Housing

Government announces Homes for Ukraine hosts will receive monthly £500 ‘thank you’ payments for ongoing support of Ukrainians after their first year in the UK

Updated package of support will also include £150 million one-off funding to help local authorities across the UK house Ukrainians and others at risk of homelessness, and £500 million for councils in England to acquire housing stock to house people fleeing international conflicts

Government issues Ministerial Direction to Regulator of Social Housing requiring it to set a temporary seven per cent cap on social housing rent increases for 2023/2024

Temporary one-year adjustment to current policy of limiting rent increase to CPI plus 1 per cent imposed due to ‘exceptional circumstances' of higher than expected inflation

Average monthly rents in England exceed £800 for the first time, new ONS data shows

Private rental statistics also show that London has the highest median monthly rent at £1,475, nearly double the median monthly rent for England, and the North East had the lowest at £525

Housing Ombudsman launches investigation into Islington Council to establish whether repeated tenant complaints about damp and mould are indicative of wider, systemic failings of the landlord

Investigation launched after Ombudsman finds maladministration for poor handling of complaints about damp and mould in four cases over the past year

Government announces £257 million funding to help support victims of domestic abuse and their children who are staying in safe accommodation

Two-year funding to be provided to enable councils in England to meet their legal duties under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Housing Ombudsman makes finding of severe maladministration in relation to Birmingham City Council’s handling of disrepair claim

Investigation finds council failed to carry out further inspections after multiple attempts by the tenant and her MP to prompt action

Short-term and Holiday-let Accommodation (Licensing) Bill receives its second reading in the House of Commons

Bill seeks to give local authorities in England more power and control over short-term and holiday lets

Deadline for existing hosts to apply for a short-term let licence in Scotland extended by six months to 30 September 2023

However, Cabinet Secretary confirms that new hosts will still be required to obtain a licence before they can accept bookings and receive guests

Government issues technical consultation on changes to homelessness legislation in England arising from planned Renters Reform Bill

Consultation seeks views on changes that will be needed due to abolition of 'no fault' evictions and move away from assured shorthold and fixed term tenancies to assured tenancies

Affordable housing provider ordered to pay £5,000 in compensation for failure to deal with damp and mould after referring to ‘lifestyle choices’ as being cause of problem

Ombudsman makes finding of severe maladministration after resident and son left in unsuitable property with slug infestation for extended period

Government announces £50 million Homelessness Prevention Grant ‘exceptional winter top-up funding’ for local authorities in England

Winter pressures funding adds to the £316 million already made available to local authorities for 2022/2023

More than 300,000 households in Great Britain will be at risk of homelessness next year if the government does not urgently change its policies

New research highlights policies including the freezing of local housing allowance rates and England's focus on ending rough sleeping, rather than the more ambitious aim of other nations to end all homelessness, need to be reviewed

Round-up of recent Upper Tribunal housing case law

Leasehold Reform (Forfeiture) Bill receives first reading in the House of Lords

New Bill includes provision to require landlords exercising a right of forfeiture or re-entry in relation to a property subject to a long lease to account to the tenant for the tenant’s share of the value of that property

New housing regime introduced today under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will provide renters in Wales with greater security than in any other part of the UK, Welsh Government says

Among changes coming into force today are the extension of the two-month no-fault evictions notice period to six months for new tenants and a new right to have a minimum 12-month occupation contract

Almost 3,000 Ukrainian households found to be owed statutory homelessness duty in England between 24 February and 18 November 2022

New DLUHC figures show that the total has jumped by more than 1,000 since September 2022, and that more than two-thirds of affected households include dependent children

Almost a million private renters in England are under threat of eviction

New data from Shelter also shows that a quarter of private renters are constantly struggling to pay their rent, an increase of 24 per cent on last year