Rogue Landlord Told To Pay Back £739,000 Over Illegal Housing

A rogue landlord who operated illegal rooming houses in London has been told to pay back £739,000 in illicit earnings or face jail, in one of the biggest confiscation orders of its kind, the council that investigated the case has said. Planning enforcement officers at Brent council discovered up to 15 people living in some of the homes including, in one property, a family of four in one room, a family of three in another and three single men in another. The council said the housing, owned by Mohammed Mehdi Ali and his father, was some of the worst its officers had seen. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/28/brent-rogue-landlord-pay-back-illegal-london-housing

‘No DSS’ Discrimination Ruled Unlawful In Landmark Case

The practice of refusing to rent homes to those in receipt of housing benefit has been ruled unlawful in the first ‘No DSS’ discrimination case to be heard by a UK court. In a case that was heard at the York County Court, a 44-year-old disabled single mother of two challenged a letting agent for rejecting her application for a privately rented property on the basis of her being in receipt of housing benefit. District Judge Victoria Elizabeth Mark found that the letting agent was in breach of the Equality Act for operating a policy of refusing to rent to individuals on benefits. The defendant ceased operating this policy in June 2019. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/no-dss-discrimination-ruled-unlawful-in-landmark-case--67157

Former Tory Donor's Housing Project 'Unlawfully Approved To Avoid £40m Hit'

The housing secretary knew that a billionaire former media tycoon had only 24 hours to have an east London property development approved before community charges were imposed that would have cost him over £40m. Robert Jenrick’s accepted that his approval of one-time Conservative-supporting billionaire Richard Desmond’s project at the Isle of Dogs was unlawful. Documents related to the consent order for the development show that the minister was aware that a council-imposed community infrastructure levy (CIL) would have been introduced on 15 January this year. Against the advice of his own planning inspector, the minister gave the go-ahead for the construction of more than 1,500 apartments. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/27/richard-desmond-housing-project-unlawfully-approved-robert-jenrick-isle-dogs-london-avoid-40m-hit

One In Seven Council Homes Sold To Tenants On Housing Benefit Under Right To Buy

One in seven council homes sold through the Right to Buy since David Cameron hiked discounts in 2012 has been bought by a tenant on housing benefit. In order to secure a mortgage necessary to purchase a Right to Buy property, a tenant on housing benefit would need someone else to provide the finance. In most cases, this is likely to be family members looking for an easy route onto the housing ladder but it could also be lenders seeking to profit illegally. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/one-in-seven-council-homes-sold-to-tenants-on-housing-benefit-under-right-to-buy-63193?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

£2m For Councils To Address ‘Illegal’ Green Belt Development

Housing minister Esther McVey has committed £2 million to aid councils to ‘crack down on illegal developments’ in the green belt. Councils will be able to use the money to hire enforcement officers, use new technology and help to meet the legal costs of bringing rogue local developers to task for illegal developments.  McVey said 37 councils would be receiving a total of up to £50,000 each to help with the clampdown. Read more on the Planning Portal.

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/news/article/661/planning_news_-_18_september_2019?utm_source=PPQ+Newsletter&utm_campaign=8768da9dbc-Newsletter_18042019_HTML_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_734e0b63a9-8768da9dbc-7266185#one

Right To Rent Guidance Breaks The Law

New guidance from the government on its Right to Rent scheme would see landlords breaking the law if they followed it.  The document says that for nationals from certain countries, planning on staying in the UK for up to six months, landlords will only be required to see their passport and airline ticket as proof that they can rent property. Whilst this guidance has no legal standing, the legally binding Code of Practice agreed by Parliament makes clear that for such nationals landlords must be shown clear evidence from the Home Office that the holder has the right, either permanent, or for a time limited period, to reside in the UK. A simple airline ticket with a passport does not meet this threshold.  Read more on the RLA website.

https://news.rla.org.uk/rent-to-rent-guidance-breaks-the-law/

Government Announces Plans To Tackle Illegal Traveller Sites

Sajid Javid has announced plans to give police new powers to crackdown on illegal traveller sites. The Home Secretary will also consider making it a criminal offence to set up such camps, currently defined in law as trespassing, a civil matter. In addition, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) announced it will provide local authorities with practical and financial support to handle unauthorised encampments. The plans follow an initial consultation by the government to look at how to strengthen the response from police and local authorities, following calls for robust measures to protect landowners and those living close by. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/government-announces-plans-to-tackle-illegal-traveller-sites/

Landlords Who Say 'No DSS' Breaking Equality Laws

The thousands of lettings agents and landlords around the country who reject housing benefit claimants could be flouting equality laws, due to a recent legal case. The widespread practice has led to "no-go zones" for those on lower incomes - especially in desirable residential areas. But a single mother won compensation for sex discrimination from a lettings agency that refused to consider her as a tenant because she was on state benefit. The woman successfully argued that blanket bans on benefit claimants indirectly discriminated against women, especially single women. This is because they are proportionately more likely to be claiming housing benefit than single men, according to official figures. Read more on the BBC website.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-42979242

Councils Skirt Six-Week Rule For Homeless Families

Homeless families are being housed for protracted periods in council-owned properties in conditions that would be illegal if their temporary accommodation was privately owned. The law states that families should not be housed in non-self-contained temporary accommodation for more than six weeks, but if the property is owned or managed by a council, housing association or charity, it is exempt.  Freedom of Information Act requests to all 33 London boroughs revealed that 24 London councils own hostel-style accommodation and a further request showed that five  have used this accommodation to house families for longer than six weeks. Only eight councils were able to respond to this second request. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:zCveUYhGSncJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/london-councils-skirt-six-week-rule-for-homeless-families-54132+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

MP Warns Of Housing Strain Caused By Holiday Lets

Illegal sub-letters and property magnates are taking advantage of Airbnb and similar-style sites to rake in tax-free cash, an MP says. Labour's Karen Buck said renting out properties for short holiday lets can produce up to three times the income of more traditional flat rentals. Growth in the industry is also contributing to a loss of residential accommodation, she told the Commons. She wants the 90-day limit for renting out homes each year to be enforced. Ms Buck says the sharing phenomenon is putting a strain on housing stock, neighbours and cash-strapped councils that are having to deal with anti-social behaviour arising from noise and waste issues, over-crowding and a whole range of other forms of disturbance. Read more on the BBC website.

Can Private Landlords Refuse To Let To Housing Benefit Claimants?

It is not unusual for private landlords to advertise properties to let stating that they will not accept applications from Housing Benefit claimants. This raises the question of whether such restrictions amount to unlawful discrimination. In fact private landlords are free to refuse to let to Housing Benefit claimants, just as they are free to refuse to let to applicants who are not in receipt of benefit but who have a poor credit history.  The House of Commons has issued a briefing paper explaining why. Download from the Parliament website.

'Inconsistent Message' Fuels Rise Of Illegal Subletting

A government that “wants the benefits but ignores the problems” must to do more to tackle a rise in illegal sub-letting says the residential landlords association (RLA) in response to ONS figures showing illegal subletting costs the London Borough of Tower Hamlets alone an estimated £13 million a year. Councils have long been trying to crack down on the problem, but the trends are travelling in the other direction propelled, says Mr Smith, by an “inconsistent message” from government. Illegal subletting can be prosecuted under criminal law if the tenancy is with a local authority and is a secure tenancy - this can also be a flexible tenancy in England. Read more on 24dash.

Half Of Tenant Subletting Occurs Behind Landlords’ Backs

Almost half of tenants who sublet their property do so without their landlord’s consent, according to new findings from the National Landlords Association (NLA). The findings come as the government recently announced proposals to introduce minimum room sizes in order to crack down on problems with private rented accommodation such as unauthorised subletting, which often results in overcrowded and cramped properties. Of the eleven per cent of tenants who say they have sublet all or part of their property before, just five per cent did so with their landlord’s permission. A quarter (26 per cent) of tenants say they have approached their landlord about subletting but have had the request declined, and 63 per cent say they have never asked their landlord about subletting their property. Read more on the NLA website.

Letting Agents Using Ghost-Listings

Some letting agents in London are creating fake adverts duplicating pictures of properties to lure prospective renters. A regulatory body says the practice, known as ghost-listing, is on the rise because of the "massive shortage of housing" and "huge influx of people". One homeowner found her own flat marketed for rent on a website. Lawyer David Smith says the practice is illegal but very difficult to police. It involves agents stealing listings from competitors' websites, and in some cases using details of homes not currently on the market. The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) said ghost-listing was on the rise because of a lack of rental stock. Read more on the BBC website.

Council Homes Are Taken Back

Illegal subletting and not using a house as a main home were among the ways residents were found to be flouting tenancy rules. Sandwell council launched more than 200 fraud investigations during the past year and recovered a total of 115 properties. Deputy council leader Councillor Steve Eling said the authority was determined to catch cheats but it was a growing problem. “With the increasing shortage of affordable housing and the changes in right to buy legislation, tenancy fraud is becoming even more lucrative to some greedy people pocketing lots of money,” he said. The other ways people were caught misusing properties included not filling out home applications correctly. Some properties were also recovered after they were found abandoned. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Tory Minister Feared Risks From Right-To-Buy Homes Sell-Off Plan

The Observer can reveal that former housing minister Kris Hopkins wrote a letter in late 2013 in which he made it clear that the idea of forcing housing associations to sell off housing was fraught with risk.  In the letter, Hopkins said: “Unlike local authorities, housing associations are independent, not-for-profit voluntary bodies and if they are obliged to consistently sell off their stock at less than market value they might find it difficult to borrow which could impact adversely on their repair and maintenance programmes and affect the future provision of affordable housing. The government does not consider that it would be reasonable to require housing associations to sell these properties at a discount. Any increase to the discount available under the Right to Acquire would only be possible through upfront central government subsidy, potentially incurring a high liability for the public purse.” Read more on the Observer website.

Council Faces High Court Challenge over Homelessness Policy

A council’s policy to bar homeless people from bidding for social homes for 12 months is set to be challenged in the High Court.  Resident Hakima Alemi will say Westminster Council’s allocation policy, which suspends homeless people from bidding for social housing until a year after their homelessness acceptance, is unlawful. Ms Alemi’s judicial review against the scheme, launched in October last year, was last week given permission to be heard in the High Court within months. Ms Alemi argues Westminster’s policy breaches the 1996 Housing Act, which requires councils to give ‘reasonable preference’ to homeless people. Read more on Inside Housing.

Court Rules against Town Hall on Council Tax Scheme

Councils across England may have to overhaul their procedures on reducing council tax support after a court ruled a London borough’s consultation was unlawful.  The Supreme Court has decided that Haringey Council’s 2012 consultation on the establishment of a council tax support scheme was unlawful. In April 2013, the government abolished council tax benefit. Local authorities have since consulted on and implemented replacement schemes. However, due to a 10% cut in funding, the majority of councils adopted schemes that reduced the level of support available. The Supreme Court found that Haringey Council’s consultation was unlawful because it failed to provide alternative options for meeting the funding shortfall other than a reduction in support. The court found the document misleadingly suggested that the only option available was to reduce the support available. Read more on Inside Housing.

£Millions in Right to Buy Fraud Uncovered By Council

Barnet Council has uncovered nearly £12 million in right to buy, tenancy and benefit fraud in a 12-month period. The London borough's anti-fraud team recovered 63 illegally sublet council properties after successful investigations and a tenancy fraud amnesty held late last year. The recovery of each property is calculated as being worth £150,000 – the equivalent average cost of building a new social housing unit. The team has also prevented 11 instances of people attempting to take advantage of the right to buy scheme when they were not entitled to.  Read more on 24dash.

Local Authority's 'Benefit Tourism' Rule Discriminated Against Residents

A local authority acted illegally when it introduced strict residency criteria designed to prevent it becoming a magnet for "benefit tourists" priced out of high-cost areas of London and the south-east by welfare reforms, a judge has ruled. Sandwell council brought in a policy over a year ago which prevented people on low incomes claiming council tax support unless they had been resident continuously in the borough for two years prior to the claim. Rather than discouraging "incomers" from the south-east, however, the court heard that the policy seemed to mainly affect people who had been born in Sandwell and had strong family connections there, while also discriminating against local women affected by domestic violence. Thousands of Sandwell residents denied council tax support since April 2013 may now be eligible to claim their money back. Read oore on the Guardian website.