HOUSING LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES

Housing and ill health: Shelter report
On 13 October 2021 Shelter reported the results of a YouGov poll which showed that the health of one in five renters (22 per cent) in England – or 1.9 million households – is being harmed by poor housing. The poll reveals the most common problems plaguing renters’ mental and physical health. They include damp and mould, which affects 26 per cent of all renters; being unable to heat their home (also affects 26 per cent); constantly struggling to pay rent (21 per cent) and fear of eviction (19 per cent). Renters experiencing any one of these issues are three times more likely than renters without these issues to say their current housing situation is harming their health. In a separate poll of private renters only, Shelter delved deeper into the impact of housing problems on people’s health since the start of the pandemic:

• 39 per cent said their housing problems or worries left them feeling stressed and anxious
• 22 per cent said their housing issues or worries made them physically sick
• 21 per cent said their housing issues had negatively affected their performance at work.

For more details, click here.

Building post-pandemic prosperity: new report
On 13 October 2021 Pragmatix Advisory – commissioned by the Local Government Association, the Association of Retained Council Housing,  and the National Federation of ALMOs – published a report which sets out how a programme of building 100,000 new social rent tenure homes each year would help address the challenges facing England after the pandemic, whilst delivering gains to the public sector finances. The report –  Building post-pandemic prosperity – also outlines case studies of where councils are delivering this through various themes described in the report. For the report, click here. For a summary of it, click here. 

Young homeless people
On 18 October 2021 the Guardian reported that, according to Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of Centrepoint, youth homeless in the UK has increased by an estimated two-fifths in five years, rising to more than 120,000. Centrepoint’s estimates show that 86,000 young people in the UK presented to their local authority as homeless or at risk in 2016/17, and the figure increased to 121,000 in 2019-20. For the report, click here.

Mortgage and rent arrears post-pandemic
On 13 October 2021 the DLUHC published the Household Resilience Study which is a follow-up survey to the 2019-20 English Housing Survey. It examines how household and housing circumstances have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The third and final wave of the survey was run in April-May 2021. It shows that:

• In April-May 2021 2 per cent of mortgagors were in arrears, higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 0.5 per cent. This is following the return to pre-pandemic levels seen in November-December 2020 (1 per cent) but is lower than the initial increase to 6 per cent seen in June-July 2020.
• In addition to the 2 per cent in mortgage arrears, 10 per cent of mortgagors reported finding it rather or very difficult to keep up with their mortgage payments in the last year, unchanged from previous waves of the Household Resilience Study, but up from pre-pandemic rate of 4 per cent in 2019-20.
• In April-May 2021, 7 per cent of private renters were currently in arrears, up from 3 per cent in 2019-20 but unchanged from November-December 2020 when 9 per cent were in arrears (the difference is not statistically significant). A further 9 per cent of private renters said they were very or fairly likely to fall behind with rent payments in the next three months.
• In April-May 2021, 13 per cent of social renters were in arrears. The apparent increase in the proportion of social renters in arrears, from 11 per cent in 2019-20, is not statistically significant.

For the report, click here. For comment by Crisis, click here. For comment by the National Residential Landlords Association, click here.

Building Safety Bill: draft regulations
On 14 October 2021 the DLUHC added the following to the suite of draft regulations which provide Parliament with more detail of the Department’s intentions for secondary legislation in respect of the  Building Safety Bill: The Architects (Fees for Services) Regulations [2022]; The Building (Restricted Activities and Functions) (England) Regulations [2022]; The Building Safety (Fees) Regulations [2022]; The Construction Products Regulations 2022; and The Higher-Risk Buildings (Prescribed Principles for Management of Building Safety Risks) Regulations [2022]. To access all the published draft regulations, click here.

Building Safety Bill: factsheets
On 14 October 2021 the DLUHC published further factsheets providing more information about key provisions in the Building Safety Bill. For the factsheets, click here.

Ombudsman investigates housing delays in Birmingham
On 13 October 2021 the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman highlighted the high number of families trying to join Birmingham City Council’s housing list. A family had told the Ombudsman that the Council took too long to assess their circumstances. During the Ombudsman’s investigation the council – the biggest in Europe – explained it was receiving 500 applications a week to join its housing register. Of those applications nearly half would be eligible to join, meaning 225 families are added to its list every week. The Ombudsman found the council struggled to process applications quickly enough – it took six months for it to look at the family’s situation. Ideally, councils should consider applications within six weeks. However, Birmingham currently takes an average of 22 weeks to do this. Because of the delay, the Council should have backdated the family’s position on the waiting list to the day they applied, meaning they would have been higher up the priority list, but it did not do this.

The council agreed to produce an action plan setting out how it will get processing of applications down to four to six weeks, with target dates. It will also review its Housing Allocations Policy to ensure any delay does not impact on an applicant’s priority band date. It has also agreed to address any complaints it receives from other applicants about the impact of this delay in line with the recommendations in the report. For the report, click here. To download the full report, click on the link at the top-right of the page opened.

Coronavirus: Support for rough sleepers – England
On 12 October 2021 the House of Commons Library published a briefing paper outlining the measures taken in England to support rough sleepers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. It discusses the impact of these measures and stakeholder comment. For the paper, click here.

Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes and Providers
On 12 October 2021 the Legal Aid Agency published an updated alphabetical list of all LAA funded Housing Possession Court Duty Schemes with the current organisation providing the service in respect of each. For the list, click here.

Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2021
These Regulations (the No. 2 Regulations), which came into force on 15 October 2021, amend the Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (Wales) Regulations 2014 (the 2014 Regulations) which make provision for which persons, subject to immigration control, are eligible for an allocation of housing accommodation and for housing assistance. The 2014 Regulations also make provision in regard to persons who are not subject to immigration control but are ineligible for an allocation of housing accommodation and homelessness assistance. For the No. 2 Regulations, click here. For the 2014 Regulations, click here.

Tackling domestic abuse perpetrators: Local Government Association presentation
On 14 October 2021 the Local Government Association made available the presentations for its event entitled Tackling domestic abuse perpetrators: What’s the best approach? held on 7 October. For the presentations, click here.

Waking Watch Relief Fund data as of 30 September 2021
On 14 October 2021 the DLUHC published data on the progress of the Waking Watch Relief Fund demonstrating the number of applications and buildings that have been approved for funding; the funding amounts; as well as a detailed breakdown of administering authorities’ data. For the data, click here.

Understanding the possession action process: guidance for landlords and tenants
On 13 October 2021 guidance for landlords and tenants in the private and social rented sectors explaining the possession action process in the county courts in England and Wales – which had been updated on 1 October to reflect changes to required notice periods in England and Wales, the end of the furlough scheme and changes to international travel rules – was further updated to reflect the end of the Rental Mediation Service pilot. For the guidance, click here.

Covid-19 and renting: guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities
On 13 October 2021 non-statutory guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities in the private and social rented sectors in the context of Coronavirus – which had been updated on 1 October 2021to reflect the return to pre-Covid notice period lengths – was further updated to reflect the end of the Rental Mediation Service pilot. For the guidance, click here.

Homelessness code of guidance for local authorities
On 12 October 2021 the DLUHC published updated guidance on how local authorities should exercise their homelessness functions in accordance with the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. For the guidance, click here.

Social housing and decarbonisation
On 11 October 2021 the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) published findings from a study to explore social housing providers’ attitudes to improved energy performance, barriers to implementing new measures, and funding. The research found:

• Energy efficiency improvements are not often the primary motivator for improving stock, but many providers are seeking to improve energy performance in the future.
• Social housing tenants do not generally refuse to allow retrofit work in their homes – 52 per cent of social housing providers report tenants never refuse work.
• Greater effort is required by social housing providers to sufficiently engage with future challenges of retrofitting mixed-tenure housing stock, that is buildings containing both social rented and privately-owned dwellings. Half (49 per cent) of providers who have carried out energy performance improvement work on their stock included mixed-tenure units.
• The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund is perceived positively: 78 per cent of providers were likely to apply, of which 90 per cent would seek assistance from the Technical Assistance Facility (TAF).

For the report, click here.

Crisis responds to stories in The Times
On 13 October 2021 Crisis responded to two stories about homelessness published on The Times website. The first was a joint opinion piece by Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of Crisis, and former Secretary of State, Robert Jenrick MP, which concerns the need for the government to prioritise ending rough sleeping across the country and how they can best do this. Crisis says that this piece accurately reflects its views as an organisation.  The second was a news piece focussed on Robert Jenrick MP’s own views elaborating on what the current government need to do to end rough sleeping. Whilst Crisis agrees with the views expressed in the piece on the importance of effective mental health and substance misuse support services in preventing and ending homelessness, there are also included some information and views with which Crisis disagrees as an organisation. The story suggests that to help non-UK nationals rough sleeping in the UK, the Home Office should either grant them settled status or return them to their home country. Crisis is strongly opposed to forced deportation of people facing homelessness. For the Crisis press release and links to the original stories (which require a subscription in order to be accessed), click here.

Pilot launched of new accredited qualification for the homelessness sector
On 12 October 2021 Homeless Link and the Chartered Institute of Housing welcomed the first two groups of learners onto their new joint Level 3 qualification in Supporting Homeless People. The qualification is being piloted in the wake of the recommendations of the Kerslake Commission into rough sleeping. Taken over 20 weeks, this new qualification aims to give frontline staff the skills to practically support someone who is experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness whilst understanding their needs and focusing on their strengths and personal goals. For more details, click here.

Housing Ombudsman launches consultation on three year plan
On 14 October 2021 the Housing Ombudsman launched a consultation on its Corporate Plan for 2022-25. Set within the context of an unprecedented increase in the volume of casework and major change in the social housing sector, the plan reinforces the changing role and importance of complaint handling. For full details of the consultation, which closes on 12 November 2021, see Housing Law Consultations below.

Merton landlord fined £33,000 for unsafe and unlicensed property
On 13 October 2021 London Property Licensing reported that Merton Council had successfully prosecuted a private landlord and his associated property company for letting out an unsafe and unlicensed property, securing fines and costs in excess of £33,000. Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court heard the case against Pedro Reis Tenajas and London Corporate Relocation Ltd on 21 September. Neither Mr Tenajas – who was fined £22,000 by Tower Hamlets in 2019 for issuing sham licenses – nor the company attended. The court found the defendants guilty of failing to apply for the correct licence to rent out a property on Braemar Avenue, Wimbledon Park as a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO), failing to provide information to the tenants and not complying with legally required safety measures. London Corporate Relocation was ordered to pay fines and costs amounting to £21,750 to be paid within 28 days, while Mr Tenajas was ordered to pay £11,530 in the same time span, with a collection order applied to him. For the report, click here.

Lord Bob Kerslake to lead independent review to improve housing development across Greater London
On 13 October 2021 the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, appointed Lord Bob Kerslake to lead a review to further improve and streamline housing development across the wider Greater London Authority (GLA) Group and deliver more of the genuinely affordable homes Londoners need. The review, which will start immediately and report in early 2022, will examine housing delivery across the GLA Group and make recommendations to enable the Group to work together more effectively and benefit from collective experience and expertise. For more details, 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. The Bill completed its House of Lords stages on 14 September 2021 and was presented to the House of Commons on 15 September 2021. The Bill is expected to have its second reading debate on a date to be announced. For the Bill as brought from the House of Lords, click here. For a House of Commons Library briefing concerning the Bill, published on 22 September 2021, click here. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Building Safety Bill
This Government Bill would make provision about the safety of people in or about buildings and the standard of buildings, to amend the Architects Act 1997, and to amend provision about complaints made to a housing ombudsman. The Bill was given its first reading on 5 July 2021 and its second reading on 21 July 2021. The Bill has now been sent to a Public Bill Committee which will scrutinise the Bill line by line and is expected to report to the House by 26 October 2021. For the Bill as introduced, click here. For the Government response to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee's pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, click here. For a House of Commons Library briefing about the Bill, published on 16 July 2021, click here. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Fire and Building Safety (Public Inquiry) Bill
This Bill, sponsored by Daisy Cooper, would establish an independent public inquiry into the Government’s response to concerns about fire and building safety. It was introduced to Parliament on Tuesday 6 July 2021 under the Ten Minute Rule. Second reading has been rescheduled to 18 March 2022. For the Bill, as introduced, click here. 

Evictions (Universal Credit) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, would place a duty on the Secretary of State to prevent the evictions of Universal Credit claimants in rent arrears. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 28 January 2022.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Housing Standards (Refugees and Asylum Seekers) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, would make provision for national minimum standards in accommodation offered to refugees and asylum seekers. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 21 January 2022.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Under-Occupancy Penalty (Report) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, would require the Secretary of State to report to Parliament on the merits of repealing those provisions of the Welfare Reform Act 2012 which provide for persons to be paid reduced rates of housing benefit or Universal Credit because their accommodation is deemed to be under-occupied. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 14 January 2022.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Asylum Seekers (Accommodation Eviction Procedures) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Chris Stephens, would make provision for asylum seekers to challenge the proportionality of a proposed eviction from accommodation before an independent court or tribunal; and establish asylum seeker accommodation eviction procedures for public authorities. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 3 December 2021.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Caravan Sites Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would amend the requirements for caravan site licence applications made under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 29 October 2021.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Mobile Homes Act 1983 (Amendment) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would amend the Mobile Homes Act 1983. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 28 January 2022.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

Caravan Site Licensing (Exemptions of Motor Homes) Bill
This Private Members’ Bill, sponsored by Sir Christopher Chope, would exempt motor homes from caravan site licensing requirements. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 29 October 2021.The Bill awaits publication. 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. It was presented to Parliament on 21 June 2021 and will receive its second reading on 22 October 2021.The Bill awaits publication. To follow progress of the Bill, click here.

HOUSING LAW CONSULTATIONS

Housing Ombudsman’s consultation on three year plan
The Housing Ombudsman has launched a consultation on its Corporate Plan for 2022-25. Set within the context of an unprecedented increase in the volume of casework and major change in the social housing sector, the plan reinforces the changing role and importance of complaint handling.  The Housing Ombudsman has experienced significant increases in demand with a 139 per cent increase in enquiries and complaints in the year to date compared with 2020-21, plus a 65 per cent increase in cases for formal investigation. Externally, the implementation of the Social Housing White Paper and future policy changes to improve access to complaints are likely to sustain increasing volumes of casework.
 
The Corporate Plan aims to respond to this increase in complaints and it sets out ways the Ombudsman will work with the sector to promote fairness through investigations, strengthen complaint handling, encourage learning to improve services and potentially prevent complaints. 

Built around values of fairness, learning, openness and excellence, the key elements of the plan are to:

• Increase awareness of the Ombudsman’s role, together with improving access to our service for those facing barriers.
• Extend fairness through high-quality, inquisitorial and impartial investigations to establish if there was service failure with robust remedies and undertake thematic inquiries into systemic issues.
• Use proactive interventions to improve landlords’ complaint handling and support earlier, local resolution for the benefit of all residents.
• Establish a Centre for Learning to promote complaint handling excellence among social landlords by using insight from our casework, data and intelligence.

For the consultation, which closes on 12 November 2021, click here.  

HOUSING LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS

We've spent £21,000 on moving costs since 2017 – James's Story Tilly Smith Generation Rent 12 October 2021 – to read the article, click here

Families in London are at the epicentre of the housing emergency Steph Kleynhans Shelter Blog 12 October 2021 – to read the article, click here

Levelling up starts with a home Alastair Harper Shelter Blog 14 October 2021 – to read the article, click here

Long-term funding essential to supporting veterans experiencing homelessness Lee Buss-Blair Homeless Link 15 October 2021 – to read the article, click here

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

HOUSING LAW DIARY

22nd October 2021                                   
Homeless People (Current Accounts) Bill scheduled to receive second reading (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

26th October 2021                                   
Public Bill Committee expected to report to the House of Commons in respect of the Building Safety Bill (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

29th October 2021                                   
Caravan Sites Bill scheduled to receive second reading (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

29th October 2021                                   
Caravan Site Licensing (Exemptions of Motor Homes) Bill scheduled to receive second reading (see Housing Laws in the Pipeline)

12th November 2021                                   
Deadline for submissions to the Housing Ombudsman’s consultation on three year plan (see Housing Law Consultations)

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RECRUITMENT

Featured Job of the Week



Housing Options Officer

(Ref No: CHOU030)
Temporary 2 year Fixed Term Contract
£26,511 pa - £28,672 pa + Car Allowance up to £1,239 pa

Based:  Haywards Heath, West Sussex

Mid Sussex District Council is a dynamic, forward thinking local authority in the heart of southern England. We have clear priorities, and are proud that local people consistently rate our services highly.

We are looking for a Housing Options Officer to join our busy frontline Housing Options Team.  The right candidate will enjoy team work and enthusiastically embrace our proactive housing options approach in preventing homelessness finding innovative and imaginative solutions for people in housing difficulties, enabling them to retain their current home or achieve a planned move to alternative accommodation.

You will also help implement the duties of the Council in respect of persons who are, or may become, homeless.  This will involve interviewing people, investigating formal homeless applications under the homelessness legislation, making legal decisions and securing temporary accommodation.

Detailed knowledge of homelessness legislation, welfare benefits and landlord & tenant law would be desirable but not essential.  Keeping clear and concise records will be an essential part of your work.  You will also be expected to visit people in their own homes.
For fuller information about the role including details on how to apply please click on:
https://ats-midsussex.jgp.co.uk/vacancies/168638?ga_client_id=f794ef2b-b3da-4a24-942a-729151146006
Close date:  15 November 2021
Interview date:  19 November 2021