HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Grenfell Tower Inquiry report and responses
On 30 October 2019 the Grenfell Tower Inquiry published its Phase 1 report. For the report, executive summary and video statement, click here. For the response of members of Grenfell United, click here for an article in The Guardian. For a statement by the leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, click here. For a statement by the London Fire Commissioner, click here. For that of the Fire Brigades Union, click here. For that of the London Ambulance Service, click here. For a written statement to Parliament by the Prime Minister, click here.

Domestic Abuse Bill
Parliament is due to be dissolved on 6 November ahead of the General Election on 12 December. On dissolution, Bills progressing through Parliament fail and will need to be reintroduced in the next Parliament. Accordingly, the Domestic Abuse Bill, which was at Committee stage in the House of Commons, will fall.

On 31 October 2019 the Home Office published a letter from the Minister for Safeguarding and Vulnerability, Victoria Atkins MP, to Carolyn Harris MP following the second reading of the Bill and concerning a number of issues arising in respect of the Bill. For the letter, click here. For the Bill, as introduced to the Commons, click here.

Unauthorised encampments and criminalisation
On 3 November 2019 the Government announced that it will launch a consultation on proposals to give police new powers to arrest and seize the property and vehicles of trespassers who set up unauthorised caravan sites. Currently such trespassing is defined in law as a civil matter. The proposals follow a Home Office review into how trespass by setting up an unauthorised encampment could be made a criminal offence in England and Wales, learning lessons from other countries such as the Republic of Ireland. For the announcement, click here. For more details of the consultation, see Housing Law Consultations below.

New Rent Standard
On 1 November 2019 the Regulator of Social Housing published the response to its consultation on proposals to introduce a new Rent Standard from 1 April 2020. Key points from the consultation were:

• Most respondents (92.7 per cent) considered that the RSH had accurately reflected the requirements of the Direction in its proposed Rent Standard.
• The majority (81.3 per cent) also said that the information in conjunction with the policy statement gave providers an appropriate level of clarity about the rules on rent with which they would be required to comply.
• Issues identified around drafting of the Rent Standard have led to changes to its layout.

The RSH has determined that with effect from 1 April 2020, the Rent Standard will be as set out in Annex 2 to the Decision Statement. For the Decision Statement, click here. For the response to the consultation, click here.

NFA launches election manifesto
On 31 October 2019 the National Federation of ALMOs launched its Election Manifesto, making the case for a new generation of council housing. The manifesto outlines “how focusing on supply, standards and tackling stigma will ensure council housing becomes a key part of a mixed tenure market”. For the full manifesto and executive summary, click here.

National Renter Manifesto
On 29 October 2019 Renter Manifesto published the National Renter Manifesto which sets out “the steps needed to ensure that everybody has a secure, affordable and decent home”. The manifesto is based on joint work between Generation Rent, London Renters Union, ACORN, Tenants Union UK, Renters’ Rights London and the New Economics Foundation: organisations that represent and support private renters, campaigning for radical reform of private renting and a transformation of the housing system. The manifesto covers six key themes: Security, Affordability, Justice, Conditions, Discrimination, and Housing for People Not Profit. For the manifesto, click here. To sign the manifesto, click here.

Rough sleeping – London
On 31 October 2019 CHAIN (the Combined Homelessness and Information Network) published its quarterly report presenting information about people seen rough sleeping by outreach teams in London between July and September 2019. In that period outreach teams recorded 2,069 people in London sleeping rough for the first time. Of these:

• 1,650 (8 per cent) spent just one night sleeping rough.
• 393 (19 per cent) slept rough for more than one night but did not go on to live on the streets.
• 26 (1 per cent) were deemed to be living on the streets.

The number of new rough sleepers recorded during this period was 50 per cent higher than the same period last year. For the full statistics, broken down by borough, click here and then on the link to the Quarter 2 report for 2019/20. For comment on the figures by Crisis, click here.

London winter shelters list 2019/20
On 1 November 2019 Homeless Link published its list of London emergency shelters available this winter. The list will be republished up to once a week as more shelters finalise their details for the winter. For more information, click here.

Benefit freeze
On 3 November 2019 the Government announced that working-age benefits such as universal credit and jobseeker's allowance will rise by 1.7 per cent from April 2020. A freeze on benefits has been in place since 2015. For comment by Crisis, click here. For a report by BBC News of the announcement, click here.

Under-occupying social housing: Housing Benefit entitlement
On 1 November 2019 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper providing information on which claimants are affected by the reduction in housing benefit/housing element of universal credit when under-occupying a social rented home ('the removal of the spare room subsidy' or 'bedroom tax'). The paper has been updated to include some of the more recent legal challenges to the under-occupation deduction. For the paper, click here.

Universal credit and vulnerable people
On 1 November 2019 the Department for Work and Pensions announced a £10 million Universal Credit Transition Fund for outreach programmes to help vulnerable people, including disabled people, care leavers and those with mental health issues, make universal credit claims. The fund will be available to partner organisations across the UK, including charities, from April 2020.For the announcement, click here.

Criminal landlords
On 4 November 2019 the MHCLG announced an additional £4 million of funding for councils to tackle criminal landlords. Councils can bid for a slice of funding to step up enforcement action against landlords who break the law and provide inadequate service to their tenants. This is the second year of this fund. Last year over £2 million of funding was shared amongst 56 projects. For more details, click here. For comment by the Residential Landlords Association, click here.

Social Housing Grant: guidance for registered social landlords and local authorities – Wales
On 4 November 2019 the Welsh Government published guidance to Registered Social Landlords and local authorities on the procedures for the management of Social Housing Grant, which is the main source of Welsh Government funding for affordable housing in Wales. The guidance provides an overview of the process in the main body of the text with the detail covered in a series of appendices. For the guidance, click here.

Succession to secure council tenancies
On 31 October 2019 in Simawi v London Borough of Haringey [2019] EWCA Civ 1770, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal over the rules relating to the succession to secure council tenancies. For the judgment, click here. For a report on the judgment in Local Government Lawyer, click here.

Private sector landlord regulation
On 4 November 2019 the Residential Landlords Association published analysis finding that “the number of laws creating an obligation on private landlords has increased by 32 per cent since 2010”. According to the analysis, the total number of regulations affecting landlords has increased to 156, up from 118 when the Conservative-led coalition government came to power. For the analysis, click here. For an article concerning it, click here.

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Parliament is due to be dissolved on 6 November 2019 ahead of the General Election on 12 December. On dissolution Bills progressing through Parliament fail and will need to be reintroduced in the next Parliament.

Rented Homes Bill
This Private Members' Bill, sponsored by Baroness Grender, seeks to amend the Housing Act 1988 to abolish assured shorthold tenancies and to extend the grounds upon which landlords of residential housing may recover possession. The Bill received its first reading on 28 October 2019. It is due to receive its second reading on a date to be announced. For the Bill as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Sprinklers and other fire safety measures in new high-rise blocks of flats
On 5 September 2019 the MHCLG launched a consultation outlining the government’s intention to reduce the “trigger height” at which sprinkler systems would be required in new high-rise blocks of flats and asking for views on the trigger height options. It also seeks views on proposals to improve wayfinding signage within blocks of flats, and to install evacuation alert systems for use by fire and rescue services. The consultation closes on 28 November 2019. For the consultation document, close here.

Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme: Towards a more sustainable service
The government is consulting on proposals to change the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme. The aim of these proposals is to ensure that the Scheme is sustainable into the future, in order to maintain this vital service for those who need it. The key proposals in this consultation are:

• contracting for individual courts rather than larger geographical areas
• allowing providers to claim for the scheme fee in addition to the follow up Legal Help fee
• the introduction of a set attendance fee for all schemes in place of the existing nil session payment
• the introduction of reasonable costs for travel as part of the competition element of the bid.

The consultation closes on 3 January 2020. For the consultation document, click here.

Draft Housing Support Grant practice guidance – Wales
The purpose of this consultation is to seek views on the new draft practice guidance for the Housing Support Grant (HSG), which has been produced by the Welsh Government in partnership with external stakeholders. The guidance sets out the framework in which local authorities should operate and administer the grant. The consultation seeks views on whether the guidance:

• explains what the grant is for
• will help local authorities to provide support services to those who need them.

The consultation closes on 29 November 2019. To access the consultation documents, click here.

Housing Ombudsman’s consultations
The Housing Ombudsman has launched consultations on two documents aimed at providing a faster, more accessible and more transparent service. Both the Business Plan for 2020-21 and revised Housing Ombudsman Scheme propose changes to meet the challenges of unprecedented demand for the service and to respond to resident and landlord expectations.
The Housing Ombudsman says that the Business Plan 2020-21 sets out new approaches for handling casework based on a new, more efficient operating model. It includes plans to support earlier resolution of complaints within landlords’ complaint procedures as well as faster, high-quality decisions on complaints in its formal remit.

Proposed changes to the Housing Ombudsman Scheme would increase awareness of the service and support consistent complaint handling practice across landlords. A new power would help to ensure evidence is provided in a timely manner to accelerate complaint resolution, with the initial evidence requested not being received in an estimated 25 per cent of cases. Another new power to conduct further investigations beyond the initial complaint would help to identify any potential systemic failure.

The consultations are open until 20 December 2019. For the consultations, click here.

Strengthening police powers to tackle unauthorised encampments
The Government is consulting on measures to criminalise the act of trespassing when setting up an unauthorised encampment in England and Wales and, in particular, on:

• amending section 62A of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to permit the police to direct trespassers to suitable authorised sites located in neighbouring local authority areas
• amending sections 61 and 62A of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to increase the period of time in which trespassers directed from land would be unable to return from three months to twelve months
• amending section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to lower the number of vehicles needing to be involved in an unauthorised encampment before police powers can be exercised from six to two or more vehicles
• amending section 61 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to enable the police to remove trespassers from land that forms part of the highway.

For the consultation, which closes on 4 March 2020, click here.

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

An end to no-fault evictions – what's next? Ruth Ehrlich Shelter Blog 28 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

More on “vulnerability” Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 29 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

Rising homelessness and struggling families: something has got to give Tom Weekes Shelter Blog 29 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

EPA prosecution and costs Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 31 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

General Election 2019: why we can't let MPs forget housing Polly Neate Shelter Blog 31 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

The bedroom tax is still ruining lives. Its victims need to know they matter Frances Ryan The Guardian 31 October 2019 – to read the article, click here

Social care support and persons subject to immigration control Jonathan Auburn Local Government Lawyer 1 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

Disability benefits, "income" and affordability Matt Lewin Local Government Lawyer 1 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

95% of new supported housing is completed with outdated tech Tim Barclay CIH Blog 4 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

How can housing associations be at the core of creating refugee-inclusive communities? Sir Peter Fahy NHF Blog 4 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

Under the wrecking ball: hundred of homeless families placed in housing slated for demolition Hazel Sheffield The Guardian 4 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

Human Rights and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Aoife Nolan London Review of Books 4 November 2019 – to read the article, click here

Housing: recent developments Sam Madge-Wyld and Jan Luba QC Legal Action November 2019 – to read the article (subscription required), click here

Gypsy and Traveller Update Chris Johnson, Dr Angus Murdoch and Marc Willers QC Legal Action November 2019 – to read the article (subscription required), click here

HOUSING LAW DIARY

6 November 2019                                 
Dissolution of Parliament

28 November 2019                               
Closing date for submissions to the consultation on sprinklers and other fire safety measures in new high-rise blocks of flats (see Housing Law Consultations)

29 November 2019                               
Closing date for submissions to the Welsh Government’s consultation on draft Housing Support Grant practice guidance (see Housing Law Consultations)

13 December 2019                               
Opening of Parliament

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