Changes To Notice Periods In England From 1 October

Following the pandemic and the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020, the UK Government initially increased all notices to six months for most grounds (including Section 21 notices), with exemptions for certain serious cases. Since 1 June 2021 until 30 September 2021 notice periods must be at least four months in most circumstances apart from exemptions for the most serious cases. Notice periods for cases where there are less than four months of unpaid rent, reduced to two months’ notice from 1 August. Moving forward, the UK Government intend to retain the power to implement any similar measures again in the future should the public health situation worsen. Read more on the Propertymark website.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/changes-to-notice-periods-in-england-from-1-october.html 

Ministers Warned 82% Of Households Unable To Escape Benefit Cap

Eight in 10 households affected by the benefit cap cannot work and should therefore be exempt, ministers have been warned. The Work and Pensions Select Committee has called on the government to only apply the cap – which limits the total amount of benefits a household can receive – to those who are expected to be looking for work. It warned that only 18 per cent of those currently affected by the cap have been assessed by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) as capable of looking for work, while 82 per cent of households cannot escape it. Read more on the Independent website.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefit-cap-work-pensions-universal-credit-amber-rudd-a8818431.html

Exempt Rural Landowners From CGT

The extension of right-to-buy to housing association tenants has served to discourage rural landowners from making sites available for new affordable homes, according to country business lobby CLA. The organisation, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, has told a cross-party group of MPs that landowners have the potential to inject life into rural areas by making land available to house young families, local workers and older people seeking to downsize or retire. The CLA is calling for the Government to encourage landowners to release land at a discount for affordable housing by exempting the value of land sold for affordable homes from Capital Gains Tax. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Housing Benefit: Sheltered Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Steve McCabe:  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to exempt sheltered housing tenants from the housing benefit cap.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State announced in a Written Ministerial Statement on 15 September 2016 that we would be deferring the application of Local Housing Allowance Rates in the social sector for supported housing which includes sheltered housing until 2019/20. At this point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. The Secretary of State also announced that a formal consultation would be published shortly.

Send The Build-To-Rent Sector 'Into Overdrive'

Government must boost the build-to-rent sector by exempting investors from a stamp-duty hike targeted at landlords and relaxing planning rules. That is the view of the British Property Federation (BPF), a trade association, in its submission to the Treasury ahead of Chancellor Philip Hammond's autumn statement. As of April 2016, purchases of additional properties are subject to a 3% levy on top of the basic stamp-duty rates, to cool buy-to-let demand and reduce competition in the market for first-time buyers. But the BPF said this "sent out a negative message to almost £50bn of investment capital that is interested in build-to-rent opportunities in the UK. There is a strong argument that exempting investors that contribute towards the delivery of new homes would have a positive impact on that delivery," said the BPF's submission. Read more on the IBT website.

Supported Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government plans to take to support providers of supported housing affected by planned reductions in social housing rents.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is committed to protecting the most vulnerable through our welfare reforms. That is why we have exempted supported housing from the Local Housing Allowance cap until 2019/20, from which point we will bring in a new funding model which will ensure that the sector continues to be funded at current levels, taking into account the effect of Government policy on social sector rents. We will apply the rent reduction to supported housing, with the exception of domestic violence refuges, with rents in these properties decreasing by 1% a year for 3 years, up to and including 2019/20.

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Roger Godsiff:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether housing benefit recipients living in supported housing due to mental health problems will be subject to the benefit cap.

Caroline Nokes: People receiving a range of disability benefits including Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or who receive the support component of Employment and Support Allowance, are exempt from the benefit cap. The benefit cap does apply to claimants living in specified accommodation if they do not meet the criteria for an exemption but any Housing Benefit they receive will not be taken into account when determining whether the cap should be applied

Women's Refuges To Be Exempt From Benefits Cap

Safe houses for women and children escaping domestic violence are to be exempted from the Government's planned welfare cuts, Theresa May has said. The Prime Minister came under pressure from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to protect funding for women's refuges in the UK, amid fears that two-thirds would close when the changes come into force. Mr Corbyn warned that such a move would be "devastating" for the "very vulnerable" women in the refuges and place them in danger. Mrs May confirmed the Government is working to exempt refuges from the cap. Read more on the Care Appointments website.

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to his oral contribution of 20 July 2016, Official Report, column 849, when his Department will make an announcement on the exemption of specialist supported housing from changes to housing benefit.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State has confirmed that the Government expects to make an announcement on the way forward for supported housing in early autumn.

Disability Charities Urge 'End To Funding Uncertainty' For Supported Housing

The 15 charities wrote to the Government, calling on it to set out what would happen to housing benefit rates for the supported housing sector from 2018 onwards. Earlier this year, the Government announced a one-year exemption for the supported housing sector from a planned 1% reduction in rent. It also delayed for 12 months the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) cap - which affects residents living in supported housing. The Government has commissioned a review into the impact of its proposals but the charities warned that 40% of existing supported accommodation would be at risk of closure if the allowance cap went ahead. Fears have been expressed that the changes would reduce the amount of money supported housing providers receive in rent and could make it more difficult for them to deliver specialist services. Read more on the Express & Star website.

CLG Set Out Process For Rent Exemptions

The CLG has set out information and guidance for councils considering applications for exemption from the mandatory four year 1% rent reduction. The information and guidance makes it clear that the Secretary of State will only consider granting an exemption if it is the only way to avoid the authority's Housing Revenue Account falling into serious financial difficulties. Any council considering applying for an exemption from the mandatory 1% rent reduction will need to demonstrate that they have considered all other options for reducing expenditure in line with reduced rental income including looking at existing contractual commitments. Download the guidance from the CLG website.

Timetable For Introduction Of Pay To Stay

CLG officials have set out the timetable for the introduction of the 'pay to stay' scheme for council tenants with household incomes of over £31,000 (£40,000 in London).  The aim is to introduce the scheme from April 2017. Thresholds will be up-rated annually by inflation (CPI) and tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit will be exempted from the policy. However, all other tenants will be required to declare their total household income to their local council to enable the council to calculate how much additional rent they will be expected to pay.  The additional rent is expected to be 15% of any income over the threshold or the full market rent for the property whichever is lower. Read more on the ARCH website.

CLG Reveals Council Rent Cut Exemption Criteria

The government has published guidance for councils on how to apply for an exemption from the 1% rent cut. The CLG said the number of applications for exemptions should be “limited” and there will be an expectation a council should “explore thoroughly what it can do to mitigate any financial risk without recourse to an exemption, including looking at all contractual commitments”. The guidance reveals the process by which the secretary of state will assess applications for a rent cut. It reveals exemptions will only be granted “where the local authority would be unable to avoid serious financial difficulties if it were to comply”. Download the information from the CLG website.

Start Preparing For Voluntary Right To Buy

Here are five tips on how to get your business ready for Voluntary Right to Buy.

1. Be clear where VRTB sits in your business

2. Map your processes - You’ll need to understand your processes and identify gaps. You can then put in place the systems, teams and people you’ll need to deliver VRTB.

3. Bring the business together - VRTB is very different than Preserved Right To Buy, it touches people across the business, including asset management, housing, customer contact teams and so on.

4. Getting the product to market - The customer experience is straightforward – like they’d expect from a bank or utility.

5. Managing expectations - Residents will be disappointed if they’re ineligible either because of their tenancy or their home is exempt.

Read more on the NHF website.

A Small Win For Energy Efficiency: Tenants Can Now Request Improvements

The 1st of April was a small step forward for energy efficiency: tenants in private rented accommodation now have the right to request energy efficiency improvements. There are numerous caveats, even loopholes. Nevertheless, where a tenant requests their landlord’s consent to making energy efficiency improvements to the landlord’s property, subject to certain requirements and exemptions, the landlord ‘may not unreasonably refuse consent’. This precedes a more significant change from 2018 when it will become illegal for very poor quality (EPC band ‘F’ and ‘G’) properties to be let – albeit with more conditions and exemptions attached. Read more on the Sustainable Homes website.

ALMOs Call For Exemption From Deregulatory Plan

Arm’s-length management organisations (ALMOs) are calling on the government to exclude them from proposals to limit the influence of councils over registered providers. There are nine ALMOs that also hold registered provider status with the Homes and Communities Agency and therefore could be affected by a government amendment to the Housing and Planning Bill. The amendment seeks to limit the influence of councils over registered providers by allowing the secretary of state to remove council voting rights from registered provider boards.  ALMOs are concerned that the removal of council members from their boards would significantly alter their board structures. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing Benefit: Shared Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Neil Coyle:  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will review the way in which the shared accommodation rate is calculated to mitigate the effect of the housing benefit cap in the social sector.

Justin Tomlinson: There are no current plans to review how the shared accommodation rate is calculated within the Local Housing Allowance scheme. For those under 35, not in supported housing, the existing exemptions that already apply to the shared accommodation rate for private rented sector tenants will be applied to the social sector as a minimum.

High-Income Tenants Exempt From Rent Cut

The 1% annual rent cut will not apply to households with household income of £60,000 or more, the government has said. The exemption was made in secondary legislation to the Welfare Reform and Work Act, which forces housing associations and councils to reduce their rents by 1% every year for four years. The Social Housing Rents (Exceptions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations state that the rent reduction will not apply to households meeting the income qualification criterion, which is £60,000. Between 11,000 and 21,000 households living in social housing earn more than £60,000, according to government documents produced in 2013. Download the Regulations from the GovUK website.

Council Company 'Could Protect Stock From RTB'

A Labour council hopes its new housing company will be allowed to buy the authority’s own vacant ‘high-value’ stock, preventing loss of homes to fund the Right to Buy extension.Oxford City Council announced last week that it was setting up a new housing company to tackle the high demand for housing in the city. In addition to building new homes, the authority also wants the new company to buy high-value council stock which would otherwise be sold on the market in order to pay the Right to Buy levy. However, it is not clear if the government will permit this, and the CLG declined to comment. Read more on the Oxford City Council website.

Stamp Duty Hike Prompts Build To Rent Viability Fears

Changes to stamp duty announced in the Budget will hike the rate investors pay for Build to Rent property and could threaten burgeoning investment in the sector. George Osborne announced several property tax changes in the Budget, including a three-percentage-point stamp duty rise on any residential units not bought as a home, and a rise from 4% to 5% on the rate paid for commercial sites. Despite lobbying, the Chancellor declined to offer an exemption to large scale investors, meaning funds investing in the private rented sector will be affected. A lot of people in the Build to Rent sector will be having to go back and look at the economics of a development to see if it is still viable. Read more on Inside Housing.