HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Housing court: Civil Justice Council response to consultation
On 24 January 2019 the Civil Justice Council (the body responsible for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system) published its response to the MHCLG’s consultation Considering the case for a housing court. The CJC states that it “does not think that the case has been made that there are current issues that cannot be dealt with by minor changes within the current court system. Further, housing cases often involve complex technical issues relating to the law of contract, tort, equity and public law and it is unclear why it would be desirable for such cases to be heard in a specialist tribunal outside of the mainstream civil courts.”

In respect of perceived delays in the current system, the CJC says: “In reality much of the perceived and actual delay occurs both prior to the claim being issued and after the order has been made.”

For the full response, click here.

Housing court: CILEx and IPPR
On 22 January 2019 the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives published its response to the consultation Considering the case for a housing court. CILEx provisionally welcomes proposals for a new integrated housing court but stresses the importance of adequate resourcing to improve the capacity and efficiency of case handling. For the full response, click here. The Institute for Public Policy Research, in a report published on 28 January concerning wider aspects of the private rented sector (as to which see the next item), also recommended the establishment of a specialist housing court.

Private rented sector: final report from IPPR
On 28 January 2019 the Institute for Public Policy Research published Sign on the dotted line? A new rental contract which sets out “a programme of radical but necessary reform to the private rented sector which would address the challenges [which the IPPR sees as unaffordability, poor conditions, a lack of tenure security and limited control against a background of cuts to benefits and welfare reform, a slow court system and a lack of strategic policy].”

The report’s recommendations include:

• Improving the affordability of private rented housing for those on low incomes (by, for example, reforming universal credit)
• Improving the quality of private rented housing stock
• Improving security for tenants (including ending section 21 no-fault evictions)
• Increasing the control tenants have over their homes
• Reforming the legal process to ensure it works swiftly while increasing access to justice for tenants (including the establishment of a specialist housing court)
• Reforming the tax system that relates to private landlords to ensure that it both promotes socially responsible ‘landlordism’, together with a long-term, high quality and stable rented sector, and challenges wealth inequality
• Giving local authorities the tools to buy up private rented homes and use those tools to meet local needs

To read the report, click here. To read a summary, click here.

New Housing Complaints Resolution Service announced
On 24 January 2019 the Communities Secretary James Brokenshire announced plans for a new housing complaints service for the entire housing market. Under the proposed arrangements private landlords will be legally required to join a housing redress scheme with a fine of up to £5,000 if they fail to do so. The proposals have been made in response to the consultation Strengthening consumer redress in housing.

The Housing Complaints Resolution Service will be developed with a new Redress Reform Working Group made up of representatives from across the sector, collaborating with industry and consumers.

For the announcement, click here. For the consultation and response documents, click here.

Local authority housing statistics: year ending March 2018 – England
On 24 January 2019 the MHCLG published national statistics on social housing owned and managed by local authorities in England for the year to March 2019. Local authorities in England owned 1.59 million dwellings on 1 April 2018, a decrease of 0.6 per cent from the previous year. This follows a historical trend which has been driven by large-scale voluntary transfer of stock to Private Registered Providers (PRP), Right to Buy sales and demolitions. PRP owned stock has increased in the same period and the overall social housing stock has increased year on year since 2008 from 4.00 million to 4.14 million.

Local authority landlords in England made 108,300 lettings during 2017-18. This was a decrease of 4 per cent from the previous year, and follows a decrease from 326,600 in 2000-01. The average local authority social rent in England in 2017-18 was £86.58 per week. This is 1 per cent lower than the previous year which is in line with the social rent reduction set out in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. There were 1.11 million households on local authority waiting lists on 1 April 2018, a decrease of 4 per cent on the previous year.

For the full statistics, click here. For more detailed data presented by various criteria, including geographical area, click here.

Building regulations and fire safety in high rise and complex buildings: Commons Select Committee
On 28 January 2019 the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee held a one-off session with Housing Minister, Kit Malthouse MP, and Dame Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety.

Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the Independent Review of Building Regulations (also known as the Hackitt Review) was established to investigate the suitability of the existing regulatory system for ensuring fire safety in high rise and complex buildings. Its final report was published in May 2018.The focus of the Committee’s session was to examine Government progress on the implementation of the findings of the Hackitt Review.

To view the session, click here. For more details, click here.

Management of leasehold properties: Law Commission proposals
On 28 January 2019 the Law Commission released a consultation paper comprising proposals that are designed to make it quicker and easier for leaseholders to take control of the day-to-day management of their building. The proposals include:

• Extending the qualifying criteria so that leasehold houses, not just flats, qualify for the ‘right to manage’ (RTM) which gives the homeowners, rather than their landlord, responsibility for management functions relating to services, repairs, maintenance and insurance.
• Permitting multi-block RTM on estates, and removing the 25 per cent commercial space restriction.
• Reducing the number of notices that leaseholders must serve as part of the claim process.
• Introducing deadlines for procedures and exchanges of information between the landlord and RTM company, so that the process doesn’t stall.
• Exploring options for a more balanced costs regime.
• Giving the tribunal exclusive jurisdiction over RTM disputes so it can resolve disputes quickly, and waive minor procedural mistakes made in the process of claiming the RTM.

For the consultation document, click here. For a summary, click here. For a ‘Key Facts’ document, click here.

Social housing and the case for increased provision: House of Lords debate
On 31 January 2019 the House of Lords will debate a motion moved by Lord Whitty (Labour) “that this House takes note of the case for a long-term commitment to increased provision of social housing to help to reduce housing costs, homelessness and housing benefit expenditure”. On 24 January 2019 the House of Lords Library published a briefing on this issue in advance of the debate. For the briefing, click here. To read the Hansard record of the debate in due course, click here and then click on the tab for 31 January.

Selective licensing schemes
On 24 January 2019 the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) published a report analysing the impact of selective licensing schemes run by 20 councils across England. It finds that selective licensing schemes help to tackle poor standards in the private rented sector but could be even more effective with further government support. The report says that whilst it may take several years for tenants to see results, many schemes are now delivering significant benefits. High numbers of serious hazards and defects have been identified and addressed as a result of property inspections: in schemes that have ended, between 69 and 84 per cent of homes in licensed areas needed work to raise them to a decent standard. For the report, click here. For the CIH press release in respect of it, click here.

Renting: London
On 24 January 2019 Centre for London published analysis which found that the average proportion of tenants’ income spent on rent increased to 31.5 per cent in the last quarter of 2018. This is the highest share seen in the last four years. After a period of levelling out, rents increased in the twelve months to December, particularly for larger properties, so that the average rent in London is now just over £1,500 per month. The report also revealed that the average age of tenants has fallen from 34 in 2015 to 32 now. For more details, click here.

Permitted development rights: open letter from Local Government Association and Shelter
On 28 January 2019 the Local Government Association and Shelter published a letter sent to the Communities Secretary James Brokenshire concerning permitted development rights. The LGA and Shelter say that since 2013, developers have had a national right to convert office space into residential homes and, in the last three years, have provided nearly seven per cent of new homes in this way. Since such developments are exempt from the full local planning process, they receive minimal scrutiny and are delivered without making any contribution to affordable housing, which other forms of developments have to do. The LGA and Shelter consider that the current proposals to allow for existing buildings to be demolished and replaced with new residential ones, and for upwards extensions to existing buildings for new homes through a permitted development right, should not be pursued. For the text of the letter, click here.

Housing Minister tightens up rules on electrical safety to better protect renters
On 29 January 2019 the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government announced new measures designed to ensure mandatory electrical inspections are carried out by competent and qualified inspectors. The measures only cover the private rented sector. The forthcoming response to the social housing green paper consultation will cover a wide range of issues including the safety and quality of social housing. For the MHCLG press release click here

Help to Buy – Wales: Shared Equity Loan Scheme
On 24 January 2019 the Welsh Government published data which include information on the number of homes purchased and the value of the loans received under the shared equity loan scheme.

• Between 1 October and 31 December 2018, 678 property purchases were completed using a Welsh Government shared equity loan. This brings the total number of purchases under Help to Buy – Wales since its introduction on 2 January 2014 to 8,485.
• Over the quarter, the total value of the equity loans was £26.8 million. The value of the properties purchased totalled £135.2 million.
• At 31 December 2018 there were 547 applications for loans still outstanding.
• The mean purchase price of a property bought using the scheme during the quarter was £199,424, with a mean equity loan value of £39,533.
• Between 1 October and 31 December 2018 there were 83 completed purchases of leasehold properties. Of these only three were houses, which is significantly fewer than the 40 recorded in the same quarter of last year.

For the full data, click here

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Local Housing Authority Debt Bill
This Bill, which had its first reading in the House of Lords on 4 July 2017, seeks to replace the current regime of limits on local housing authorities’ debt with limits determined by the existing prudential regime for local authority borrowing for non-housing-related purposes. The second reading is yet to be scheduled. For the Bill as introduced, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill
This is a Private Member’s Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Peter Bone. The Bill is intended to require banks to provide current accounts for homeless people seeking work; and for connected purposes. The Bill is being prepared for publication. The Bill received its first reading on 5 September 2017. The second reading is due to take place on 1 February 2019. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Sublet Property (Offences) Bill
This is a Private Member’s Bill introduced in the House of Commons by Christopher Chope. It is intended to make the breach of certain rules relating to sub-letting rented accommodation a criminal offence; to make provision for criminal sanctions in respect of unauthorised sub-letting; and for connected purposes. The Bill is being prepared for publication. The Bill received its first reading on 5 September 2017 and was due to receive its second reading on 23 November 2018 but was not called. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Mobile Homes and Park Homes Bill
This is a Private Member’s Bill introduced in the House of Commons, also by Christopher Chope. It is intended to require the use of published criteria to determine whether mobile homes and park homes are liable for council tax or non-domestic rates; to make provision in relation to the residential status of such homes; to amend the Mobile Home Acts; and for connected purposes. The Bill is being prepared for publication. The Bill received its first reading on 5 September 2017 and was due to receive its second reading on 23 November 2018 but was not called. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Affordable Home Ownership Bill
This Bill was introduced to Parliament on Tuesday 24 October 2017, also by Christopher Chope, under the Ten Minute Rule and is a Private Member’s Bill. It was said by him to make provision for affordable home ownership; to require the inclusion of rent to buy homes in the definition of affordable housing; to make provision for a minimum proportion of new affordable housing to be available on affordable rent to buy terms; to provide relief from stamp duty when an affordable rent to buy home is purchased; and for connected purposes. The Bill was due to receive its second reading on 23 November 2018 but was not called. The Bill itself has not yet been published. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Creditworthiness Assessment Bill
This Private Member’s Bill was introduced by Lord Buck and had its second reading in the House of Lords on 24 November 2017. The Bill would require certain matters (including rental payment history) to be taken into account when assessing a borrower’s creditworthiness. The Bill has completed all stages in the Lords. It received its first reading in the Commons on 12 September 2018. Second reading has been postponed to a date to be announced. For the Bill as brought from the Lords, click here For progress of the Bill, click here

Private Landlords (Registration) Bill
This Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 January 2018 under the Ten Minute Rule. The Bill seeks to require all private landlords in England to be registered. Second reading has been postponed to a date to be announced. For the Bill, as introduced, click here To read the debate on introduction of the Bill, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Leasehold Reform Bill
This Bill, introduced to Parliament on 7 November 2017 under the Ten Minute Rule and sponsored by Justin Madders, makes provision about the regulation of the purchase of freehold by leaseholders; to introduce a system for establishing the maximum charge for such freehold; to make provision about the award of legal costs in leasehold property tribunal cases; and to establish a compensation scheme for cases where misleading particulars have led to certain leasehold agreements. Second reading has been postponed to a date to be announced. For the Bill as introduced, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Homelessness (End of Life Care) Bill
This Bill, sponsored by Sir Edward Davey, was introduced to Parliament on 7 February 2018 under the Ten Minute Rule. It makes provision about end of life care and support for homeless people with terminal illnesses, including through the provision of housing for such people. Second reading has been postponed to a date to be announced. For the Bill as introduced, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Tenant Fees Bill
This government Bill makes provision for prohibiting landlords and letting agents from requiring certain payments to be made or certain other steps to be taken; makes provision about the payment of holding deposits; to make provision about enforcement and about the lead enforcement authority; and amends the provisions of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 about information to be provided by letting agents and the provisions of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 about client money protection schemes. The House of Commons have agreed to the Lords’ Amendments and have accordingly amended the title of the Bill. The Bill will now be prepared for Royal Assent. For the impact assessment, click here For a research briefing prepared for the report stage in the Commons, click here To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Housing and Planning (Local Decision-Making) Bill
This Private Member’s Bill seeks to remove powers of the Secretary of State in relation to the location of and planning permission for new housing developments; to give local authorities powers to establish requirements on such developments in their area, including requirements on the proportion of affordable and social housing. It received its first reading on 13 March 2018. Second reading has been postponed to a date to be announced. The Bill is being prepared for publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Freehold Properties (Management Charges and Shared Facilities) Bill
This Private Members' Bill, sponsored by Helen Goodman, seeks to make provision for the regulation of fees charged by management companies to freeholders of residential properties; to make provision for self-management of shared facilities by such freeholders; and to require management companies to ensure shared facilities are of an adequate standard. It received its first reading on 14 November 2018. Second reading has been postponed to 8 February 2019. The Bill is being prepared for publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Gypsy and Traveller Communities (Housing, Planning and Education) Bill
This Private Members' Bill, sponsored by Andrew Selous, seeks to make provision about periodical local authority reviews of the housing needs of Gypsy and Traveller communities; to make provision for the conversion of caravan sites into settled accommodation; to require local authorities to provide temporary caravan stopping sites where there is a demonstrated need; to create a criminal offence of unauthorised encampment; to make provision about the education of Gypsy and Traveller children; and to require schools to have regard to Gypsy and Traveller culture and heritage in teaching. The bill received its first reading on 13 November 2018. Its second reading has been further postponed until 15 March 2019. The Bill is being prepared for publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here

Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Bill
This Welsh Government Bill includes provision for: prohibiting certain payments made in connection with the granting, renewal or continuance of standard occupation contracts; and the treatment of holding deposits. The Bill has completed Stage 2. Stage 2 consideration took place in Committee on 29 November 2018. Stage 3 commenced on 30 November 2018. Amendments may now be tabled to the Bill (as amended at Stage 2). For the Bill, as amended at Stage 2, associated information and to follow its progress, click here

NEW HOUSING CASES

Powell v Dacorum Borough Council [2019] EWCA Civ 23

Mr Powell was a tenant of Dacorum Borough Council (“the Council”). In November 2014 the Council issued possession proceedings against him because of rent arrears and because of a criminal conviction in September 2014 for possession of cannabis.

Mr Powell filed a defence to the possession claim, arguing that the making of a possession order would not be reasonable and would violate inter alia Mr Powell’s Article 8 ECHR right to respect for his home and private and family life. In his defence, Mr Powell raised various mental and physical health issues.

On 23 October 2015 the County Court made a possession order suspended on terms that Mr Powell comply with the terms of his tenancy agreement in the future.

In late 2015, it was suspected that Mr Powell was dealing drugs from the property. In January 2016 the property was raided by police and various drugs paraphernalia were found; on 25 January 2016 the magistrates’ court made a closure order, which was ultimately extended to expire in July 2016.

Mr Powell’s application
The Council applied for an eviction date in order to enforce the possession order. Before doing so, the Council sought to make enquiries of Mr Powell and of various support services without success.

Mr Powell applied to suspend the warrant, again raising his various health issues. After various adjournments, Mr Powell’s application was concluded on 21 March 2017 and was dismissed in a judgment delivered on 13 June 2017.

Just days before the trial of Mr Powell’s application began, Mr Powell’s solicitors had been provided with a letter from a doctor setting out various medical circumstances. Following receipt of that letter, and before the trial, the Council carried out a proportionality assessment which expressly made reference to section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 – the Public Sector Equality Duty (“PSED”).

In his judgment, the deputy district judge found that Mr Powell had breached the suspended possession order by dealing drugs. He found that there was a real risk that such behaviour would resume if the warrant were suspended. He held that even if the Council had breached the PSED, any such breach would have been remedied by the proportionality assessment which the Council later carried out once it had received a letter from Mr Powell’s doctor.

Appeal to the circuit judge
On appeal to the circuit judge, the circuit judge held that the Council had not breached the PSED at the stage of applying for a warrant for possession because the extent of Mr Powell’s mental health problems did not become known until later on when Mr Powell’s doctor sent a letter reciting them.

Like the deputy district judge, the circuit judge found that any breach of the PSED would, in any event, have been remedied after the event by the proportionality assessment which the Council had carried out a few days before the trial and which demonstrated that earlier compliance with the PSED would not have resulted in any different decision by the Council as regards whether to apply for a warrant for possession.

Appeal to the Court of Appeal
Before the Court of Appeal, counsel for Mr Powell drew attention to the transcript of the trial before the deputy district judge. It was argued that that transcript showed that under cross-examination, the Council’s officer had had some difficulty answering questions about the PSED as a legal concept. It was therefore argued that the Council’s officer had had no understanding of the requirements of the PSED and therefore that the Council could not be said to have complied with the PSED.

The Council argued that before applying for a warrant, its officer had sought to make enquiries of Mr Powell and various support services but had been met with a lack of engagement. It was argued that the Council had therefore been entitled to proceed on the assumption that there had been no change in Mr Powell’s circumstances.

The Council argued that, on the basis that there had been no change of circumstances which it could have been expected to know about, Mr Powell was not entitled to raise on a warrant suspension an issue of compliance with the PSED when that issue could be taken to have been satisfied by the Council by the making of a possession order by the County Court (by analogy with the decision in  Paragon Asra Housing Ltd v Neville [2018] EWCA Civ 1712, in which it had been held that, absent a change of circumstances, a tenant could not raise on a warrant suspension an argument about proportionality under the Equality Act 2010 when the Court had considered that issue already when making a possession order).

The Court of Appeal rehearsed the summary of the law on the PSED contained in paragraph 26 of the Court’s decision in Bracking v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2013] EWCA Civ 1345. The Court went on to stress that each judgment on the PSED must be seen in its own context and such judgments should not be read and applied as if they were statutes (a point stressed in Haque v Hackney LBC [2017] EWCA Civ 4).

The Court of Appeal held that the Council had not breached the PSED in seeking to execute the possession order: the Council had sought to make enquiries of Mr Powell and his support services before applying for a warrant but had been met with a lack of engagement; furthermore, the Court held that even if the Council’s officer had been unaware of the terms of section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 (the PSED), she had nevertheless conscientiously considered Mr Powell’s circumstances in a way which complied with the PSED; moreover, the Court of Appeal held that if the Council had breached the PSED when applying for a warrant, any such breach would have been remedied by the proportionality assessment which was later carried out; finally, the Court of Appeal held that the decision in Paragon Asra Housing v Neville applied by analogy, meaning that a tenant could not raise on a warrant suspension application the PSED when the County Court could be taken to have been satisfied, when making the underlying possession order, that the PSED had been complied with.

In all the circumstances, the Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed Mr Powell’s appeal.

Summary by Alexander Campbell, barrister, Field Court Chambers. For the full judgment click here.

HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Private shared homeownership: call for proposals
The government would welcome proposals in three categories:

• private shared ownership which would be primarily privately funded
• other private affordable homeownership products which should be primarily privately funded
• other innovative routes into homeownership which do not require government investment but may require the removal of regulatory or other barriers.

Proposals should not rely on government grant funding, government guarantees or developer s106 contributions. The government is particularly interested in private shared ownership proposals where it believes government loan funding will play an important part in removing the risk and financial uncertainty created by staircasing (ie buying extra shares in a shared ownership property).

The consultation closes on 1 February 2019. For the consultation document, click here

Law Commission – Reinvigorating commonhold: the alternative to leasehold ownership
The Law Commission has published a consultation paper in which it makes provisional proposals “to make commonhold work for homeowners, developers, mortgage lenders and across the wider property sector”. The Paper includes proposals which would:

• Enable commonhold to be used for larger, mixed-use developments which accommodate not only residential properties but also shops, restaurants and leisure facilities.
• Allow shared ownership leases and other forms of affordable housing to be included within commonhold.
• Make it easier for existing leaseholders to convert to commonhold and gain greater control over their properties.
• Improve mortgage lenders’ confidence in commonhold to increase the choice of financing available for home buyers.
• Provide homeowners with a greater say in how the costs of running their commonhold are met.
• Enable homeowners to end unattractive long-term contracts imposed by developers.

The consultation closes on 10 March 2019. Comments may be sent using the online form. Where possible, it would be helpful if this form was used. For the consultation document and methods of response, click here

Improving access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces
The MHCLG is seeking views on proposals for new statutory guidance for local authorities to improve access to social housing for members of the Armed Forces, veterans, and their families. The consultation closes on 8 March 2019. For the consultation document and methods of response, click here

Revising the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice: Call for evidence
The Ministry of Justice has issued a call for evidence in respect of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice. Since the Act came into force in 2007, the Code of Practice has provided practical guidance regarding its implementation. The Code offers examples of best practice to both carers and practitioners, who have a formal duty to adhere to the Code. It also serves as a fundamental piece of guidance to the friends and family of the individual, to enable them to better understand the practical insight the Act offers to those who lack capacity.
The call for evidence will seek to establish the extent to which the current Code of Practice reflects changes in case law and lessons learned through practical use of the Code of Practice over the last eleven years. The MoJ says that it is important to ensure that the Code remains relevant and places individuals at the very heart of the decision-making process. The questions in the call for evidence are designed to inform the Government's decision-making on which aspects of the Code require revision. The consultation closes on 7 March 2019.  To participate in the consultation, click here. To access the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice document, click here.

Making it easier for leaseholders to manage their properties: Law Commission
The Law Commission has released a consultation paper comprising proposals designed to make it quicker and easier for leaseholders to take control of the day-to-day management of their building. The proposals include:

• Extending the qualifying criteria so that leasehold houses, not just flats, qualify for the ‘right to manage’ (RTM) which gives the homeowners, rather than their landlord, responsibility for management functions relating to services, repairs, maintenance and insurance.
• Permitting multi-block RTM on estates, and removing the 25 per cent commercial space restriction.
• Reducing the number of notices that leaseholders must serve as part of the claim process.
• Introducing deadlines for procedures and exchanges of information between the landlord and RTM company, so that the process doesn’t stall.
• Exploring options for a more balanced costs regime.
• Giving the tribunal exclusive jurisdiction over RTM disputes so it can resolve disputes quickly, and waive minor procedural mistakes made in the process of claiming the RTM.

The consultation will be open until 30 April 2019. For the consultation document, click here. For a summary, click here. For a ‘Key Facts’ document, click here.

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Housing everyone on the countryside waiting list would take 133 years Hannah Westwater, The Big issue 25 January 2019 - click here for details.

Costs shake-up proposed for landlord-leaseholder disputes Monidipa Fouzder, Law Society Gazette 25 January 2019– to read the article click here

Office to residential conversions under permitted development rights Julia Park, Shelter blog 29 January 2019 – to read the item click here

No excuse for no DSS John Bibby, Shelter blog 29 January 2019 – to read the item click here

If Britain chooses to stay in the EU, the government must then embark on a mass house-building programme Dawn Foster, The Independent 28 January 2019 – to read the article click here

New map of London’s homelessness services launched Becky Rice, homeless link 29th January 2019 – to read the Item click here

HOUSING LAW DIARY

31 January 2019                                   
House of Lords debate on social housing and the case for increased provision (see Housing Law News and Policy Issues)

1 February 2019                                   
Second reading of Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

1 February 2019                                   
Call for proposals closes on private shared homeownership (see Housing Law Consultations)

8 February 2019                                   
Postponed second reading of Freehold Properties (Management Charges and Shared Facilities) Bill (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

Advertise your vacancy to Housing Law Week Readers

Send details of the vacancy and a link to the vacancy on your website to info@limelegal.co.uk

RECRUITMENT

Featured Jobs of the Week

Environmental Health Officer - (Private Sector Housing Regulation)

North East Derbyshire District Council

Fixed term up to 30th April 2019 – Full Time, 37 hours per week

(Possibility of extending for additional 4 months, dependent on funding)

£23,111 - £30,756 p.a. (Career Graded)

The post holder (funded by Community Migration Fund) will be part of Bolsover District Council’s Building Resilience Programme and will be involved in bringing about improvements in living conditions in privately rented properties including HMOs across the Shirebrook Forward NG20 area, by tackling absent or ‘rogue landlords’ and letting agents responsible for poorly managed properties. 

For Job Details and Requirements click here

For an informal discussion about the post, please contact Gill Halliwell, Senior Environmental Health Officer (Private Sector Housing) on 01246 217245.

Applications can be completed online at www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk or sent to:

NEDDC Human Resources & Payroll, Council Offices, 2013 Mill Lane, Wingerworth, Chesterfield S42 6NG.

Closing Date: 17/2/19

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Non Executive Board Member x3 - Regulator of Social Housing

Click here for details

Ealing Council
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LB of Hillingdon
Click here for details

Enfield Council
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LB of Camden
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Hackney Council
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Hackney Council
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Southampton City Council
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