POLICY ISSUES IN HOUSING LAW
Pets in Rented Housing
Beyond the provisions of the Allotments Act 1950 section 12 (hens and rabbits), there are few legal provisions dealing with tenants keeping pets. Mid Devon Council has published a full Pets and Animals policy for its tenanted stock that is particularly detailed e.g. “Larger fish, (for example sting rays) in tanks will require permission from us”. For a copy of the policy, click here
Tenancy deposits
The Deregulation Act 2015 was passed on 23 March 2015. Section 32 gave private landlords a further 90 days to protect certain deposits held in relation to tenancies starting before April 2007. The 90 days expired yesterday. For a copy of the notice issued by the Association of Residential Letting Agents in the lead-up to the deadline, click here
Housing and anti-social behaviour
On 16 June 2015, the Legal Aid Agency published guidance on the legal aid funding of civil contempt cases – most commonly those in which social landlords apply to commit for breach of injunctions related to anti-social behaviour. To access the guidance, click here
Right to Buy
On 9 June 2015, the House of Commons Library published a new briefing explaining the Government's proposal to extend the Right to Buy to assured tenants of housing associations. For a copy, click here On 12 June 2015, it produced a briefing providing a comparison of Right to Buy policies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For a copy of that, click here
Regulating social housing
On 19 June 2015, the regulator of social housing in England (the Homes & Communities Agency) published Regulating the Standards which sets out “the approach the social housing regulator takes to regulation, what providers can expect of us and how we ensure standards are being met”. For a copy, click here
Council relationships with housing associations
A new report from the Smith Institute explores the actuality of working relationships between local authorities and housing associations. For a copy of Working together – thinking alike: what do councils and local enterprise partnerships expect from housing associations? click here
Growing the private rented sector
On 12 June 2015, the House of Commons library published a new briefing paper setting out measures taken by the Government, and policy proposals from those within the private rented sector, to increase the supply of privately rented properties in England. For a copy, click here
Housing problems
Citizens Advice has published the results of eight local studies of housing market failures around England and Wales: Dispatches from the front lines of the housing crisis. Last year, Citizens Advice helped 80,000 people with housing issues, and debt issues due to private rental arrears increased by 8%. For a copy of the new report on the local studies, click here
Housing in Parliament
Housing was selected as the topic for an Opposition Day debate in the House of Commons on 10 June 2015. For the record of the debate, click here On the same day, Mr Philip Hollobone MP (Kettering) (Con) initiated a Westminster Hall debate about the “difficulties being caused to my constituents by Gypsies and Travellers, whether they are travelling or have decided to set up permanent pitches in the countryside”. For the record of that debate, click here
Supply of Social Housing in England
The latest statistics on the supply of social housing in England have been published by the regulator of social housing (the Homes & Communities Agency). They show that in 2014-15 construction started on 1,264 homes for Social Rent, a decrease of 57 per cent on 2013-14. In the same year, 3,139 homes for Social Rent were completed, a decrease of 30 per cent on 2013-14. For the full figures, click here For the numbers of ‘affordable’ housing units delivered in each local authority district between 2010 to 2011 and 2014 to 2015, click here
Social Housing & Welfare Reform
The National Housing Federation has published the latest issue of its Welfare Reform Newsletter describing the impacts of upcoming changes on social landlords and their tenants. For a copy, click here The latest DWP statistics show that 110,890 people had made a claim for Universal Credit by 28 May 2015. For a copy of those statistics, click here
Councils acting as private landlords
To prevent council funds being spent on providing accommodation for the homeless in bed & breakfast and private rented accommodation, Bournemouth Borough Council has decided to acquire a portfolio of some 60 properties at a cost of approximately £10 million over a period of three years. Under the arrangements, the properties would not become part of the council’s housing stock but would be held through a council-owned landlord company. For more details, click here.
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