House Builders Face New Code Of Practice

 All builders of market sale homes will be expected to sign up to a new government-backed code of practice aimed at boosting new build standards and giving better protection to consumers. The ‘New Homes Code’ will be overseen by an independent body called the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB). The code, which is expected to be launched within six months following a consultation, will “place considerably more responsibility on developers to deliver quality homes and better consumer outcomes on all”, the NHQB said. Read more on the Social Housing website.

https://www.socialhousing.co.uk/news/news/house-builders-face-new-code-of-practice-to-tackle-quality-of-new-build-69456

Landlords In England Get Ready For Right To Rent

The new law means that from 1 February 2016, landlords with property in England will have to carry out quick and simple checks to ensure potential tenants have the right to rent property in the UK. From the week commencing 4 January, landlords can start to carry out right to rent checks as these can be done from 28 days before the start of a tenancy agreement. The government has been working with an expert consultative panel, which includes trade bodies, local authorities and charities, to listen to feedback from the first phase of the scheme. The panel has advised on an updated landlords’ code of practice which includes changes to the acceptable document list to make it even simpler to conduct a check. Read more on the GovUK website.

Council of Mortgage Lenders Adopt Statement of Practice on Buy-To-Let Mortgage Lending

Buy-to-let lenders who are members of the Council of Mortgage Lenders are adopting a new statement of practice, designed to provide clarity about how responsible buy-to-let lenders operate. The statement reflects existing good practice and aims to ensure that there is a clear explanation of the obligations of buy-to-let borrowers on their mortgages. It signposts additional information from other organisations about the responsibilities of being a landlord. 31 lenders representing an estimated 90% of the buy-to-let market have already adopted the statement of practice. All CML members who offer buy-to-let mortgages are expected to adopt it over the course of 2015. Read more on the CML website.

One in Ten Green Deal Companies 'Struck Off' For Breaking the Rules

More than a tenth of companies implementing the Government’s flagship energy efficiency scheme have been banned after breaking its code of practice, ministers have admitted, raising fears thousands of homeowners may be being ripped off by dodgy tradesmen.  New figures reveal that more than 350 of the companies registered to carry out Green Deal assessments or installation work for the scheme have had to be stripped of their certification after breaking its code of practice, which is designed to ensure they are properly qualified and deal with complaints correctly. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

Angry Councils Lay Down the Law to Control Rogue Landlords

Waltham Forest is the latest local authority to draw up a code of practice which all landlords in the borough will have to sign up to. Those who refuse face prosecution and fines of up to £20,000. Barking and Dagenham council will launch a similar scheme in September and Newham has already set one up. Since the Newham scheme’s introduction in January last year, the council has gathered evidence to prosecute 133 landlords for alleged breaches of the Housing Act. Read more on the Homes & Property website.

Experimental Universal Credit Statistics

The DWP has published a set of experimental Universal Credit pathfinder statistics from April 2013 to 30 Sept 2013. The figures contain the first release of data from the Universal Credit Pathfinder offices on the benefit's starters and caseload to September 30th 2013. These have been developed and released in accordance with the Code of Practice for statistics and its supporting principles. Access the statistics on the DWP website.

Voluntary Code for a Self-Financed HRA

The introduction of Housing Revenue Account (HRA) self-financing has given local authorities the freedom to develop and deliver a more positive, less constrained, vision for council housing. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Chartered Institute of Housing believe that it is vital that local authorities have effective governance and financial management frameworks in place in order for self-financing to be a success. In order to support local authorities in assessing and developing these frameworks the two institutes have worked together to produce a voluntary code of practice for the sector.  Download a copy of the code from the CIH website.