The Allocation of Housing and
Homelessness (Eligibility) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2018
The above Regulations were laid
on 18 June and will come into force on 9
July 2018. The regulations amend the
Allocation of Housing and Homelessness
(Eligibility) (England) Regulations 2006
to provide that persons who have been
transferred to the United Kingdom under
section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016,
and have leave to remain under paragraph
352ZH of the Immigration Rules, are
eligible for social housing and
homelessness assistance provided they meet
the habitual residence test.
For the letter from MHCLG to local
authority chief executives, chief housing
officers and chief officers of children’s
services (18 June 2018)
click
here. For the
Regulations
click
here
New guidance for landlords to further
protect tenants from poor living
conditions
On 20 June 2018 MHCLG published
new guidance for Local Housing
Authorities:
Houses in multiple
occupation and residential property
licensing reform: guidance for local
housing authorities. This document
sets out guidance for local authorities in
the implementation of requirements set out
in 2018 statutory instruments on the
Licensing of Houses in Multiple
Occupation.
The guidance should be read alongside The
Licensing of Houses in Multiple Occupation
(Prescribed Description) (England) Order
2018, the Licensing of Houses in Multiple
Occupation (Mandatory Conditions of
Licences) (England) Regulations 2018, and
the Housing Act 2004. For the Guidance
document
click
here
New Consultation on banning combustible
cladding
On 18 June 2018, the Housing
Secretary,
James
Brokenshire MP launched a new consultation
paper
, Banning the use of combustible
materials in the external walls of
high-rise residential buildings .The
consultation is seeking views on proposals
to ban the use of certain materials.
This consultation is seeking views on
proposals to revise the building
regulations to ban the use of combustible
materials in the inner leaf, insulation
and cladding that are used in external
wall systems on high-rise residential
buildings. The consultation closes at
11.45pm on 14 August 2018.
For the consultation paper
click
here For details of the
various ways in which to respond to the
consultation
click
here
Private Housing Rental Prices
Update
On 13 June 2018 the Office for National
Statistics published the latest release
(for May 2018) of the Rent Index of
Private Housing Rental Prices, Great
Britain. This indicates that:
- Private rental prices paid by
tenants in Great Britain rose by 1.0%
in the 12 months to May 2018;
unchanged from April 2018.
- In England, private rental prices
grew by 1.0%, Wales saw growth of 1.2%
while Scotland saw rental prices
increase by 0.6% in the 12 months to
May 2018.
- London private rental prices
decreased by 0.2% in the 12 months to
May 2018.
- This is the first time London
private rental prices have fallen over
the year since September 2010.
For the full details
click
here
Social media hub announced to
tackle gang-related online content
The Home Secretary Sajid Javid
has announced £1.38 million to strengthen
the police’s response to violent and
gang-related online content. Funding from
the government’s £40 million Serious
Violence Strategy will be used to create a
20-strong team of police staff and
officers tasked with disrupting and
removing overt and covert gang-related
online content. To read the details
click
here
Local Government and Social Care
Ombudsman determines Teenager was
wrongly left homeless
After her mother’s eviction from
a Housing Association property, a teenage
girl (“Miss X”) and her mother had
initially been placed in interim
accommodation by the London Borough of
Islington in a neighbouring borough
(“Council B”). Subsequently, LB of
Islington officers decided that the mother
was intentionally homeless and declined to
assist further and served notice on the
mother to leave the interim accommodation.
Islington Council referred Miss X to
children’s services in Council B because
that was the area in which the teenager
was living at the time even though
Islington Council had placed her there.
Following an investigation, the Ombudsman
concluded that the Council had failed to
recognise its separate duties to the
teenager. The Report states that,
“If
the Council believes that Council B is
responsible for Miss X under the
Children Act 1989 it should work with
Council B to resolve any disputes. Miss
X should not be disadvantaged by any
disagreements and the Council should
provide any necessary services until the
disputes are settled.” For the
Report
click
here
Drug-related harms in homeless
populations: public evidence gathering
day
The Advisory Council on the
Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was The ACMD was
commissioned by the Home Secretary to
examine the factors that make vulnerable
people misuse drugs and, specifically,
report on how drug-related harms can be
prevented amongst homeless people. The
public evidence gathering day will take
place on Tuesday 3 July in Manchester. For
further details
click
here.
Local Authority Housing Statistics
data
On 18 June 2018 MHCLG published
the updated
Local authority housing
statistics data returns for 2016 to
2017. This includes details of
dwelling stock, disposals, rents and rent
arrears, allocations and evictions. For
the
click
here
The Renting Homes (Fees etc.)
(Wales) Bill
A new Welsh Government Bill
banning fees charged in the private rented
sector has been announced by the Housing
and Regeneration Minister
. For
details
click
here. For the Impact
Assessments
click
here.
UK House Prices
The latest release of the UK
House Price Index (April 2018) was
published by the ONS on 13 June 2018. UK
all dwellings. This indicates that:
- Average house prices in the UK have
increased by 3.9% in the year to April
2018 (down from 4.2% in March 2018).
This is its lowest annual rate since
March 2017 when it was 3.7%. The
annual growth rate has slowed since
mid-2016 and has remained under 5%,
with the exception of October 2017,
throughout 2017 and into 2018.
- The average UK house price was
£227,000 in April 2018. This is £9,000
higher than in April 2017 and £3,000
higher than last month. On a
seasonally adjusted basis, average
house prices in the UK increased by
0.7% between March 2018 and April
2018, compared with an increase of
0.5% in average prices during the same
period a year earlier.
For the full details
click
here
