Housing associations and the NHS
On 12 September 2017 the National Housing Federation published a report –
Home from hospital: how housing services are relieving pressure on the NHS – which highlights how housing services are ‘providing solutions that have a positive impact on people’s lives and relieving pressure on increasingly stretched health services and saving money for the NHS’. The report features a number of case studies that demonstrate how housing services are successfully reducing delays in discharging people from hospital and preventing unnecessary hospital admissions. It also considers the impact and additional savings that could be made by housing providers if this work were to be scaled up. To read the report,
click here To read the executive summary,
click here To view an online summary and case study map,
click here
Accessible housing
On 8 September 2017 Habinteg published a report stating that 1.8 million disabled people have an accessible housing need – 580,000 of whom are of working age (there are 11.6 million disabled people in the UK); of the 1.8 million disabled people needing accessible homes, 56 per cent are home owners with 39 per cent having incomes in the top half of the income distribution; 19 per cent of the British public would most favour moving to a different property specifically designed or adapted to enable them to live independently in later life; and disabled people living in inaccessible homes are four times more likely to be unemployed. To read the report,
click here On 10 September 2017 a group of NGO leaders wrote to
The Guardian urging the government and developers to ensure new homes are designed to meet the needs of disabled people. To read the letter,
click here
Civil court activity April to June 2017
On 7 September 2017 the Ministry of Justice published statistics relating to civil cases between April and June 2017. Mortgage and landlord possession claims in the county court decreased by 3 per cent, to 37,000, compared with the same period in 2016. Such claims have been declining since a peak of 60,000 in January to March 2014. For the full statistics,
click here
Specialist homes for older people
On 8 September 2017 the Local Government Association published new analysis suggesting that the number of specialist homes for older people will need to increase by 400,000 units (75 per cent) in less than 20 years as a result of the ageing population. The LGA says that at present only 0.6 per cent of over 65s live in specialised accommodation, with a form of care support such as 24/7 on-site staff. This is ten times less than in more developed retirement housing markets such as the USA or Australia. For the LGA announcement,
click here For the analysis,
click here
Eviction because of immigration status – changes to Civil Procedure Rules
From 1 October 2017 the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 are amended by the Civil Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2017. In particular, Part 83 of the CPR 1998 is amended so that a new paragraph (5A) provides that where a request is made for a writ of possession to enforce a notice under section 33D of the Immigration Act 2014 (termination of agreement where all occupiers are disqualified by reason of their immigration status), a copy of that notice must be filed with the request instead of the judgment or order required by paragraph (5)(a)(i). For the CPR (Amendment No 2) Rules 2017,
click here
Gypsies and Travellers
On 8 September 2017 the House of Commons Library published a briefing providing an overview of the key issues and policies relating to Gypsy and Traveller communities in England. The paper includes examination of accommodation needs and illegal encampments. For the briefing,
click here
Rogue landlord fined £10,000 for breaching conditions of HMO licence
On 11 September 2017 Brent Council reported that a landlord in the borough ‘who kept 24 adults and children in appalling conditions’ had been fined £6,000 and ordered to pay £3,953 in costs. Residents of a two-storey flat in Wembley endured overcrowding, cockroaches and fire safety hazards while paying rent to the landlord who had crammed them into six bedrooms and two undersized rooms inside the flat. For more details,
click here
Homelessness – Wales
On 7 September 2017 Crisis and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation published findings from a ‘state-of-the nation’ report
The Homelessness Monitor: Wales which is an independent study carried out by Heriot-Watt University. The report reveals that almost two-thirds of households who were at risk of homelessness in 2016/17 were saved from losing their homes thanks to council interventions. It also finds that local authority staff are now providing a better service and more supportive environment for applicants, especially single people. Nevertheless the report says that in the past year the number of rough sleepers has risen by between 16 and 30 per cent; the number of households placed in temporary accommodation has increased by 7 per cent; and most local authorities across the country have reported a rise in demand for their services. For the Crisis press release,
click here For the report itself,
click here
Universal Credit roll-out
On 11 September 2017 Citizens Advice published a report which warns that the expansion of Universal Credit is 'a disaster waiting to happen'. For the report Citizens Advice analysed over 50,000 cases where it has helped people with their debt problems and found that for those on Universal Credit: 79 per cent have priority debts such a rent or council tax, putting them at greater risk of eviction, visits from bailiffs, being cut off from energy supplies and even prison (compared to 69 per cent on legacy benefits such as Jobseekers Allowance or Housing Benefit); 41 per cent have no money available to pay creditors as their monthly spend on essential living costs is more than their income; and typically people on Universal Credit have only around £3 a month left to pay creditors. For the report and summary,
click here
De-registration as a provider of social housing
On 8 September 2017 the Homes and Communities Agency announced that the deadline for de-registration applications has been extended following enquiries from some registered providers. Fees for providers with fewer than 60 social housing units will be waived for 2017/18 where a complete de-registration application is made by 2 October 2017 and the application has a reasonable chance of being completed by the end of the financial year. For more details,
click here
Letting agents’ fees
On 6 September 2017 Members of Parliament debated the proposed ban on letting agent fees to tenants. During the course of the debate, Alok Sharma, Minister of State at the DCLG, contributed to the debate (beginning at 10.42 am) and confirmed that ‘under [the Government’s] proposals, tenants will no longer have to pay letting fees, whether they rent through an agent or directly from a landlord.’ For the debate,
click here For a report of the debate by ARLA Propertymark, which opposes a total ban,
click here
Draft housing strategy – London
On 4 September 2017 the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, published his draft housing strategy for London. The strategy seeks to provide ‘a comprehensive plan to address the housing crisis over the next few years. This includes: starting to build 90,000 new affordable homes by 2021; ensuring a better deal for private renters; increasing the building of more genuinely affordable homes; supporting new housing providers including community builders; and helping tackle homelessness, with a way off the street for every rough sleeper.’ As part of the strategy, the Mayor says that he ‘will bring together tenants, landlords, and boroughs to develop a new “London Model” focusing on increasing tenancy security to support a more stable, family-friendly sector, where the legitimate rights of landlords are protected too. Once developed, the proposal will be submitted to Government for its consideration.’ For an announcement about the draft strategy,
click here For the strategy itself,
click here and/or see
Housing Law Consultations.
Grenfell Tower – statement to Parliament
On 5 September 2017 Communities Secretary Sajid Javid provided Parliament with an update on the Government response to the Grenfell Tower fire. So far 57 victims had been identified. He said that the process of removing control of properties from the tenant management organisation had begun; the remit of the public inquiry had been set; a temporary school had been built; and work was underway on the scaffolding that will surround the tower. As to rehousing:
196 households from Grenfell Tower and Grenfell Walk needed a new home. Everyone ‘who was ready to engage with the process’ was offered a temporary home within three weeks of the disaster. 61 households had accepted an offer and 29 had moved in. 153 households, including all but two of those who suffered a bereavement, have had face-to-face meetings with the team responsible for offering a choice of permanent homes. 164 households had used the online allocation system to look at what permanent accommodation was available. 127 had expressed an interest in one or more properties. 21 households that accepted offers of temporary accommodation with housing associations had asked for their tenancies to made permanent. Across England there are 173 social housing buildings that are over 18 metres tall and clad with some form of aluminium composite material (ACM). Systems that failed the official tests are in use on 165. For the full statement,
click here
Grenfell Tower – letter to residents
On the same date Sajid Javid sent his latest letter to residents following the Grenfell Tower fire, with an update on the action being taken by the Government in response to the tragedy, including the Prime Minister’s assessment of the local authority’s response to the fire, details of the steps being taken to provide permanent housing, the Public Inquiry, the Recovery Taskforce and immigration issues. For the letter itself,
click here
Letters on the safety of large panel system buildings
On 5 September 2017 Tamara Finkelstein, Director General for the Building Safety Programme, wrote to chief executives of local authorities and housing associations concerning the safety of large panel system buildings following recent work being undertaken at four tower blocks in the London borough of Southwark. For the letters,
click here
Letter to local authorities identifying all residential tower blocks with ACM cladding
On the same date Tamara Finkelstein also wrote to local authority chief executives identifying all residential tower blocks with Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding and how this information should be collected and provided to DCLG. For the letter,
click here
Circular letter concerning structural design of cladding systems
On 5 September 2017 Bob Ledsome, Deputy Director of Building Regulations and Energy Performance Division, wrote a circular letter informing building control bodies about wind-loading calculations and structural design of cladding systems, particularly for high rise buildings and buildings in exposed locations. For the letter,
click here
Fire safety advice for owners of high rise residential buildings
On 5 September 2017 the DCLG published a document consolidating detailed safety advice for owners of high rise residential buildings. This follows the completion of the government’s fire safety tests that examined how different types of Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) cladding panels behave with different types of insulation in a fire. For the advice,
click here For details of the Government’s fire safety tests,
click here
