consultation document introduces the changes proposed by the regulator to its Tenant Involvement and Empowerment Standard. This change is to clarify and strengthen, rather than to extend, the regulator’s requirements in regard to consulting with tenants on change of landlord. To access the consultation document and to respond to it, click here The consultation closes on 22 March 2017.
HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Recent Developments in Housing Law Jan Luba QC & Nic Madge [2017] February issue of Legal Action. Available in print and on-line for Legal Action subscribers. For the latest issue, click here For back-issues, click here

'Time to make council housing a big part of the solution to the housing crisis' Martin Wheatley [2017] CIH 8 February. To read this article, click here

White Paper signals a genuine shift towards greater land data transparency Catharine Banks [2017] Shelter Blog 8 February. To read this article, click here

Housing White Paper – Fixing our broken housing market Steve Battersby [2017] UK Housing Professionals Forum 9 February. To read this article, click here

Public Law’s Disgrace Tom Hickman [2017] UK Constitutional Law 9 February. To read this article, click here

If you really want more houses built, Sajid Javid, stop strangling councils Dawn Foster [2017] Guardian 10 February. To read this article, click here

Government wakes up to abuse of the leasehold system – but this is just a symptom of a bigger problem Catharine Banks [2017] Shelter Blog 10 February. To read this article, click here

Let the councils build homes again and fix our broken housing market Patrick Collinson [2017] Guardian 11 February. To read this article, click here

Service charges, contracts, social housing and subsidies Giles Peaker [2017] Nearly Legal 12 February. To read this article, click here

Why you need to manage dilapidations properly Les Pickford [2017] RICS 13 February. To read this article, click here

Standards in the private rented sector 'must improve' Seb Klier [2017] CIH 13 February. To read this article, click here
THE HOUSING LAW DIARY

13 February 2017
Consultation closes on Funding for supported housing (see Housing Law Consultations)

23 February 2017
Consultation closes on Proposals to extend coverage of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 to registered social landlords (see Housing Law Consultations)

24 February 2017
Second Reading in House of Lords of Homelessness Reduction Bill (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)
RECRUITMENT


Featured Job of the Week

Divisional Director Housing & Regeneration
Tower Hamlets Council
Contract Type: Permanent
Closing date for applications: 6 March 2017
Click here for details.

 
 

Rental Income Support Officer
LB of Hammersmith & Fulham
Job Ref: 2330
Click here for details

 
 

Housing Assistant x 2
Epping Forest District Council
Click here for details

 
 

Housing Assistant
Circle Housing
Job Ref. CCS4980/CW
Click here for details

 
 

Social Housing Fraud – Right to Buy – Investigator
Tower Hamlets Council
Vacancy Ref. No. RES00396
Click here for details.

 
 

Housing Needs Officer
Birmingham City Council
Job Ref. No. PL0722016
Click here for details.

 
 

Housing Needs Officer
Birmingham City Council
Job Ref. No. PL0792017
Click here for details.

 
 

Assistant Housing Needs Officer
Birmingham City Council
Job Ref. No. PL0692016
Click here for details.

 
 

Service Charge Analyst x 2
Clarion Group
Job Ref: GCR1421
Click here for details.

 
 

Housing Strategy and Projects Manager
Thanet District Council
Click here for details.

 
 

Housing Register Administration Assistant
West Kent Housing Association
Job reference number: HAL005
click here for details.

 
 

Private Sector Property Manager
(Fixed Term until 31st March 2018)
Ashford Borough Council
Job Ref: SCP 30-33
Click here for details

 
 

Tenancy Services Manager
Crawley Borough Council
Job Ref: EC184
Click here for details

 
 

Empty Property Officer
Thanet District Council
Click here for details.

 
Lime Legal Limited, Greengate House, 87 Pickwick Road, Corsham, Wiltshire, SN13 9B