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HOUSING
LAW NEWS & POLICY ISSUES
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Covid-19 and renting: guidance
for landlords, tenants and local
authorities
On 21 June 2021 the MHCLG
published non-statutory guidance for
landlords, tenants and local authorities
in the private and social rented sectors
in the context of Coronavirus
(Covid-19). The guidance had been
updated following the extension of Step
3 of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) roadmap
on that day. For the updated guidance, click
here.
Judicial review and human rights
On 15 June 2021 the Parliamentary Joint
Committee on Human Rights was joined by
Lord Faulks QC to explore how proposed
changes to judicial review might impact
how individuals are able to enforce
their human rights. This follows the
publication by the Independent Review of
Administrative Law, chaired by Lord
Faulks, of a report which considered the
role of judicial review in the UK. The
Review concluded that there was not a
strong case for “radical reform” of
judicial review but proposed legislating
for the introduction of Suspended
Quashing Orders and to reverse the
effect of the Supreme Court decision in
Cart and re-affirm that
decisions of the Upper Tribunal to
refuse permission to appeal are not
subject to the supervisory jurisdiction
of the High Court. Discussion by the
Committee and Lord Faulks included:
- How the recommendations made in the
Independent Review of Administrative
Law report, and the Government
consultation document that followed,
could affect human rights protections;
- Understanding how proposed changes
could affect the role of the courts in
upholding the rule of law;
- Considering the effect of proposed
procedural changes on an individual’s
ability to enforce their rights;
- Exploring opportunities within the
Government’s consultation to increase
the efficiency of judicial review.
To watch the session, click
here. For the report by
the Independent Review of Administrative
Law, click
here.
Court judgments to get new home
On 16 June 2021 the Ministry of
Justice announced that important court
and tribunal judgments will be available
via The National Archives for the first
time, which, the MoJ says, will increase
transparency and secure free access for
all. The website will host thousands of
court judgments, including judicial
review rulings, European case law,
commercial judgments and many more cases
of legal significance from the High
Court, Upper Tier Tribunal, and the
Court of Appeal. The judgments will be
readily available to anyone from April
2022. For more information, click
here.
Legal aid: Directory of
processes restarting after Covid-19
contingency
On 18 June 2021 the Legal Aid Agency
published a directory of legal aid ways
of working and processes which have
resumed operation following suspension
during the Coronavirus outbreak.
Processes returning to operation and the
dates they come back into force are
listed within the directory. These
updates have been shared with
representative bodies. The LAA says that
it will continue to work with
stakeholders to restart ‘business as
usual’ operations. For the directory, click
here.
Mobile Homes (Requirement for
Manager of Site to be Fit and Proper
Person) (England) (Amendment)
Regulations 2021
These regulations, which came
into force on 17 June 2021, amend
regulation 3(5)(a) of the Mobile Homes
(Requirement for Manager of Site to be
Fit and Proper Person) (England)
Regulations 2020 in order to correct an
error in a statutory reference. For the
2021 Amendment Regulations, click
here. For the 2020
Regulations, click
here.
Coronavirus Act 2020
(Residential Tenancies: Extension of
Period of Protection from Eviction)
(No. 2) (Wales) Regulations 2021
These Regulations, which come
into force on 30 June 2021, amend
Schedule 29 to the Coronavirus Act 2020.
Schedule 29 modifies various statutory
provisions relating to notices that need
to be given in order to seek possession
of dwellings, during “the relevant
period” (as defined by paragraph 1(1) of
that Schedule). The provision made by
Schedule 29 was originally to end on 30
September 2020 (at the end of the
relevant period) and was further amended
so that Schedule 29 has effect in
relation to Wales until 30 June 2021.
Regulation 2 of these Regulations
further amends paragraph 1(1)(b)(ii) so
that Schedule 29 has effect, in relation
to Wales, until 30 September 2021. For
the Regulation, click
here.
Leasehold high-rise flats: who
pays for fire safety work?
On 20 June 2021 the House of
Commons Library published a briefing
paper considering the debate about who
is responsible for paying for fire
safety works on blocks of flats in the
wake of the Grenfell Tower fire. For the
briefing paper, click
here.
Housing conditions in the
private rented sector – England
On 18 June 2021 the House of
Commons Library published a briefing
paper covering private rented sector
housing conditions. It explains the
legislative framework and identifies
some of the key issues with it. For the
briefing paper, click
here.
Overcrowded housing – England
On 14 June 2021 the House of Commons
Library published a briefing paper
explaining the statutory overcrowding
standard in England, efforts to update
the standard, and Government approaches
to tackling the problem. For the
briefing paper, click
here.
Private rental market summary
statistics – England: April 2020 to
March 2021
On 16 June 2021 the Office for National
Statistics released median monthly
rental prices for the private rental
market in England, calculated using data
from the Valuation Office Agency. The
release shows:
- The median monthly rent was £730 for
England, recorded between April 2020
and March 2021; this is the highest
ever recorded.
- London had the highest median
monthly rent at £1,430; this is nearly
double the median monthly rent for
England.
- The North East had the lowest median
monthly rent at £500.
- The difference in monthly rental
price between the most and least
expensive local authorities was nearly
£2,000.
For the full data, click
here.
Index of Private Housing Rental
Prices – UK: May 2021
On 16 June 2021 the Office for
National Statistics published an index
tracking the prices paid for renting
property from private landlords in the
UK. It shows:
- Private rental prices paid by
tenants in the UK rose by 1.2 per cent
in the 12 months to May 2021,
unchanged since April 2021.
- Private rental prices grew by 1.1
per cent in England, 1.5 per cent in
Wales and 1.3 per cent in Scotland in
the 12 months to May 2021.
- The East Midlands saw the highest
annual growth in private rental prices
(2.4 per cent), while London saw the
lowest (negative 0.1 per cent).
For the full index, click
here.
Help to Buy – Wales: trained
conveyancers
On 21 June 2021 the Welsh Government
published an updated list of
conveyancers who have completed Help to
Buy Wales' specific training
requirements. In order to access a Help
to Buy Wales loan, customers must
instruct to act on their behalf a
conveyancer who is on the list. For the
list, click
here.
Second largest ever Unlawful
Profit Order – Riverside Housing
On 18 June 2021 Riverside Housing
reported that it had obtained an
Unlawful Profit Order in the sum of
£145,178, together with a possession
order and further orders for repayment
of rent arrears of £3,000 and for
payment of £9,955 in legal costs, from a
woman who unlawfully sub-let her social
housing property. Miss Adejoke Patience
Ologe had rented out the two-bedroom
flat in Camberwell, South London, to two
women and their children despite renting
the accommodation herself from Riverside
Housing. For the report, click
here.
Private rented sector and
Covid-19
On 17 June 2021 the National
Residential Landlords Association
published a report outlining the toll
that Covid-19 has taken on the private
rented sector. It warns that without
financial support to tackle
Covid-related rent arrears, the
government is “forcing landlords into a
corner”. They either have to accept
continuing to receive no income or
resort to repossessing their property
with all the consequences this course of
action entails for tenants. The NRLA is
calling for the introduction of new
measures to bring housing benefit
support back into line with market
rents. The Association says that
government data show that across the UK,
in February 2021, 55 per cent of private
rented households in receipt of
Universal Credit which included housing
cost support had a gap between that and
the rents they paid. The average
shortfall was £100 a month. For more
details, including a link to the report
(at the foot of the page), click
here.
Regulator of Social Housing
On 16 June 2021 the Regulator of Social
Housing confirmed that it has reverted
back to its usual requirements for data
submission and other regulation for 2021
following temporary changes made in
response to the pandemic. For the RSH’s
latest announcement, click
here.
Right to rent immigration checks
On 21 June 2021 Shelter amended its
advice in respect of right to rent
immigration checks to reflect upcoming
changes to the right to rent regime. To
view the amended article, click
here.
Young adults and residence
On 21 June 2021 the Resolution
Foundation published a survey of UK
adults finding that 23 per cent of
18-34-year-old (non-student) respondents
were living with their parents in June,
if anything slightly lower than the 25
per cent who said they were doing so
before the start of the pandemic (in
February 2020). The survey shows that
those with weaker labour market
positions were already more likely to
live with their parents before the
crisis hit: 25 per cent of respondents
who worked in sectors that would become
hard-hit, like hospitality, lived with
their parents throughout the crisis,
compared with the 15 per cent of those
who worked in industries less affected
by the pandemic. For more details, click
here.
Buy to let market
Hamptons, the estate agents, have
reported that the recent rush of
investors purchasing buy-to-let
properties has begun to wane as the end
of the stamp duty holiday looms. The
estate agent says: “In February 2021,
landlords bought 15 per cent of all
homes purchased in Great Britain, the
highest level since 2016. Since then,
however, the proportion of investor
purchases has fallen and stood at 11 per
cent in May. This is back to the record
low levels of landlord purchases seen in
2019 and reflects the fact investors
buying homes that month have probably
missed the deadline – just 10 per cent
of offers made in May are likely to
complete before the first phase of the
stamp duty holiday ends on 30th June.”
For more information, click
here.
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HOUSING
LAWS IN THE PIPELINE
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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 took place on
24 May 2021. The Bill completed its
committee stage on 14 June 2021. The
Bill will now proceed to the report
stage which is yet to be scheduled. For
the Bill as introduced, click
here. To follow
progress of the Bill, click
here.
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Gell v 32 St John's Road
(Eastbourne) Management Company Ltd
[2021] EWCA Civ 789
The Court of Appeal assessed the effect
on a claim for service charges of the
striking out of a defence that had not
been determined. It found that since the
defence had been struck out, it was not
open to the defendant to rely upon the
issues raised therein.
Facts and litigation history
The defendant’s lease required tenants
to contribute to the upkeep of the
building, which is managed for their
mutual benefit by a management company,
the landlord, which appoints agents to
carry out its function. The particulars
of claim asserted that the claim was for
a service charge of £73,163.98. The
anticipated cost of maintenance in 2015
and 2016 was very high, because major
works were believed to be necessary.
The defendant denied that the deed
signed in 2001 stipulating the need to
pay service charges was binding, because
he claimed he signed under duress. He
also maintained that he should not have
to pay more than the sum which the DWP
has agreed as part of his sickness
benefit.
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant
Act 1985 imposes a requirement for
consultation and limits recovery of
service charges if they are not complied
with. Mr Gell did not mention the
consultation requirements at all in his
defence.
On 8 August 2017 Deputy District Judge
Thompson struck out the defence and
counterclaim as the allegation of duress
and deceit had not been raised in
earlier proceedings, and the
counterclaim “disclosed no reasonable
grounds”. She entered judgment for the
claimant for an amount “to be assessed”,
on the basis of further evidence to be
filed. The judge did not say that she
intended to assess the reasonableness of
the maintenance charges under section 19
of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 at
the adjourned hearing.
The case returned for hearing before the
Deputy District Judge on 22 February
2019. She made an order that “the
question of the reasonableness of the
amount of the service charge to be
determined by the First Tier Tribunal
(Property Chamber)”.
On 27 August 2019 Judge Simpkiss allowed
the landlord’s appeal against this. He
found that since it was not open to Mr.
Gell to dispute his liability there was
no question “which falls for
determination which the First Tier
Tribunal or the Upper Tribunal would
have jurisdiction to determine” under
the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and no
power therefore to refer anything to the
Tribunal under section 176A of the
Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act
2002. Judgment was entered for the sum
claimed plus interest, and costs on the
indemnity basis.
The issues on this appeal
The issues were:
i) Whether the His Honour Judge Simpkiss
was right in law to decide that because
his defence had been struck out it was
not open to Mr. Gell to dispute his
liability to pay the service charges in
the sum which had been demanded, and
contractual interest under the lease.
ii) If so, should the judge have
refrained from entering judgment for the
amount claimed plus interest because of
the decision of the Deputy District
Judge of August 2017? Did that, in
effect, amount to the grant of leave to
defend the claim on the issue of the
reasonableness of the service charges?
Case law
The Court of Appeal referred to several
judgments including that in Enterprise
Home Developments LLP v Adam
[2020] UKUT 151 (LC), where it was
stated that:
“it is for the party disputing the
reasonableness of sums claimed to
establish a prima facie case… the FTT is
not required to adopt a sceptical
approach.”
The Court also referred to the decision
in Lunnun v. Singh [1999] CPLR
587 where it was found that the true
principle is that on an assessment of
damages, any point which goes to
quantification of the damage can be
raised by the defendant, provided that
it is not inconsistent with any issue
settled by the judgment.
Issue 1: the entry of judgment
in the sum claimed was wrong in law
The Court of Appeal held that in order
for service charges not to be found
unreasonable under section 19 of the
Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, that must
be pleaded [65]. It did not agree with
the argument that the Act places an onus
on the court to investigate the issue of
reasonableness in all cases, whether
they are defended or not as that is not
explicit in the legislation [66].
Similarly, as regards section 20, the
Court found a need for any defendant
seeking to rely upon it to set out
clearly ‘what was done, and not done,
what was wrong with it, and what the
suggested consequence should be’ [68].
The defendant sought to argue that he
was hindered by his status as a litigant
in person. The Court followed the
decision of the Supreme Court in Barton
v. Wright Hassall LLP [2018] UKSC
12 in finding that litigants in person
must still comply with legal rules and
procedure. However, it noted that where
a tenant appears in person or is
disabled in some relevant way the court
will make reasonable adjustments, ‘by
allowing time if necessary, by reading
the documents produced by that party in
a non-technical way to decide if they
are clear enough to put the landlord on
notice of the issues it has to deal
with, and in any other way which the
justice of the case requires’ [71].
Issue 2: the reasonableness of
the services charges was put in issue
by the Deputy District Judge’s order
of August 2017
The Court of Appeal found that as a
consequence of the striking out of the
defence the issues that the defendant
raised regarding section 20 were not
before the judge at all. The passing
references to the section 20
consultation in Mr Gell’s late document
were not sufficient to mean that an
issue with section 20 compliance had
properly been raised [79]. As such, the
DDJ certainly did not have to be
“absolutely clear” that section 20 of
the 1985 Act had been complied with. The
Deputy District Judge erred in that she
approached the matter on the basis that
any conceivable defence to the service
charges was open to Mr. Gell [81].
As a result, the Court of Appeal
concluded that the transfer of the whole
case to the First-tier Tribunal was not
a course properly open to the Deputy
District Judge [84].
Summary by Parissa
Najah, barrister, Trinity
Chambers. For the
judgment, click
here.
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HOUSING
LAW CONSULTATIONS
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Domestic abuse support within
safe accommodation: statutory guidance
and regulations consultation
In this consultation, the MHCLG
seeks views on the draft statutory
guidance and the following draft
statutory instruments:
- The Domestic Abuse Support (Relevant
Accommodation) Regulations 2021
- The Domestic Abuse (Local Authority
Strategies) Regulations 2021
On 29 April the Domestic Abuse Act 2021
received Royal Assent. The Act includes
within Part 4 (sections 57-61) new
duties on tier 1 local authorities in
England relating to the provision of
support for victims and their children
residing within relevant safe
accommodation and a duty on tier 2
authorities to co-operate with tier 1
authorities.
The Act also places a requirement to
consult on the statutory guidance and
two regulations. Under section 60 of
Part 4 of the Act, the Secretary of
State is required to consult on and
issue statutory guidance to assist local
authorities in exercising their new
functions. Once finalised, local
authorities will need to have regard to
the guidance in exercising their
functions.
For the consultation documents, click
here. The consultation
closes on 27 July 2021.
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HOUSING
LAW ARTICLES & PUBLICATIONS
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How can the UK’s social
housing stigma be overturned?
Michael Guest CIH Blog 15 June
2021 – to read the article, click
here
Breaking the letting fees
ban – what we know Dan
Wilson Craw Generation Rent 15
June 2021 – to read the article, click
here
The complexity of choice Yoric
Irving-Clarke CIH Blog 17 June
2021 – to read the article, click
here
No preference is a
reasonable preference - R (Mallon
Montero) v London Borough of
Lewisham Matt
Hutchings QC Local Government
Lawyer 18 June 2021 – to read the
article, click
here
Residential lease extensions
and enfranchisement Aruna
Sarwar and Jonathan Corris Devonshires
21 June 2021 – to read the article, click
here
Housing: recent developments
(June 21) Jan Luba QC
and Sam Madge-Wyld Legal Action
June 2021 – to read the article
(subscription required), click
here
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24 June 2021
Deadline for applications to the
Waking Watch Relief Fund (see Housing
Law News and Policy Issues)
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29 June 2021
Allocation of Housing and
Homelessness (Eligibility) (England)
(Amendment) Regulations 2021 come into
force
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30 June 2021
Coronavirus Act 2020 (Residential
Tenancies: Extension of Period of
Protection from Eviction) (No. 2)
(Wales) Regulations 2021 come into force
(see Housing Law News and Policy
Issues)
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1 July 2021
Councils will begin to accept
applications from mobile home site
owners to be registered as a ‘fit and
proper person’
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27 July 2021
Closing date for responses to the
consultation on Domestic abuse support
within safe accommodation: statutory
guidance and regulations consultation
(see Housing Law Consultations)
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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
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Featured
Job of the Week
Featured
Job of the Week
Housing
Options Officer
Central Bedfordshire Council
In Housing Solutions, we deliver Housing
Options services to people, particularly
the vulnerable and homeless.
The post requires a confident, engaging
and a diplomatic communicator to ensure
the service can meet the daily demands of
clients who are homeless, threatened with
homelessness or require housing advice.
You will be providing comprehensive and
specialist housing advice service to
members of the public. This will involve
advising customers of all their housing
options and their legal rights.
You need to be resilient and thrive in a
high pressured, fast paced environment.
Experience of managing a busy and
demanding caseload is essential.
Experience of good planning and
organisational skills, prioritising and
organising caseloads is also required.
Experience of assessing applications under
the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 and
part 7 of the 1996 Housing Act is
essential.
You will be working as part of a friendly
team seeking to provide person-centred
housing options to some of the most
vulnerable people looking for homes.
For an informal discussion about
this position, please contact: Niasia
Blair at niasia.blair@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or
on 0300 300 6975.
For queries related to the
recruitment of this vacancy, please
contact: The Recruitment team
at recruitment@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or
on 0300 300 8000.
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Head
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Allocations
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Rough
Sleeper Floating Support Worker
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Apprentice
Private Housing Standards Officer
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Housing
Solutions Prevention Officer
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Tonbridge
& Malling Borough Council
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Temporary
Accommodation Contracts Manager
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London
Borough of Waltham Forest
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Housing
Systems Co-ordinator (temporary up to 12
months)
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