Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund: application guidance
On 3 July 2018 the MHCLG published a Guide for social landlords who can apply for funding to assist with replacing Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding systems on their social residential buildings. The Prime Minister announced on 16 May 2018 that the government will fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on social residential buildings 18 metres or over, owned by councils and housing associations, with costs estimated at £400 million. The government is now providing further detail on how local authorities and housing associations can apply for this funding. This guidance confirms the scope of the fund, provides more detail on how it will operate and sets out the information required when applying. For the Guide click here.
Government response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee Report: Private rented sector
On 3 July 2018 the Government published its response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee inquiry into the role of local authorities in the private rented sector. The response addresses the following:
- Review and consolidation (of PRS legislation)
- Sector reform
- Enhancing Enforcement
- Innovative approaches
It concludes that “The Government will continue to take an ambitious approach to reforming the PRS as part of wider efforts to fix the housing sector to ensure that everyone, whether they rent or own their home, has an affordable, safe and good-quality place to live.” For the report click here.
Proposals to improve leasehold system
On 2 July 2018 the Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, announced that new government funding schemes will no longer be able to use the money for unjustified new leasehold houses, “in a continuing push to tackle unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system”. Among measures announced are:
- New proposals (on which the government is consulting: see Housing Law Consultations) for 3-year minimum tenancy terms, with a 6-month break clause, to make renting more secure helping renters put down roots, and give landlords longer term financial security.
- The release of £450 million to speed up delivery of homes on sites of surplus public sector land and encouraging pace and modern methods of construction as a part of the building process.
- The launch of a new £100 million Community Housing Fund, to deliver affordable housing tailored to local needs, putting communities in the driving seat.
For more information about the proposals generally, click here For more details of proposals for 3-year minimum tenancy terms, click here For the text of James Brokenshire’s speech in which the proposals were announced, click here For the consultation in respect of proposals to overcome barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector, see Housing Law Consultations.
Statutory homelessness, prevention and relief
On 29 June 2018 the MHCLG published information (revised from that published on 27 June 2018) on the number of households that reported being homeless (or being threatened with homelessness) to their local authority and were offered housing assistance. Between January and March 2018 local authorities accepted 13,300 households as being statutorily homeless (down 2 per cent from 13,640 on the previous quarter and down 9 per cent from 14,610 in the same quarter of 2017). These are households that are owed a main homelessness duty to secure accommodation as a result of being unintentionally homeless and in priority need. On 31 March 2018 the number of households in temporary accommodation was 79,880 (up 3 per cent from 77,220 on 31 March 2017, and up 66 per cent on the low of 48,010 on 31 December 2010). Local authorities took action to prevent and relieve homelessness for 56,090 households between January and March 2018 (down 1 per cent on 56,880 in the same quarter of 2017).
For the full statistics, click here For an article in The Guardian concerning the level of child homelessness revealed by the statistical release, click here
The MHCLG has also published tables showing local authorities’ actions under the homelessness provisions of the Housing Acts, and total reported cases of homelessness prevention and relief, organised by outcome and local authority. For those tables, click here and refer to tables 784, 784a, 792 and 792a. For a tool, published by the House of Commons Library, allowing the user to view collected homelessness statistics for individual local authorities in England, click here
For the response to the latest figures by the Local Government Association, click here
Rough sleepers – London
On 28 June 2018 the annual Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) statistics were released, showing:
- The number of rough sleepers in London in 2017/18 was 7,484. This represents an 8 per cent decrease compared to the total seen in 2016/17.
- 54 per cent of new rough sleepers in London (2,406) were previously housed in long term accommodation, including 38 per cent coming from private rented accommodation.
- The number of people returning to the streets after an absence of a year or more has risen by 8 per cent in the last year, and 53 per cent in the last five.
For a response by Crisis, click here
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, responded to the figures by publishing City Hall’s first ever Plan of Action to tackle rough sleeping, demanding that the Government invest £574 million over five years to provide a long-term, sustainable route off the streets for all rough sleepers in the capital. For more details, click here
Affordable housing in rural England
On 2 July 2018 the Institute for Public Policy Research published a report – A new rural settlement: Fixing the affordable housing crisis in rural England – which sets out a series of policy solutions that, the IPPR claims, would allow rural communities to build the homes they need and “ensure that the English countryside isn’t just able to survive but thrive”. The IPPR says that there is an opportunity to make the case for a tailored approach to delivering the affordable homes that rural communities need. The IPPR adds that, in light of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, there is also a need to rethink rural policy more widely, creating an opportunity to put the delivery of affordable housing at the heart of a new rural agenda.
For the research, click here For a summary, click here
Remediation of private high-rise residential buildings with ACM cladding
On 28 June 2018 the Communities Secretary, James Brokenshire, announced further action to “drive forward swifter action by building owners to remove potentially unsafe cladding on private sector high-rise residential buildings”. Data published on the same day show that 297 private sector high-rise residential buildings have unsafe cladding; a small additional number are expected to be confirmed. The new measures announced are:
- A new taskforce to oversee a national programme of remediation in the private sector and ensure plans are in place for every single building affected.
- A new inspection team, backed by £1 million government funding, consisting of experts from environmental health, building control and fire inspection who will support councils to take enforcement action.
- An industry meeting next month to enable representatives to present their proposals on solutions to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings without passing on the costs to leaseholders.
- Letters to be sent to all relevant private sector building owners to remind them of their responsibility to make their buildings safe.
For more details, click here
On 2 July 2018 the Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee heard from Dominic Raab, Minister of State for Housing, concerning the consultation on banning combustible cladding on high-rise buildings and fire safety testing regimes.
For more details, click here
Right to Buy sales – England
On 28 June 2018 the MHCLG published statistics for Right to Buy Sales in England for January to March 2018. In that period, local authorities sold an estimated 2,722 dwellings under the Right to Buy scheme (a decrease of 18 per cent from the 3,313 sold in the same quarter of 2017). Local authorities in London accounted for 17 per cent of sales (a decrease from the 20 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2017). The number of dwellings sold by London boroughs decreased by 31 per cent, from 665 in January to March 2017 to 461 in the same quarter in 2018. Local authorities received approximately £224.9 million from Right to Buy sales (17 per cent lower than the £271.9 million in the same quarter of 2017).
For the full statistics, click here For information relating to individual local authorities, click here and refer to tables 691, 692 and 693.
The Chartered Institute for Housing responded to the figures by calling on the government to suspend Right to Buy because the latest figures reveal that sales continue to outstrip replacements. For the CIH press release, click here
Legal aid and housing cases
On 28 June 2018 the Ministry of Justice published legal aid statistics for January to March 2018. In that period, there were 10,000 legally aided housing cases (down 4 per cent on a year ago) costing £6 million (down 8 per cent on a year ago). Over 80 per cent of housing work volume is made up of legal help (ie advice and assistance about a legal problem, but not including representation or advocacy in proceedings). In January to March 2018 there was a 10 per cent decrease in housing work starts compared to the same quarter the previous year. There was a 5 per cent decrease in completed claims and a 15 per cent fall in expenditure.
For the full statistics, click here
Right to rent
On 29 June 2018 the Home Office published updated guidance to help landlords, letting agents and tenants understand right to rent checks. For the guidance, click here
Affordable housing and the National Planning Policy Framework
On 2 July 2018 the Local Government Association said that the definition of “affordable housing” must include homes for social rent in forthcoming government changes to planning policy to tackle the historic low numbers of social rented homes across the country. The LGA warns that homes specifically for social rent are at risk of being eliminated after a revision to the National Planning Policy Framework dropped the reference to “social rent” homes from the Government’s definition of affordable homes, whilst including Starter Homes and other, less genuinely affordable, forms of housing.
For the LGA’s press release, click here
Regulation of Registered Social Landlords (Wales) Act 2018 (Commencement and Transitional Provision) Order 2018
This Order brings into force provisions of the Regulation of Registered Social Landlords (Wales) Act 2018 (the Act). Article 2 appoints 15 June 2018 as the coming into force date of sections 1, 2 and 18 of the Act which are technical provisions, and the power to make consequential amendments etc. Article 3 appoints 15 August 2018 as the coming into force date for any provision of the Act to the extent that it has not already been commenced before this date. Article 4 makes a transitional provision in respect of the removal of the requirement to hold a disposal proceeds fund.
For the Order, click here For the Act, click here
Evaluation of homelessness services to adults leaving prison – Wales
On 27 June 2018 the Welsh Government published an evaluation assessing the implementation and perceived impact of changes to homelessness services available to adults leaving the secure estate (ie prison). The report evaluates the service given on reception, pre-release an in the community. In the absence of conclusive statistical information, opinion was divided as to whether more or fewer prison leavers were being released as homeless. Most local authority stakeholders perceived, however, that the level of support provided to prison leavers eligible for housing related interventions in the medium and longer term was better than before the National Pathway was introduced. Transitional funding and Supporting People funding had been used in various way to provide for the needs of prison leavers.
For the report, click here For a summary, click here
Estate agents (and letting agents) ‘in financial distress’
On 29 June 2018 Moore Stephens reported that more than 7,000 UK estate agents currently show signs of financial distress. Whilst the firm says that this is largely as a result of online competition, it also notes that “government plans to ban letting fees charged to tenants may narrow the profit margins of some estate agents even more, as fees from tenants currently contribute significantly to the bottom line”.
For more information, click here
Costs in leasehold cases and residential property cases
On 2 July 2018 the Tribunal Procedure Committee (TPC) announced that it had concluded that a case has not been made out for changes to the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Property Chamber) Rules 2013 and the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) (Lands Chamber) Rules 2010 in respect of capping of costs recoverable under the costs provisions in leasehold and residential property cases.
For the consultation response, click here For the original consultation document, click here
