Third Large Housing Association Offers Residents Lifetime Tenancies

Sanctuary Housing has become the third large housing association to offer lifetime tenancies to all its residents. From 1 April, the 100,000-home association will offer all 9,000 of its fixed-term tenants lifetime tenancies when their existing agreements come up for renewal. It follows similar announcements by L&Q and Peabody, two of London’s largest housing associations. These two landlords both decided to phase out fixed-term tenancies, which were introduced by the Localism Act in 2011. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/third-large-housing-association-offers-residents-lifetime-tenancies-60522?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

More Housing Associations Consider Ditching Fixed-Term Tenancies

London’s largest housing association announced last week that it would offer lifetime tenancies to all its residents, scrapping fixed-term tenancies across its stock. Housing associations were given the option to offer fixed-term tenancies under the Localism Act in 2012, replacing the previous position where all tenancies in the social housing sector had been for life. Most housing associations offer both life and fixed-term tenancies – typically of five years. Brendan Sarsfield, chief executive of Peabody, told Inside Housing that his association was “looking at the issue”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/more-housing-associations-consider-ditching-fixed-term-tenancies-58315?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Vulnerable People 'Trapped In Homelessness' Due To Law

Vulnerable people are unable to access social housing, potentially trapping them "in a cycle of homelessness", due to a change in the law. Under the Localism Act 2011 councils were granted greater powers to restrict access to social housing. Since then 700,000 households have disappeared from waiting lists across England. The HCLG said: "Social housing is a priority for us." Until the act became law in 2012, councils were required to consider all housing applications, with few powers to remove households from the list. Now a local connection - often more than five years in a borough - is required by 35% of councils to access the social housing register. Read more on the BBC website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42919703

Ministers Press Ahead With Neighbourhood Planning Changes

The government is pressing ahead with several reforms aimed at speeding up and simplifying the neighbourhood planning process. The CLG has published a consultation response confirming it is proceeding with measures to make it easier “for residents and business to come together to produce a neighbourhood plan”. The Localism Act 2011 grants communities a right to shape development in their areas by producing a Neighbourhood Plan, which becomes part of the local planning authority’s Local Plan, setting out housing priorities. Under the changes councils must designate all of the neighbourhood area applied for by parish councils as soon as possible, replacing the current requirement to consider an application within eight weeks. Download the consultation response from the GovUK website.

The Housing And Planning Act Is A Direct Attack On Local Government

Back in 2009, David Cameron said his party would give local councils much more power and responsibility. This agenda was the basis of the 2011 Localism Act. But those reforms have been shattered by the 2016 Housing and Planning Act. The end to lifetime council tenancies, the pay-to-stay rule increasing rents for council tenants earning more than £40,000, and provisions to force local authorities to sell off their high-value homes, will effectively kill off council housing. The extension of right-to-buy privileges to housing associations also threatens to cause a wider decline in affordable housing. But this is not just about housing. The new Act also has immediate implications for local democracy, by giving no fewer than 32 new powers to the secretary of state for housing. This means local authorities face further financial pressures and will lose vital powers once granted by the Localism Act. Read more on the Guardian website.

Council Housing: Subsidies – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the level of subsidy from the public purse provided for council housing. 

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Local housing authorities do not receive subsidy from the Exchequer; the Localism Act 2011 abolished Housing Revenue Account Subsidy. The Housing Revenue Account Self-Financing Determinations published in 2012 provided a once and for all settlement that allows local housing authorities in England to keep all their rental income in return for a rebalancing of housing debt.

Increase In Disabled People On Waiting Lists

The number of disabled people on council housing waiting lists has increased by 17.3% in the last five years, research by charity Leonard Cheshire Disability has revealed. The charity found that one in seven people – 13.7% – on housing waiting lists in England are disabled, up from one in 11 people – 9.2% – five years ago. In contrast, the charity found that the number of people on waiting lists overall has decreased by 21% in the same period. Many councils in recent years have taken advantage of flexibilities in the Localism Act to restrict waiting list eligibility. Read more on the Leonard Cheshire website.

Government Seeks To Limit Use of Lifetime Tenancies

The Budget shows that the government will again review security of tenure. The Budget document said: ‘The government will review the use of lifetime tenancies in social housing to limit their use and ensure that households are offered tenancies that match their needs, and ensure the best use is made of the social housing stock.’ The previous coalition government’s Localism Act allowed social landlords to use fixed-term tenancies. The act required councils to develop a tenancy strategy under which associations must have regard to the council’s stance on tenure. Read more on Inside Housing.

Six Ways Landlords Can Help Social Housing Tenants To Move Home

From home swaps to financial support, here’s how to help tenants downsize to avoid the bedroom tax or move house for a new job.

·         Promote mutual exchange

·         Support all under-occupying tenants

·         Use the Localism Act

·         Help tenants to move to a different area

·         Support existing tenants to buy or rent

·         Use websites to search for a transfer

Read full details on the Guardian website.

Few Social Landlords Make Use of Tenant Transfer Freedom

Only three in 10 social landlords have used new flexibilities to help tenants transfer home, research has found. A CIH poll of 111 social landlords and council strategic housing authorities published this week reveals the extent to which landlords are helping tenants move. The study showed 30% of respondents used flexibilities in the Localism Act, which allows landlords to set their own policies in relation to transfer requests by tenants not in housing need. Read more on Inside Housing.

Minister Claims Waiting List Reductions 'Show Bedroom Tax Is Working'

A government minister has claimed reduced social housing waiting lists provide evidence that the bedroom tax is working. The number of people on waiting lists for social housing in England has fallen to 1.37m in 2014 from 1.69m last year, following changes introduced by the Localism act in 2013 allowing councils to more easily disqualify people from lists. But speaking in a debate on the bedroom tax earlier, during which a Labour motion to repeal the Policy was defeated, Mark Harper, the minister of state for disabled people, claimed the drop was evidence social homes were being used ‘more efficiently’. Read more on Inside Housing.

Councils Bar 113,000 from Waiting Lists

126 English local authorities use new powers to reduce waiting lists. More than 100,000 people have been struck off or denied access to waiting lists since councils were given new powers to prevent people from applying for social homes. Research by Inside Housing found 126 English local authorities have used powers granted by the Localism Act to change their allocations policies. Seventy-seven councils that provided detailed figures informed 113,049 people that they no longer qualify for social housing for reasons including a lack of connection to the local area and anti-social behaviour. Using powers under the Localism Act 2011, councils have since June 2012, bumped an average of nearly a third of applicants off their social housing waiting lists. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that social housing tenants liable for the under-occupancy penalty are assisted in downsizing.

Esther McVey: The Government has made it easier for all social tenants to downsize to more suitable accommodation by increasing mobility, through changes to the housing allocation rules in the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of HomeSwap Direct, the national mutual exchange scheme.

Statutory social housing allocations guidance for local authorities issued in June 2012 advises them of the importance of giving existing social tenants who are under-occupying their accommodation appropriate priority for a transfer. This year the Government has made available £180 million in discretionary housing payment funding, which local authorities can use to help claimants in the process of moving to more suitably sized accommodation. In addition local authorities received a share of £10 million in transitional funding that can be used to support people to move.

Allocating Social Housing (England)

Local authorities have always had a good deal of discretion in relation to their housing allocation policies; this discretion has been extended by measures included in the Localism Act 2011.  Following a consultation exercise, the Government issued new statutory guidance, Allocation of accommodation: Guidance for local housing authorities in England in June 2012. Authorities are obliged to have regard to this guidance when devising and implementing their schemes. The Government intends to consult on guidance that “will ensure councils require people to have lived in the area for at least 2 years” before being able to register on a housing waiting list.  In the meantime, the Government has issued a Standard Note setting out the legal framework within which local authorities allocate their housing stock. Download a copy of the Note from the Parliament website.

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration his Department has given to allowing councils and other bodies housing pensioners being given incentives to downsize to smaller social housing properties, with particular reference to (a) financial incentives and (b) priority in bidding for smaller properties; and whether such incentives have also be considered for people below pensionable age.

Mr Prisk (part answer): We have made it easier for all social tenants to downsize to more suitable accommodation by increasing mobility, through changes to the housing allocation rules in the Localism Act 2011 and the introduction of a national mutual exchange scheme, “HomeSwap” Direct.

For the rest of this answer go to Hansard by clicking on the logo below.

Judge Puts NPPF over Localism Act

A High Court judge has ruled that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) takes precedence over the Localism Act and out-of-date or incomplete local development plans after a case involving a 1,000-home development in Gloucestershire.  Tewkesbury Borough Council sought to overturn a decision by Eric Pickles, which approved 1,000 new homes on open farmland at Bishop’s Cleve, Gloucester.  Mr Justice Males found that the existing local plan was out of date and therefore carried little weight. Despite an emerging joint core strategy between Tewkesbury Borough Council, Gloucester City Council and Cheltenham Borough Council, that strategy was incapable of meeting the demand for housing over the next five years.  Read more on Tewkesbury BC website.

Council Adopts Fixed-Term Tenancies and Market Rents

Westminster Council is to introduce fixed-term tenancies of five years for new tenants and may charge them the equivalent of full market rent. The details of the council's policy changes, which are in line with the Localism Act and will come into effect from 2013, are published in its new Housing Tenancy Strategy.  Fixed-term tenancies will apply to the majority of new tenants while the higher rents will be charged to those that exceed the Mayor of London's threshold for eligibility for affordable housing, currently set at £77,200 for households living in three bedroom homes. Read more on the Westminster Council website.

Labour Councils Bin Fixed-Term Tenancies

The majority of Labour-led councils are rejecting fixed-term tenancies in favour of maintaining security for tenants.  An Inside Housing survey of the 100 largest stock-owning councils in England reveals emerging tenancy and allocation policies and tenancy strategies, to which housing associations must have regard.  Of 50 councils that responded, 29 are in favour of retaining lifetime tenancies, while 16 are backing flexible five-year tenancies, made possible under the Localism Act 2011. The act also gave councils more freedom to restrict eligibility for social housing. Read more on Inside Housing.

Localism Will Fail Unless Government and Housing Providers Get Joined Up

The Government's localism agenda will fail unless the current disconnection between housing associations and Westminster is overcome, a new report has warned.  Right-leaning think tank ResPublica's report - Acting on Localism: The role of housing associations in driving a community agenda - argues that government can meet local needs by harnessing the power of HAs.  HAs "already contribute an annual investment of £756 million to community and neighbourhood activities. Whilst many communities by themselves do not have the resources to take up the opportunities created by the Localism Act - such as community rights, budgetary challenge and neighbourhood planning powers - HAs can act as vital capacity-builders and vehicles for community ambition".  Download a copy of the report from the ResPublica website.

Council Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what instructions he is giving to councils who do not have enough smaller properties to offer council tenants who seek to move from council dwellings with spare bedrooms in order to maintain benefit eligibility.

Mr Prisk: We have issued new statutory social housing allocations guidance for councils which highlights the importance of ensuring that under-occupying tenants are given appropriate priority for a transfer, and which encourages councils to identify and remove or revise any provisions in their allocation policy which might make it more difficult for tenants to downsize.

If tenants wish to move to a smaller property, provisions in the Localism Act—which remove transferring tenants who are not in housing need from the allocation rules—together with the introduction of “HomeSwap” Direct, will make it easier for them to do so.  This Department has allocated £13 million over four years (2011-15) to help councils support under-occupying tenants who wish to move, as well as funding an action team within the Chartered Institute of Housing to work with all social landlords to help them promote moves.