HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Notice periods for renters
On 12 May 2021 the MHCLG announced that notice periods – previously extended to six months as an emergency measure during the pandemic – will be set at four months from 1 June. Subject to the public health advice and progress with the Roadmap, notice periods will return to pre-pandemic levels from 1 October 2021. The current ban on bailiff-enforced evictions, introduced as an emergency measure during lockdown, will end on 31 May. Bailiffs have been asked not to carry out an eviction if anyone living in the property has Covid-19 symptoms or is self-isolating. For the announcement, click here. For comment by the Local Government Association on the ending of the ban on evictions, click here and for that of the National Residential Landlords Association, click here.

Landlord possession statistics – England and Wales
On 13 May 2021 the Ministry of Justice published quarterly national statistics on possession claim actions in county courts by mortgage lenders and social and private landlords. The statistics cover the period from January to March 2021. This quarter covers the period of the third national lockdown. To respond to the coronavirus pandemic, there have been several policy interventions in the possession process (see above). Volumes of possession actions remain significantly low across all regions as these policy interventions introduced at the beginning of the pandemic have been further extended on most possession proceedings. Landlord possession claims (6,377), orders for possession (5,427), warrants for possession (2,480) and repossessions (262) have decreased 74, 72, 80 and 96 per cent respectively, compared to the same quarter the previous year. For the statistics (combined with those for mortgage possession below), click here.

Mortgage possession statistics – England and Wales
On 13 May 2021 the Ministry of Justice published quarterly national statistics on possession claim actions in county courts by mortgage lenders and social and private landlords. The statistics cover the period from January to March 2021. This quarter covers the period of the third national lockdown. To respond to the coronavirus pandemic, there have been several policy interventions in the possession process. Volumes of possession actions remain significantly low across all regions as these policy interventions introduced at the beginning of the pandemic have been further extended on most possession proceedings. Compared to the same quarter in the previous year, mortgage possession claims (735) are down 85 per cent. Mortgage orders for possession (145) are down 96 per cent, warrants issued (43) are down 99 per cent and repossessions (3) are down almost 100 per cent. For the statistics (combined with those for landlord possession above), click here.

Housing and debt services in Staffordshire: legal aid tender
On 13 May 2021 the Legal Aid Agency opened a tender exercise (closing on 7 June 2021) for housing and debt services in the Staffordshire procurement area. There is no limit on the number of contracts that can be awarded in this procurement area. Applicants do not need to be a current legal aid provider to submit a tender, enabling organisations new to legal aid to bid to deliver this work. Housing and debt contracts will be offered from 28 June 2021 and run until 31 August 2022, subject to the LAA’s right to extend for up to a further 12 months. For details, click here.

Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) (Amendment) and Suspension (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021
These regulations, which come into force on 1 June 2021, amend the Assured Tenancies and Agricultural Occupancies (Forms) (England) Regulations 2015. Sections 8(3) and 21(8) of the Housing Act 1988 give the Secretary of State power to prescribe the form of a notice of intention to seek possession of a dwelling house in England in relation to an assured and an assured shorthold tenancy respectively. The relevant forms are prescribed by the 2015 Regulations. Sections 8 and 21 of the 1988 Act were modified respectively by paragraphs 6 and 7 of Schedule 29 to the Coronavirus Act 2020 (the Schedule) in relation to notices of intention to seek possession of a dwelling house during the relevant period which began on 25 March 2020 and ends on 30 September 2021. These Regulations also make amendments to Form No. 3 and Form 6A to reflect the notice periods in sections 8 and 21 (respectively) of the 1988 Act as modified by paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Schedule. For the 2021 Regulations, click here. For the forms, click here.

Rough sleeping
On 15 May 2021 the MHCLG announced that a further £203 million will be allocated to councils across England in support of vital projects such as shelters, specialist mental health or addiction services. The funding will be used by councils, charities and other local groups to pay for up to 14,500 bed spaces and 2,700 support staff across England. For details, click here. For the response of the Local Government Association, click here. For comment by Crisis, click here and for that of Homeless Link, click here.

Commonhold Council launched
On 13 May 2021 the MHCLG announced the launch of the Commonhold Council, an advisory panel of leasehold groups and industry experts who will inform the government on the future of this type of homeownership. The commonhold model is used widely around the world and provides a structure for homeowners to collectively own the building their flat is in, with a greater say on their building’s management, shared facilities and related costs. There are no hidden costs or charges, preventing some of the egregious practices currently seen in some leaseholds. The Commonhold Council, chaired by Building Safety Minister Lord Greenhalgh, will form a partnership of leasehold groups and industry representatives. For more information, click here.

Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill
On 12 May 2021 the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill received its first reading in the House of Lords. This Government Bill would make provision about the rent payable under long leases of dwellings. Second reading is scheduled for 24 May 2021. For the Bill as introduced, click here.

Grenfell Tower: future of the building
On 12 May 2021 the MHCLG announced meetings to be held in order to decide if, and when, the Tower should be taken down, to maintain safety. There will be three different types of meetings. For details, click here.

Help to Buy (equity loan scheme): 1 October to 31 December 2020
On 13 May 2021 the MHCLG published statistics showing cumulative sales since the launch of the Help to Buy (equity loan) scheme on 1 April 2013. Between 1 October and 31 December 2020 21,026 properties were bought with an equity loan, an increase of 40 per cent from the same period in 2019. From 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2020, 313,043 properties were bought with an equity loan. The total value of these equity loans so far totals £18.9 billion. The value of the properties sold under the scheme totals £86 billion. 82 per cent of all completions are by first-time buyers. For the full statistics, click here.

Help to Buy (ISA Scheme): 1 December 2015 to 31 December 2020
On 13 May 2021 HM Treasury published statistics on the government’s Help to Buy: ISA scheme. Since the launch of the scheme:

• 386,728 property completions have been supported by the scheme.
• 508,492 bonuses have been paid through the scheme with an average bonus value of £1,051.
• The highest number of property completions with the support of the scheme is in the North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, with the lowest number in the North East and Northern Ireland.
• The mean value of a property purchased through the scheme is £174,531 compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £210,727 and a national average house price of £251,500.
• The median age of a first-time buyer in the scheme is 28 compared to a national first-time buyer median age of 30.

For the full statistics, click here.

Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund
On 14 May 2021 Homeless Link announced that the Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund (£1m capital and £2m revenue), which it is distributing in partnership with Housing Justice, is open for receipt of pre-application questionnaires. The Fund is “proactive, seeking early adaptations and works to enable the provision of winter services”. The eligibility criteria are:

• A primary focus on Winter Night Shelter services via grant spend on acquiring, or significantly upgrading a fixed asset such as land, a building or equipment;
• A need for between £25,000-£100,000 of grant funding;
• Ability to spend the capital grant by 31 October 2021.

For more details, click here. For the pre-application questionnaire, click here.

Housing Ombudsman: Complaint Handling Failure Orders report
On 11 May 2021 the Housing Ombudsman published its first quarterly report setting out how it has used its new power to issue complaint handling failure orders. The Housing Ombudsman issued 10 orders between January and March 2021 mostly due to unreasonable delays by landlords in accepting or progressing residents’ complaints through their process. For the report, click here.

HOUSING LAWS IN THE PIPELINE

Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill
This Government Bill would make provision about the rent payable under long leases of dwellings. First reading in the House of Lords took place on 12 May 2021. Second reading is scheduled for 24 May 2021. For the Bill as introduced, click here. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 Draft Regulations
The Welsh Government is consulting on:

• draft model written statements regulations, including the design, structure and order of the model written statements
• draft explanatory information regulations for written statements.

The consultation ends on 16 June 2021. For the consultation document, click here. For the draft regulations, click here.

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

Housing: case note – R (Ncube) v Brighton and Hove City Council Jo Underwood Robert Brown and Joshua Hitchens Legal Action 11 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

The relentless expansion of permitted development rights - creating more homes but at what cost? Hannah Keilloh CIH Blog 11 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

What the recent elections and Queen’s Speech mean for housing Alastair Harper Shelter Blog 12 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

Less Notice! More Forms! End of eviction ban! Giles Peaker Nearly Legal 12 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

21 things private renters should know Andrew Parnell Shelter Blog 14 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

Converting shops to flats ‘could lead to low-quality homes’ Rupert Jones Guardian 15 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

Nur v Birmingham (Part 2): some on the allocation scheme are more equal than others SW Nearly Legal 16 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

Important Changes following the introduction of The Fire Safety Act Mark London and Michael Wharfe Devonshires 17 May 2021 – to read the article, click here

Owner-occupiers: review 2021 (May 21) Dave Cowan Legal Action May 2021 – to read the article (subscription required), click here

Housing: recent developments (May 21) Sam Madge-Wyld and Jan Luba QC Legal Action May 2021 – to read the article (subscription required), click here

HOUSING LAW DIARY

24 May 2021                                        
Second reading of the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Bill (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

24 May 2021                                        
Deadline for pre-application questionnaires for the Homelessness Winter Transformation Fund (see Housing Law News and Policy Issues)

31 May 2021                                        
End of ban on bailiff evictions from residential tenancies (see Housing Law News and Policy Issues)

31 May 2021                                        
New Judicial Review Practice Directions come into force

31 May 2021                                        
Housing Benefit and Universal Credit (Care Leavers and Homeless) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 come into force

1 June 2021                                         
Introduction of four-month notice periods (see Housing Law News and Policy Issues)

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RECRUITMENT

Featured Job of the Week

Featured Job of the Week
Assistant Director - Housing Services

Permanent
37 hours per week

Salary: Package up to £66,278 pa subject to Job Evaluation

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is looking to recruit a dynamic and experienced senior manager to deliver its Housing Strategy and Corporate Plan.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is an ambitious local authority with big plans for the future and massive opportunities ahead. With one of the most successful enterprise zones in the country, Great Yarmouth is England’s offshore energy hub and Norfolk’s biggest seaside resort at the edge of the Broads National Park.  With 5,754 Council owned homes and a further 369 leasehold homes, the Council is committed to delivering an excellent housing management service and ensuring that there are enough homes of the right size, type and tenure across the borough to support the Council’s economic growth ambition and support the wellbeing of residents.

The Assistant Director – Housing Services post is responsible for supporting service managers to transform their service delivery and ensuring performance data and customer insight information supports the delivery of excellent customer service.

Housing delivery is key to this post, the post holder will manage the Housing Strategy and Delivery Team to build effective relationships with developers, landowners and Registered Providers to ensure the timely delivery of the homes required to meet housing need and demand.   The post will also lead the renaissance of the Council’s own new build programme – building on the current planning applications to deliver 36 new high-quality Council homes on three sites.

The successful post holder is self-motivated, has a track record of successfully delivering projects, is able to influence and negotiate and is politically astute.

If you are looking for a diverse, exciting role which allows you to build upon your passion for housing and make a real difference whilst working for an ambitious Council which punches above its weight, the Assistant Director – Housing Services role is for you.

If you would like to have an informal discussion about the role, please contact Nicola Turner, Housing Director on 01493 846516.

Closing date: 9am on Tuesday 8 June 2021

Stage 1 Interviews: Tuesday 15 June 2021

Stage 2 Interviews: Wednesday 16 June 2021

We offer a friendly working environment with attractive terms and conditions including generous holiday entitlement, flexible working and membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.

Note: CVs are not accepted.

Please clearly demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role using the job description / person specification in your supporting statement.

The Council operates an equal opportunities policy and we welcome applications from all parts of the community.

To apply, click here and scroll for details

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