Tory MP Blames ‘Idiot Nuisances’ In Social Housing For Bad Behaviour In His Constituency

The Tory MP for Ashfield called on the government to make it easier for local authorities to evict “nuisance” tenants. “The residents of the Carsic estate In Ashfield are fed up with the handful of local idiots who are the source of the vast majority of anti-social behaviour, and this is happening all over the country,” he told the Commons. “The majority of these nuisances are social housing tenants who show no respect to the vast majority of decent hard-working tenants who are being let down by a system that makes it very difficult to evict nuisance tenants.”Mr Anderson said he wanted police forces, councils and the courts to be greater eviction powers to allow “decent people” a more peaceful life. Read more on the Independent website.

Lee Anderson: Tory MP blames ‘idiot nuisances’ in social housing for bad behaviour in constituency | The Independent 

Court Decision Will Hit Landlords In The Pocket

Landlords who want to evict tenants who have breached suspended possession orders are being warned they must go to court with evidence of the breach before they can act. The warning comes following a case in which the Appeal Court ruled the council (Cardiff) acted incorrectly by actioning the possession order after it was alleged the tenant had breached the terms. The ruling will have significant implications for landlords applying for warrants of possession in the County Court – with the process set to become more expensive and time consuming as a result.The case concerned a tenant who had a suspended possession order relating to antisocial behaviour, which they subsequently breached. Read more on the RLA website.

New Scheme to Help Rough Sleepers

A scheme which aims to avoid putting homeless people in custody has been launched in Birmingham. A plain clothes police officer and two outreach workers respond to reports of homelessness, begging and anti-social drinking in the city centre. The team, including a substance abuse specialist, operates between 09:00 BST and 21:00 from Monday to Friday. The service was launched by West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council and homeless support agencies. West Midlands Police said the scheme might be rolled out to other cities and towns in the force's area. Read more on the BBC website.

Landlords Accuse Govt of Political Interference

Landlords are less than happy with Government proposals to strengthen measures to protect tenants against so-called revenge evictions, considering them a politically motivated interference, and even a “charter” for anti-social tenants.  The measures were announced as a series of amendments to the Deregulation Bill. The proposals are intended to tackle retaliatory evictions, where rogue landlords evict tenants for simply asking for essential repairs to be made. The amendments extend the existing restrictions on a landlord’s powers to evict, where they don’t protect a deposit or have a licence they are required to hold, to situations where a health and safety hazard has been identified by environmental health officers. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Council Prioritise Locals And Armed Forces But Punish Bad Behaviour

Southwark Council has decided to prioritise its social housing to people with a local connection and members of the armed forces, but misbehaving tenants can expect penalties.  Subject to cabinet approval, Southwark’s new housing policy will see anti-social tenants given penalties but those who make an active contribution to their local community through voluntary work or similar activity bumped up the waiting list. And under-occupiers who are genuinely in need of extra space that are affected by the bedroom tax will be awarded the highest priority on the register. As well as giving armed forces personnel priority, those applying for housing will now require a five-year local residency qualification before joining the housing register. Read more on 24dash.