|
Latest Stories
Social landlords warn against getting rid of ASBOs
06/09/10: The ASBO remains the only available measure to address serious anti-social behaviour by juveniles, a group of 15 social landlords from the north of England has warned the government ahead of a consultation.
|
|
Law Commission proposes ombudsmen shake-up to make complaining easier
02/09/10: Public service ombudsmen should be given a statutory discretion to dispense with the requirement that investigations be conducted in private, the Law Commission has proposed.
|
|
Manchester CC and LSC commission £8.9m advice service
02/09/10: Manchester City Council and the Legal Services Commission have joined together to commission Manchester Citizens Advice Bureau to run a city-wide legal advice service.
|
|
Councils to be allowed to recognise "local connections" in housing policies
31/08/10: Councils will soon be free to acknowledge “local connections” in their policies for allocating social housing, the Housing Minister has said. Local authorities will also be able to reward people with a history of working.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 The gentle touch
Mental health issues represent perhaps one of the greatest challenges in a social housing context when possession is sought, writes Jim Tindal. Both sides will be acutely of the need to balance fairness with the needs of a vulnerable individual.
|
 Contracting out
The Court of Appeal has held that a local authority could contract out its function of carrying out statutory homelessness reviews and that a third party carrying out such reviews did not breach human rights. Elizabeth Wood examines the judgement.
|
|
High Court hits Daventry with £2.4m pension liability after stock transfer
A High Court judge has ruled that Daventry District Council is liable for a multi-million pound pension fund deficit, rejecting its claim that a clause in a housing stock transfer contract should be rectified because of a mistake.
|
|
Council wins Court of Appeal battle over affordable housing targets
Wakefield Council has won a legal battle with a leading house builder over its affordable housing requirement, after the developer argued that the requirement for 30% affordable housing was excessive given the state of the market.
|
|
London boroughs to gain wider housing powers under Johnson plan
London boroughs could gain the widest powers over housing budgets of any councils in England under proposals from the capital’s mayor. Boris Johnson is consulting jointly with London Councils on the scheme.
|
|
Hand in hand
With the housing shortage, public sector cut backs and pressure from central government to utilise public land to best economic effect, partnering with the private sector has never been more important, says Helen Meyler.
|
|
Court of Appeal rejects foster son's succession bid
The Court of Appeal has ruled against a man who sought to take over the council house of his late foster mother. Lord Justice Ward said the Housing Act did not include foster child within the relevant definition of "child".
|
|
Housebuilder launches legal challenge over scrapping of regional strategies
One of the UK’s largest privately-owned housebuilders is bringing a judicial review action over the government’s decision to axed regional planning strategies, it has been reported.
|
|
Shapps promises "direct and substantial benefit" under New Homes Bonus
The government’s New Homes Bonus scheme will be introduced early in the spending review period and deliver councils significant benefits, the Housing Minister has claimed.
|
|
Challenging times
The law on human rights under convention challenges and on traditional public law challenges against public authority housing decisions is rapidly developing. Scott Greenwood examines an important ruling from the Court of Appeal.
|
|
PM floats end to "council house for life" through Localism Bill
The Prime Minister has suggested that council houses could be allocated on fixed-term deals rather than being granted automatically “for life”. David Cameron admitted there would be "big arguments" over the proposals.
|
|
"It's time to move beyond the ASBO," says Home Secretary
The Home Secretary has launched a wholesale review of anti-social behaviour powers, claiming that “it’s time to move beyond the ASBO”. Theresa May promised sanctions that would be easier to obtain and enforce.
|
|
Shapps offers councils and developers more freedom over zero carbon
Developers will be allowed to pay into community energy projects as a way of meeting their obligations for zero carbon homes, the Housing Minister has said. This could see them contribute to infrastructure such as wind farms.
|
|
Housing and planning lead list of complaints to LGO
Housing and planning topped the list of subjects for public complaints to the Local Government Ombudsmen in 2009/10, its annual report shows. Education was the third most complained of subject area.
|
|
Tenant's claim that social landlord adopted nuisance to go to trial
The High Court has ruled that a tenant’s claim that her landlord had adopted acts of nuisance by another tenant should go to trial, it has been reported. The judge said it was a question of fact whether the landlord had done so.
|
|
Welsh Assembly secures new powers over housing sector
A Measure to enable councils to apply to Welsh ministers for approval to suspend the right to buy in areas of housing pressure will be introduced in the autumn, the Welsh Assembly Government has announced.
|
|
Tolerance testing
In Austin v Southwark London Borough Council [2010] UKSC 28, the Supreme Court has ruled that the death of a 'tolerated trespasser' does not deprive the court of its power to postpone the date of a possession order, thereby reviving the tenancy.
|
|
Communities win right to build, but plans need 80%+ support
Communities are to be given a right to build shops, businesses and facilities as well as new homes, the Housing Minister has said. However, they will require "overwhelming support" to proceed without planning permission.
|
|
Environment Secretary scraps quangos, withdraws funding for SDC
Defra confirmed today that it is to axe a range of quangos. Funding will be withdrawn from the Sustainable Development Commission, while the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution will be abolished.
|
|
NHF warns of "disastrous" fall in new houses planned by councils
Local authorities have scrapped plans for 85,000 homes in the aftermath of the government’s decision to axe regional housebuilding targets, the National Housing Federation has claimed.
|
|
HCA calls time on key housebuilding programmes
A spokeswoman for the Homes and Communities Agency has confirmed that both the Kickstart Housing Delivery Programme and the Local Authority New Build Programme are in the process of being wound down.
|
|
Partners in crime
Social landlords not only have to tackle anti-social behaviour but also provide evidence of how they are doing so. But their ability to do this is constrained by the need to for effective partnership working with other agencies, writes Mark Smulian.
|
|
Treasury "blocked" abolition of TSA: report
The Tenant Services Authority's fate is in the balance amid reports that the Treasury blocked DCLG plans to abolish the organisation. The TSA's chief executive has also written to providers saying it still has "an important job to do".
|
|
Six of the best
The Tenant Services Authority’s new regulatory framework, introduced on 1 April 2010, signalled a new era for registered providers of social housing. Graham Archibald looks at the six standards underpinning the regime.
|
|
Minister gives green light to local housing trusts
The Housing Minister has signalled the government's intention to press ahead with the creation of local housing trusts, promising a "revolution" where communities get involved in providing homes for themselves.
|
|
Axe hangs over Tenant Services Authority but leaner HCA stays: Shapps
The Tenant Services Authority looks almost certain to be axed after the Housing Minister last week confirmed he was reviewing its role and purpose and the best framework for regulating social housing.
|
|
The FIPs don't work, says leading academic
Family intervention projects (FIPs) were not the success in the last decade that the Labour government claimed, according to a report published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies.
|
|
Spending watchdog expresses concern over housing PFI value for money
The use of PFI by local authorities to improve housing has had “a measure of success” but nearly all of the projects have been hit by lengthy delays and substantial cost increases, the National Audit Office has said.
|
|
Contractual obligations
A recent case involvng an ALMO has established that protection for contract workers under the Race Relations Act 1976 will be given a broad interpretation, writes Sally Andrews.
|
|
Partnership working on ASB must be improved, say housing providers
Partnerships between the social housing sector on one side and adult services, child and adult mental health services on the other need to be improved to tackle anti-social behaviour, a survey of housing providers has revealed.
|
|
Government promises more freedom for councils to manage HMOs
The Housing Minister has announced plans to allow councils to individually choose whether to require landlords to submit a planning application to rent their properties to unrelated tenants.
|
|
Developer wins appeal against making contribution to affordable housing
A retirement housing developer has won an appeal over whether it should have to contribute to affordable housing as a planning condition. It argued that the recession meant the development was no longer viable with the contribution.
|
|
New restrictions on 'garden-grabbing' and housing density target scrapped
The government has announced the immediate reclassification of residential gardens, which it says will enable councils and residents to more easily refuse development requests to build new houses in private back gardens.
|
|
Policy vacuum fear as Pickles tells councils to ignore housebuilding targets
Planning authorities can forthwith ignore the house building totals set for their areas in regional spatial strategies, communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles has said.
|
|
Proceeds of crime?
Some local authorities are considering actions not only to recover possession of sub-let properties, but also to recover the illegal profits made by sub-letters, writes Chris Corney
|
|
Leave to remain
The Court of Appeal has decided that a local authority could not refuse to provide accommodation to a foreign national when her application for indefinite leave to remain was outstanding.
|
|
Details of Decentralisation and Localism Bill set out in Queen's Speech
The government has set out the details of its Decentralisation and Localism Bill, which is set to radically shake-up many aspects of council governance and responsibility and introduces a general power of competence.
|
|
Self sufficiency
A new self-financing system for council housing to unlock investment in social housing is on the cards. Alan Aisbett looks at the plans to replace Housing Revenue Accounts.
|
|
Going undercover
Significant changes to the way councils conduct covert surveillance are imminent. Ibrahim Hasan looks at the impact on local authorities.
|
|
Open floodgates?
A recent C of A decision means that social housing providers can expect increased use of public law defences in housing disputes, writes Kane Kirkbride.
|
|
Tough love
Could a lack of resources mean that Family Intervention Projects fail to deliver on their initial promise? Grania Langdon-Down investigates.
|
|
TSA unveils final "landmark" standards for social housing regulation
The Tenant Services Authority has published the final version of the six standards that will form the bedrock of social housing regulation, just a fortnight before they are due to come into effect.
|
|
United we stand
The Tenants Services Authority’s New Regulatory Framework comes into force on 1 April 2010. Nick Billingham examines what it means for local authorities and ALMOs.
|
|
Shifting grounds
A court has quashed a council's decision that a claimant was ineligible for a rent deposit scheme solely due to being intentionally homeless, writes Andrew Dymond.
|
|
Still in the running
Despite a slow start, the use of Local Housing Company vehicles is set to grow as the alternatives become less attractive, writes Susan McKenna.
|
|
Council leaders express "substantial concerns" over TSA framework
The Local Government Association has “substantial and significant concerns” about the new regulatory framework for social housing being introduced by the Tenants Services Authority, it emerged this week.
|
|
Key cases of 2009
A number of significant housing cases were decided last year. Emma Godfrey and Mark Baumohl analyse the key judgements of the past 12 months.
|
|
Affordable housing sector demands end to "abuse" of village green laws
The laws on village greens should be overhauled to prevent “NIMBYs” blocking or delaying the building of much-needed new homes, the National Housing Federation has argued.
|
|
Funding the future
The council housing finance review could lead to the most far-reaching changes to local authority housing for decades, says Colin Woods.
|
|
Supreme Court dismisses human rights challenge to discharge of homeless duty
A decision that a local housing authority takes under the Housing Act 1996 that it has discharged its duty to an applicant is not a determination of the applicant's rights under the ECHR, the Supreme Court has ruled.
|
|
Housing associations and councils "under-prepared" for TSA regime
Fears are growing that many housing organisations – including stock-holding local authorities – are under-prepared for the Tenant Services Authority’s new regulatory framework.
|
|
Councils given power to borrow against future infrastructure levy receipts
Local authorities will be able to borrow against future Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) receipts so that infrastructure provision is unlocked earlier in development, the government announced last week.
|
|
Local Housing Companies more popular than PFI, survey finds
There is growing support for the use of Local Housing Companies (LHCs) to meet housing targets, a survey by law firm Nabarro has found.
|
|
Great expectations
The Court of Appeal has just ruled on whether a tenant can apply for judicial review of a decision to seek possession. Nicola Buchanan analyses the outcome.
|
|
Councils given new powers to tackle spread of homes in multiple occupation
Local authorities are to be handed new powers to control the spread of high concentrations of shared rented homes and tackle substandard accommodation, the housing and planning minister has said.
|
|
Complaints to Housing Ombudsman soar by 21%
Complaints to the Housing Ombudsman soared by 21% in the year to 31 March 2009, it has emerged. Figures show jump in the number of complaints about estate services, but disrepair cases continue to be the main area of complaint.
|
|
Government orders assessment of Decent Homes initiative
The government has launched a full-scale assessment of the Decent Homes programme, amid concerns that the poorest performing councils “appear to be going backwards”.
|
|
Out of time
Arms Length Management Organisations have been in place since 2002, but their future is now uncertain. Neasa MacErlean reports.
|
|
Opening the empties
The compulsory purchase of empty properties can achieve a real gain to the local community, says Great Yarmouth's Chris Skinner.
|
|
|
|
See all articles in this section
|
