Tenant Fees Bill Passes Final Commons Hurdle

The  Tenant Fees Bill is headed for Royal Assent having passed its final hurdle in the House of Commons. And Royal assent is expected within weeks to have the Bill passed into law and implanted by June. The Bill went back to the Commons after its passage through the Lords last week. There is currently no cap on the level of fees that letting agents can charge in England, although since 27 May 2015 agents have been required to display a tariff of fees. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/tenant-fees-bill-passes-final-commons-hurdle/

Housing and Planning Bill Receives Royal Assent

New measures to help more people buy their own home and get houses built faster has become law as the Housing and Planning Act received Royal Assent. The Act sets out a clear determination from the government to keep the country building while giving hard working families every opportunity to unlock the door to home ownership. It will give housebuilders and decision-makers the tools and confidence to provide more homes and further streamline the planning system to accelerate their delivery. Rad more on the Gov UK website.

Localism Bill Receives Royal Assent

The Localism Bill received Royal Assent on 15 November, becoming the Localism Act 2011. The Act has wide implications for social landlords and includes measures on:
· local authority tenancy strategies - which will affect allocation of all social housing
· tenure reform - the introduction of flexible tenancies
· abolition of the HRA subsidy system
· abolition of the Tenant Services Authority
· a cross-sector housing ombudsman scheme
· complaints and tenant panels
There is a whole section on how housing is to be managed in London, setting out specific powers for the Greater London Authority. The Act also covers many local authority functions such as community rights, neighbourhood planning and empowering cities, as well as a 'general power of competence' giving them the legal capacity to do anything an individual can do that isn't specifically prohibited. Download a copy of the Plain English Guide to the Act from the CLG website.