HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Deaths of homeless people involving COVID-19 – England and Wales
On 10 July 2020 the Office for National Statistics released statistics for deaths of homeless people that involved the coronavirus (COVID-19) and were registered in England and Wales between 26 March and 26 June 2020. All sixteen homeless people who died were identified in England and none were identified in Wales. Most of the 16 identified deaths were of men, and the mean age at death was 58 years for males. London (six out of sixteen) and the North West (three out of sixteen) were the regions with the highest numbers of identified deaths involving COVID-19 among people who were homeless. For the full statistics, click here. For the response of Crisis, click here.

Chancellor of the Exchequer’s financial statement
On 8 July 2020 the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a summer financial statement – titled ‘A Plan for Jobs’ – to Parliament. Of particular interest to housing professionals were the announcement of:

• A ‘Green Homes Grant’ which is intended to provide two-thirds of the expenditure of homeowners and landlords to make their homes more energy efficient, up to £5,000 per household.
• A ‘Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund’ to help social landlords improve the least energy-efficient social rented homes, starting with a £50 million demonstrator project in 2020-21 to decarbonise social housing.
• A temporary Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) cut: the government will temporarily increase the nil rate band of residential SDLT, in England and Northern Ireland, from £125,000 to £500,000. This will apply from 8 July 2020 until 31 March 2021.

For the full policy paper, click here. For the response of the Chartered Institute of Housing, click here.

Anti-social behaviour
On 7 July 2020 the Home Office published updated guidance on the anti-social behaviour section of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act. The updated document includes a link to new guidance on the Community Trigger which give victims and communities the right to request a review of their case where a local threshold is met, and to bring agencies together to take a joined up, problem-solving approach to find a solution for the victim. The bodies involved may include registered providers of social housing, if co-opted. For the updated guidance, click here.

Homeless family left in bed and breakfast accommodation: Ombudsman’s report
On 9 July 2020 the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman published a report which found that a Haringey mother of six had been living in bed and breakfast accommodation since February 2020 because her local council did not do enough to prevent her from becoming homeless.

The mother, some of whose children are disabled, had been living in privately rented accommodation when her landlord sought to evict her. Instead of helping the mother find accommodation before she was evicted, the council asked the family to stay in the property until the eviction date, despite a senior housing manager telling colleagues this was not legally appropriate [as to which, see the next news item]. The council offered the family two properties, one of which was too far away from the family’s support network, and the other needed repairs; the family remained in bed and breakfast accommodation. The Ombudsman’s investigation found the council should have taken action some months sooner; ought to have helped find the family somewhere to live when they were facing eviction; and failed to consider their financial hardship before having to pay costs for the court order to evict them. The council has agreed to apologise to the mother, and pay her court costs, a sum of £1,500 to recognise her avoidable distress, and a further amount in recognition of the fact the family has been in bed and breakfast accommodation for so long, causing further inconvenience and additional avoidable costs. For the full report, click here and follow the link at the top right corner of the page.

Applying as homeless from an assured shorthold tenancy – England
On 9 July 2020 the House of Commons Library published a paper considering how English local authorities deal with private tenants who have been served with a section 21 notice and are about to become homeless. A common response has been to tell tenants in this position to remain in situ until a court order/bailiff’s warrant is obtained. The paper considers changes introduced by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 with effect from 3 April 2018. For the paper, click here.

COVID-19 Homelessness Response Fund: second round of funding
On 13 July 2020 Homeless Link announced that homelessness organisations affected directly by COVID-19 can now apply for funding of £5.5million in a second round of grants distributed by the charity. The funding aims to provide emergency financial assistance to local homelessness organisations, preventing closure, service cuts or staff redundancies threatened by increased operational costs and a loss of fundraised income due to the coronavirus. It will also support organisations that have needed to expand or adapt their services in light of COVID-19 to support people experiencing homelessness safely and effectively. For more details, click here.

Housing Ombudsman: new complaint handling code
On 7 July 2020 the Housing Ombudsman published a new complaint handling code as part of the new powers in the revised Housing Ombudsman Scheme. The code sets out good practice for the sector that will allow landlords to respond to complaints effectively and fairly. The key areas are:

• Universal definition of a complaint
• Providing easy access to the complaints procedure and ensuring residents are aware of it, including their right to access the Housing Ombudsman Service
• The structure of the complaints procedure – only two stages necessary and clear timeframes set out for responses
• Ensuring fairness in complaint handling with a resident-focused process
• Taking action to put things right and appropriate remedies
• Creating a positive complaint handling culture through continuous learning and improvement
• Demonstrating learning in Annual Reports.

For the code, click here. For the press release announcing the code, click here. For an article about the code, written by Richard Blakeway, the Housing Ombudsman, click here.

Mobile homes: a fit and proper person test for park home sites
On 8 July 2020 the MHCLG published proposals which will require all mobile home site licence holders to apply either on behalf of themselves or their appointed site manager to the relevant local authority for inclusion on a fit and proper person register. The local authority will consider a set of criteria – the “fit and proper person test” – and will either grant an application unconditionally, grant it subject to conditions, or reject it. If a site licence holder or site manager failed the test, the site licence holder would have to appoint a new manager (who must be a fit and proper person) themselves, or consent to the local authority doing so. Applicants will be included on the register for a period of up to five years. A local authority may vary or reject a condition attached to an entry on a register. It will be an offence to breach a condition attached to an entry, provide false or misleading information in support of an application, or to operate a site without having a fit and proper person in place. If convicted of any of these offences, the site owner will be liable for an unlimited fine. Breach of these requirements will also enable the local authority to apply to court to have the site licence revoked. For the proposals, produced in response to an earlier consultation, click here. For the consultation document, click here.

Regulator of Social Housing: Coronavirus Operational Responses Survey
On 9 July 2020 the Regulator of Social Housing published results from its latest Coronavirus Operational Responses Survey. The responses indicate the sector is continuing to maintain adequate levels of service delivery in the areas surveyed and has begun work towards recovery. Emergency and urgent repairs are being completed; where lower priority health and safety checks had been paused, they are being rescheduled; repair backlogs are stable and plans are being made to address them; and care and support settings continue to maintain safe staffing levels and essential services.

Over 90 per cent of providers are reporting either all or most gas safety checks are being completed although due to continuing challenges accessing some properties, a slightly increased number of providers are completing most, rather than all, gas safety checks. Providers report starting to address backlogs, but this is balanced in some cases by the number of properties where the gas safety check has just expired. For the full results of the survey, click here.

Resumption of possession proceedings: Mayor of London writes to Housing Secretary
On 10 July 2020 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, warned of an ‘impending tsunami of evictions’ unless the Government does more to protect London’s two million private renters. In a letter to the Housing Secretary, the Mayor expressed his concern at the prospect of the current eviction ban coming to an end on 23 August and the Government’s failure to protect those who have run up rental debts during the pandemic from eviction proceedings and homelessness. For more details, click here.

Landlord registration and possession notices – Wales
On 7 July 2020 the Court of Appeal held that a possession notice under the Housing Act 1988 s.8 served by a landlord who had failed to obtain a licence, as required by the Housing (Wales) Act 2014, was invalid. The 2014 Act which provides for the regulation of landlords and their agents has no parallel in England. For the judgment, click here. For a case summary, see New Housing Cases below. For various articles on the case, see Housing Law Articles below.

Domestic Abuse Bill
On 7 July 2020 the Domestic Abuse Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords, having completed its passage through the House of Commons the day before. The Home Office has published the findings of the Department's review of migrant victims of domestic abuse which was carried out in response to the June 2019 report by the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill. For those findings, click here. For the bill, as introduced in the House of Lords, click here.

English Housing Survey
The English Housing Survey is an annual national survey commissioned by the MHCLG. It collects information about people’s housing circumstances and the condition and energy efficiency of housing in England. The latest survey covers the period 2018 to 2019. Reports relating to specific aspects of housing are set out below. For more general information about the English Housing Survey, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: social and private renters
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published demographic and economic data on social and private renters, including tables on: demographic and economic characteristics of renters; accommodation characteristics; rents and housing benefit; and types of letting. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: attitudes and satisfaction
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published data on levels of public satisfaction with housing and community issues, including tables on: satisfaction with local area and accommodation; problems in local area; feelings of safety in home and local area; and satisfaction with landlord repairs and maintenance. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: new households and recent movers
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published data on the mobility, demographics and tenancies of new households and ones that have recently moved, including tables on: mobility among all households; length of residence; demographic characteristics of movers; movement between tenures; movement into and out of tenures; and tenancy deposits. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: data on social and private renters
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published demographic and economic data on social and private renters, including tables on: demographic and economic characteristics of renters; accommodation characteristics; rents and housing benefit; and types of letting. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: tenure trends and cross-tenure comparisons
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published data on the nature and number of tenancies, including tables on: national tenure trends; cross-tenure comparisons of characteristics of households and their accommodation; overcrowding and under-occupation; and need for specially adapted accommodation. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018 to 2019: owner occupiers, recent first time buyers and second homes
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published data on ownership, mortgages and second homes for owner occupiers and first time buyers in England, including tables on: trends in ownership; types of purchase; recent first-time buyers; types of mortgage; mortgage payments; leaseholders; moves out of owner occupation; and second homes. To access the data, click here.

English Housing Survey 2018: stock condition
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published a report presenting a profile of the English housing stock by tenure, type, location and examining stock condition and safety. The report includes a profile of the English housing stock and consideration of its condition, safety measures and household characteristics and housing quality. In 2018, there were 24.2 million homes in England. Most homes (63 per cent) were owner occupied, 20 per cent were privately rented, and 7 per cent and 10 per cent were owned by local authorities and housing associations respectively.

Eighteen per cent (or 4.3 million) of homes did not meet the Decent Homes Standard. Private rented homes were most likely to be non-decent (25 per cent) while the social sector (12 per cent) had the lowest proportion of non-decent homes. The average cost to make a non-decent home decent (i.e. meet the Decent Homes Standard) is £7,365.

Homes most commonly failed the Decent Homes Standard because they had at least one Category 1 hazard. The proportion of homes with such hazards halved between 2008 (22 per cent) and 2018 (11 per cent). For the report, click here.

Estimated number of leasehold dwellings 2018 to 2019 – England
On 9 July 2020 the MHCLG published statistics which provide an estimate of the number of leasehold dwellings in England, by tenure, dwelling type and region. In 2018-19:

• There were an estimated 4.5 million leasehold dwellings in England. This equates to 19 per cent of the English housing stock. Of these, 2.5 million dwellings (55 per cent) were in the owner occupied sector and 1.8 million (39 per cent) were privately owned and let in the private rented sector. The remaining 234,000 (5 per cent) were dwellings owned by social landlords and let in the social rented sector.
• More than two-thirds (69 per cent, 3.1 million) of the leasehold dwellings in England were flats; 31 per cent (1.4 million) were houses.
• London and the North West had the highest proportion of leasehold dwellings, at 34 per cent and 31 per cent respectively, while the East Midlands had the lowest (9 per cent).
• The estimated number of leasehold dwellings increased from 4.3 million in 2017-18, though this is not a statistically significant change.

For the report, click here.

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Fire Safety Bill
This Government bill would make provision about the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 where a building contains two or more sets of domestic premises; and would confer power to amend that order in future for the purposes of changing the premises to which it applies. The bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 19 March 2020 and its second reading on 29 April 2020. For the second reading debate, click here.  The Public Bill Committee completed its scrutiny of the bill and reported the bill without amendments to the House on 25 June 2020. The bill is now due to have its report stage and third reading on a date to be announced. For the bill, as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Domestic Premises (Energy Performance) Bill
This private member’s bill, sponsored by Lord Foster of Bath, would require the Secretary of State to ensure that domestic properties have a minimum energy performance rating of C on an Energy Performance Certificate; to make provision regarding performance and insulation of new heating systems in existing properties. The first reading was on 8 January 2020 and the second reading on 7 February 2020. The committee stage will commence on a date to be appointed. For the bill, as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Rented Homes Bill
This private member’s bill, sponsored by Baroness Grender, would amend the Housing Act 1988 to abolish assured shorthold tenancies; and to extend the grounds upon which landlords of residential housing may recover possession. First reading took place on 22 January 2020. The second reading will be on a date to be announced. For the bill, as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Bill
This Government bill would amend the electronic communications code set out in Schedule 3A to the Communications Act 2003; by doing so, it would address one stated policy barrier: making it easier for telecoms companies to access multi-dwelling buildings (such as blocks of flats) where a tenant has requested a new connection, but the landlord has not responded to requests for access rights. The bill received its first reading in the House of Commons on 8 January 2020 and its second reading on 22 January 2020. For the second reading debate, click here. The committee stage was completed on 11 February 2020. For the committee debate, click here. The third reading in the House of Commons was on 10 March 2020; for the debate, click here. First reading in the House of Lords was on 11 March 2020. The second reading was on 22 April 2020. The committee stage was completed on 2 June 2020 and the report stage on 29 June 2020. The third reading will be on a date to be announced. For the bill, as introduced in the House of Lords, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here. For a briefing, prepared by the House of Commons Library after second reading in the House of Commons, click here.

Renting Homes (Amendment) (Wales) Bill
This Welsh Government bill seeks to amend the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to provide greater security for people who rent their homes in Wales. This will particularly affect those who live in the private rented sector and occupy their homes under a ‘standard occupation contract’, the equivalent to the current assured shorthold tenancy, after the 2016 Act comes into force. This additional security will primarily be achieved by extending the minimum notice period for issuing a section 173 notice under the 2016 Act (the equivalent of the current section 21 notice under the Housing Act 1988) from two months to six months. Landlords will also be prevented from issuing such a notice until at least six months from the date of occupancy. Further provisions will also ensure that landlords are unable to issue rolling ‘speculative’ notices on a ‘just in case’ basis. The bill was introduced in the Senedd on 10 February 2020. The Equality, Local Government and Communities Committee considered the bill on various dates up to 12 March 2020. The Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee and the Finance Committee are due to consider the Bill on dates to be appointed. On 1 April 2020 the First Minister issued a statement on the Welsh Government’s approach to legislation in light of COVID-19 in which he confirmed that this bill was not one of the Welsh Government’s current priorities and that the legislative programme remains under continual review. For the bill, as introduced, all other documents relating to it, and to follow progress on the  bill, click here.

Caravan Sites Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would amend the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 to remove planning permission requirements for caravan site licence applicants. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been brought forward to 23 October 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Evictions (Universal Credit Claimants) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, seeks to place a duty on the Secretary of State to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants in rent arrears. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 29 January 2021. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Peter Bone, would require banks to provide current accounts for homeless people seeking work. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been postponed to 5 March 2021. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amendment) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, seeks to amend the Mobile Homes Act 1983. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 23 October 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Mobile Homes and Park Homes Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would require the use of published criteria to determine whether mobile homes and park homes are liable for council tax or non-domestic rates; make provision in relation to the residential status of such homes; and amend the Mobile Home Acts. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 15 January 2021. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Housing Act 2004 (Amendment) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, seeks to amend Part 3 of the Housing Act 2004 to provide that any selective licensing scheme for residential accommodation extends to social housing. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 15 January 2021. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Sublet Property (Offences) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would make the breach of certain rules relating to sub-letting rented accommodation a criminal offence and would make provision for criminal sanctions in respect of unauthorised sub-letting. The bill is being prepared for publication. It received its first reading on 10 February 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 13 November 2020. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

Vagrancy (Repeal) Bill
This private members’ bill, sponsored by Layla Moran, would repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824. It received its first reading in the House of Commons on 18 March 2020. The second reading has been further postponed to 23 October 2020. For the bill as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the bill, click here.

NEW HOUSING CASES

Jarvis v Evans [2020] EWCA Civ 854
In this appeal the Court of Appeal considered whether a Welsh landlord had to be licensed in order to serve a notice under the Housing Act 1988 s.8 and, if so, whether such a notice served by an unlicensed landlord was invalid.

The Housing (Wales) Act 2015
The Housing (Wales) Act 2014 ("the 2014 Act") includes provision for the regulation of landlords and their agents which has no parallel in England.

Among other things, the regime requires landlords to be registered in respect of any dwelling let under a "domestic tenancy" and to be licensed to carry out either lettings activities or property management activities for dwellings the subject of "domestic tenancies”.

The purpose of the 2014 Act was to improve the position of tenants, and deliver better housing and better management standards.

Under the 2014 Act any private landlord who offers a ‘domestic tenancy’ for rent must be licensed under Part 1 or have appointed a licensed agent: s.4.

A landlord who is not licensed and does not have a licensed agent may not serve a notice to terminate a tenancy and, if they do so without reasonable excuse, they commit an offence: s.7.
Section 7(1) bars an unlicensed landlord of a dwelling subject to a domestic tenancy from himself doing any of the things described in s.7(2). Those things include, by s.7(2)(f), "serving notice to terminate a tenancy".

Further, by s.44, a notice under s.21 Housing Act 1988 cannot be given by an unlicensed landlord.

Background
Mr Jarvis granted Mr and Mrs Evans an assured shorthold tenancy on 1 December 2015. In October 2018, he served a notice on Mr and Mrs Evans under s.8 of the 1988 Act informing them that he intended to seek possession on grounds 8, 10 and 11. Possession proceedings followed, and a possession order was granted by a district judge.

Mr and Mrs Evans appealed and asserted that Mr Jarvis "was not licensed or registered at the time that he served the s.8 notice relied upon" and that it "must follow that service of the same was ineffective".

A circuit judge allowed the appeal. She noted in her judgment that Mr Jarvis had not been registered as landlord of the property until July 2019 and had been licensed only "within the last few weeks".

The appeal
Mr Jarvis appealed to the Court of Appeal. The appeal gave rise to two issues:

i)  Did s.7(2)(f) of the 2014 Act ("serving notice to terminate a tenancy") extend to the service of a notice under s.8 of the 1988 Act?

ii)  If the answer to issue (i) was yes, was a notice served in breach of s.7 of the 2014 Act invalid?
On the first issue the Court of Appeal held, inter alia, that:

(1)        The words "notice to terminate a tenancy" were perfectly capable of being understood as encompassing notices which are served in order to bring tenancies to an end but which do not achieve that of themselves [32].

(2)        Section 7(2)(f) would be all but nugatory if it was limited to notices which themselves terminated tenancies. The provision would have no application to assured tenancies, which come to an end by the execution of orders for possession, not by the service of notices [33].

(3)        The structure and purpose of the 2014 Act suggested that the Welsh Assembly would have wished to apply s.7 to the service of notices under s. 8 of the 1988 Act [34].
As to the second issue, the Court of Appeal held that a s.8 notice served in breach of s.7 of the 2014 Act was invalid [42]. The reasons for that decision included:

(1)        Nowhere in s.7 was it said that breach of subsection (1) was to have exclusively criminal consequences.

(2)        A provision stating that a landlord "must not" serve a notice must be capable of implying invalidity.

(3)        There was force in the observation that "it would be surprising if the intention had been to make the serving of a notice to terminate a tenancy by an unlicensed landlord a criminal offence and yet allow that landlord to obtain a possession order in reliance upon such a notice".

(4)        Tenants would to a great extent be reliant on local authorities for enforcement of the system of registration and licensing introduced by the 2014 Act if notices served in breach of the regime were nonetheless effective.

The appeal was dismissed.

Summary by Alice Richardson, barrister, Trinity Chambers. For the judgment, click here.

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

We don’t do that in Wales Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 7 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Landlord registration and possession notices in Wales Mark Prichard Blog 8 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Coronavirus—addressing rent arrears with a pre-action protocol Amy Hughes Citizens Advice 9 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

COVID-19, homelessness and rough sleepers: how to help persons ineligible for support Tara Leary Local Government Lawyer 9 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Stamp duty is not enough to pay the postage of this recession Shaan Bhangal Shelter Blog 10 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Housing Ombudsman: Complaint Handling Code Richard Blakeway CIH Blog 9 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Either/Or, not Both. Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 12 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Getting late legal advice not a ground for set aside of possession order Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 12 July 2020 – to read the article, click here

Housing benefit: update 2020 Bethan Harris, Desmond Rutledge and Kevin Gannon Legal Action July/ August 2020 ‒ to read the article (subscription required), click here

Housing: recent developments Sam Madge-Wyld and Jan Luba QC Legal Action July/ August 2020 ‒ to read the article (subscription required), click here

HOUSING LAW DIARY

21 July 2020                                         
House of Commons rises for the summer recess

29 July 2020                                         
House of Lords rises for summer recess

24 August 2020                                    
Possession proceedings to resume

24 August 2020                                    
Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 come into force (see Housing Law News and Policy Issues)

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