Housing

Four years residence to be required in local area for eligibility for social housing

Council tax rises will not be enough to prevent further cutbacks to social care, warns LGA

Duty of Letting Agents to Publicise Fees (Exclusion) (Wales) Regulations 2016

Council Tax (Demand Notices) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2016

Housing Act 1985 (Amendment of Schedule 2A) (Serious Offences) (Wales) Order 2016

House of Commons Library publishes new briefing on ‘Right to Rent’

Sharp fall in actions for possession for mortgage debt in Northern Ireland

Accelerated claims now account for 25 per cent of landlord possession claims

Select Committee expresses concerns over extension of Right to Buy to housing association tenants

Final local government finance settlement for 2016/2017 confirms extra £3.5bn for adult social care

Department for Communities and Local Government highlights that up to £2bn will come from a 2 per cent social care precept in council tax - the equivalent of £23 a year on an average Band D home in 2016/2017 – to provide dedicated caring for the growing elderly population.

Absence of housing options for single homeless people impacts on health and creates future costs

New report from the IPPR puts forward recommendations for local but system-wide changes designed to empower tenants to have more control over their own journey, and to have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of the people who live in unsupported temporary accommodation.

Council ordered to place Irish Traveller on housing register following challenge on local connection

In a judicial review claim that was settled the day before trial, North Somerset Council has also been ordered to undertake a review of its housing allocations scheme, specifically with reference to section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

Right to Rent scheme goes live across England ahead of UK-wide roll-out

New rules, introduced under the Immigration Act 2014, mean that landlords - and those who are subletting their property or taking in lodgers - need to carry out checks on all new adult tenants to make sure they have the right to rent property in the country.

80,000 council homes could be lost by 2020 driving up housing benefit bill by £210m

New analysis from the Local Government Association estimates that 80,000 of the 88,000 homes sold under Right to Buy by 2020 will not be replaced as a result of new housing measures, such as the loss of £2.2bn from council housing budgets by 2020 due to social housing rent cuts.

Councils across England are struggling to cope with numbers of single homeless people

New report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Crisis finds that a majority of councils support an approach similar to that introduced in Wales, where help must be provided to anyone faced with the loss of their home and not just those deemed a ‘priority’, such as families with children.

New Northern Ireland strategy to increase tenant involvement in delivery of social housing services

Tenant Participation Strategy 2015-2020 sets out what social landlords, including the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Housing Associations, should do in order to give tenants the opportunity and choice to participate in the decisions that affect them, and additionally sets out how government will help.

One per cent rent cut in social housing to be deferred for 12 months for supported accommodation

Minister for Housing and Planning Brandon Lewis confirms in House of Commons debate yesterday that Lord Freud has written to all interested parties outlining agreement.