Shapps launches homelessness duty consultation

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has published details of how councils may place homeless people in private rented accommodation.

The proposals set out how the government sees councils placing housing applicants in 'good quality' private rented accommodation.

The consultation document puts the onus on local authorities to ensure that private rented accommodation is suitable for housing applicants. This means checking that the property:

• is in a good physical condition
• meets relevant fire, gas and electrical safety regulations
• is licensed where required
• has a fit and proper landlord.

The consultation also seeks to clarify the position of councils placing housing applicants outside of their local authority area. The government is keen to ensure that homeless people are not placed 'hundreds of miles' away from where they applied.

HCA publishes its approach to regulation

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) has provided more details of what providers can expect from the regulator.

Published against the backdrop of a changing operating environment and an increased level of risk faced by housing associations, Regulating the Standards describes how the approach to regulation is set around three key principles – ‘assurance based’, ‘risk based’ and delivering ‘joined up regulation’ – seeking the minimum assurance necessary on compliance with the economic standards.

The precise level of engagement needed will depend on the risks presented within different providers, and will be judged according to eight key questions relating to governance, viability and value for money for which regulators will seek answers during their engagement with providers.

The document reiterates the key principle of the Regulatory Framework; that Boards must take responsibility for running their businesses and for meeting the regulatory standards. They need to know where the business is going, have a clear understanding of the risks they face, what they need to do to manage them, and have a firm grip on performance. The regulator will challenge them on how they are managing their risks, and will take action where necessary.

The publication sets out how the Regulator will continue with the system of annual viability reviews and regulatory judgements. However, the format and straplines have been updated to bring them into line with the way the regulator will go about its business in the future, while the governance and viability ratings have been changed to range from G1-4 and V1-4.

Although focused on economic regulation - which does not apply to local authorities - ‘Regulating the Standards’ also describes in outline the HCA’s internal processes for assessing the the ‘serious detriment’ threshold above which it will intervene in consumer regulation cases, and for reaching a corporate view on whether that threshold has been satisfied.

ASB White Paper 'Puts victims first'

The Home Office has published its anti-social behaviour White Paper, 'Putting victims first: more effective responses to anti-social behaviour', with a strong focus on a more 'locally driven' approach.

Addressing the Association of Chief Police Officers’ annual conference in Manchester Home Secretary Theresa May said:

"It’s clear the old top-down approach to the problem hasn’t worked – it was too bureaucratic, too complex and too time consuming.

"So we will make powers simpler, quicker, easier to enforce, more flexible and more effective. We are reducing the number of tools and powers by over two thirds - from 19 to 6."

The White Paper draws on last year's tools and powers consultation and contains 'significant reforms'. It is critical of the previous government's approach suggesting it was 'one size fits all' and overcomplicated, relying on 'bureaucratic targets' and 'pointless meetings'.

In addition to a more localised approach, ASB responses will be 'overseen by directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners' - ensuring that professionals are able to protect the public more quickly. It wants to see:

• agencies identifying vulnerable and repeat victims earlier, and responding at the first sign of trouble, through better logging of calls and managing of cases
• a simpler toolkit, including an injunction which can be secured in a matter of hours not months
• orders that can deal with ASB if it escalates into criminality yet are flexible enough to deal with a range of 'yobbish behaviour' including out of control dogs, public drunkenness and mini-motos
• the community getting involved in tackling ASB, for example through a Community Harm Statement to courts highlighting the impact of the behaviour on their daily lives
• agencies held to account locally by directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners, and by victims through the new 'Community Trigger'.

The White Paper proposes with the DCLG to extend existing discretionary grounds for possession to cover convictions of tenants, or members of their household, for offences committed at the scene of a riot. It also proposes to introduce 'a new mandatory route to possession' for tenants convicted of serious offences.

The drive towards a more localised approach to tackling ASB includes plans for Neighbourhood Justice Panels (currently being trialled across England and Wales) to deal with low-level crime and ASB. These do not require interventions from the criminal justice system but see 'parties work together to reach an agreed outcome including reparation to the victim.'

Beecroft recommends watering down TUPE regulations

Controversial proposals to remove "red tape" to make it easier to sack workers hit the headlines when the Beecroft report on employment law was published yesterday.

The report makes recommendations on a wide range of issues, including suggestions for reforming the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) which protect workers when, for instance, a social landlord transfers ownership of its homes or outsources services.

Beecroft recommends that the harmonisation of the terms and conditions of transferred and original employees should be allowed after one year, and to allow the transferring employer to make employees redundant if, when transferred, they would immediately be made redundant for valid reasons by the transferee employer.

He argues that the TUPE regulations reduce the likelihood of a transfer that would result in greater efficiency or, if a transfer goes ahead, makes it harder to achieve greater efficiency.

Commenting on the proposals, the law firm Eversheds said:

“Beecroft voices the opinions of many employers in his comments about TUPE. Even if his specific recommendations are not accepted, it is likely that the report will be a catalyst for change in this area. We can expect a response from the Government shortly, most likely the rapid commencement of a formal consultation exercise on TUPE."

Tough challenge for councils on RTB reinvestment

This article by Matthew Warburton of ARCH (the Association of Retained Council Housing) first appeared on the ARCH blog on 18 May.

On 15 May DCLG published the final arrangements for reinvestment of Right-to-buy receipts. Councils are invited to enter into agreements with the government to use "additional" receipts to fund new affordable rented homes. Signed agreements in relation to receipts in the current quarter have to be returned by 27 June.

There are two conditions: receipts must be used within 3 years and must constitute no more than 30 per cent of the spending on such homes within that period. This represents a significant improvement on DCLG's original proposal that receipts had to be used within 2 years - a condition that most ARCH members would have found very tough to meet.

There has, however, been no change to the proposal to charge councils a punitive 4 per cent over base rate of interest on receipts which are not reinvested for the period they are retained by councils before being returned for use by the HCA. This gives councils a strong incentive to decide quickly either to commit to reinvestment or to return the receipts straight away.

These conditions lay down a big challenge to councils intending to sign agreements. The impact of the increased discounts and re-promotion of Right to Buy is difficult to predict, so, consequently is the volume of future receipts. Many councils have not undertaken new building for rent for some years, and need to gear up and reacquire forgotten skills. The 30 per cent limit will require most councils to consider the provision of housing at affordable rather than social rents, or a mix of the two.

Nevertheless, it is a challenge that councils need to accept, make the best of, and if necessary argue through the drawbacks with DCLG afterwards. If councils decide that the government's conditions are too hard to meet, two things are likely to happen. The first is that councils will lose effective control over where "their" receipts are reinvested - there are no guarantees that the HCA will use them to fund local housing association provision.

The second is that the government is likely to conclude that the loss of rented housing through Right to Buy is not of great concern to many councils and that councils are not much interested in reasserting their role as providers of social housing. Unfair or not, any such conclusion would be a setback for local government and for housing.

Higher earning social tenants to face rent increases

The Guardian and Telegraph reported this weekend that the government is to publish a consultation paper next month on its ‘Pay to Stay’ proposals which would see tenants of councils and housing associations earning above a certain income level being required to pay the full market rent on their homes.

The idea was first raised last June when housing minister Grant Shapps revealed the plans to the Telegraph. The move now appears to have the prime minister's backing, with a No 10 'source' telling the Guardian:

‘It’s not right that high earners benefit from taxpayer funded housing subsidy. Just as we have introduced a cap on housing benefit and welfare payments to make the system fairer, now we’re acting on social housing too.’

Government research claims that up to 6,000 social rented homes in England may be occupied by tenants earing over £100,000 a year, including the left-wing leader of the RMT union, Bob Crow.

It now appears that the limit is more likely to be £60,000 household income, which could raise an additional £122.4m of rental income, whereas the £100,000 threshold originally suggested by Shapps would only raise £21.6m.

The move would leave 34,000 higher earning social tenants facing possible rent increases of up to £70 a week and increase the likelihood that such tenants will decide to take advantage of the new more generous Right to Buy discounts. Meanwhile, landlords will not only face the prospect of having to sell more of their homes at a fraction of their market value, but are likely to have to introduce bureaucratic and intrusive means testing for all tenants.

Stock exchange ‘privatisation’ plan

A consortium of 10 housing associations is set to raise £500 million in a stock exchange ‘privatisation’ plan, according to Inside Housing today.

The unnamed small south east based housing associations will create an aggregated social housing real estate investment trust (REIT), which will see investors trade shares and hold the associations to account over the management of their stock.

The housing associations plan to use the £500 million raised to invest in building homes and buying section 106 sites.

In the government's March 2012 Budget it announced that it would undertake a consultation to explore the role REITs can play in supporting the social housing sector. This may offer social housing landlords an alternative source of financing to fund their future housing developments.

The consultation also examines proposals, and their associated risks and benefits, for investing in real estate investment trusts. The consultation closes on 27 June 2012.

Guidance on Real Estate Investment Trusts provided by HM Revenue and Customers describes a REIT as a 'vehicle that allows an investor to obtain broadly similar returns from their investment, as they would have, had they invested directly in property'.

'The vehicle is a limited company (or a group of such companies), required to invest mainly in property and to pay out 90% of the profits from its property rental business as measured for tax purposes as dividends to shareholders.'

Britain's broken housing market is not being fixed

A new report by the National Housing Federation, Shelter and Chartered Institute of Housing says the government is still not doing enough to tackle the housing crisis.

The government is failing to deliver on five out of ten key housing indicators set out in the second edition of the 'Housing Report'. These include housing supply, affordability of the private rented sector, overcrowding and homelessness.

The study found no change in the issues of home ownership, mobility and planning while there were improvements in empty homes and 'evictions, repossessions and arrears'.

The report urges the government to make good on its promises, in particular to ‘get Britain building’, which as well as providing much-needed homes for thousands of families, will also deliver new jobs and economic growth. It also warns ministers of the urgency of meeting the nation’s housing needs as pressures, such as falling incomes and a growing and ageing population, intensify over the coming years, putting an increasing strain on Britain’s broken housing market.

David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said, "Much more needs to be done to tackle this country’s dire housing crisis. Unless we build significantly more homes, it will only get worse."

"Building new homes will help fix our broken housing market and, with rising unemployment and living costs, spur economic growth by creating jobs and supporting small businesses. It’s a win/win for the taxpayer and for the millions stuck on waiting lists."

Grainia Long, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing, said, "The Housing Report shows the government’s progress in addressing our national housing crisis is limited."

"With the economy now in double dip recession, the pressures on the housing system will only increase and the government needs to step up its efforts in response and be more ambitious in its strategy to boost housing supply and activity in the wider housing sector. Addressing the housing crisis in this way would also be a much-needed and powerful stimulus to economic growth."

Jack Dromey MP, Labour's shadow housing minister, said in the Guardian the government is "...failing to help the young couples who can't get on the housing ladder. They're failing those families struggling with high rents in the private sector and the millions on waiting lists. And they're failing the increasing number of people sleeping on our streets."

£30 million fund for self builders

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced a new £30 million fund for self builders to help unlock projects where groups of self build homes are built at the same time. The government has also pledged to double the number of homes each year built by self builders.

Self build groups will be able to bid to part fund land acquisition and early development costs with money being repaid on completion of the project.

Shapps is also writing to mortgage lenders highlighting the strong business case for lending to self-builders and said, "The self build industry is riding the crest of a wave, with more people than ever wanting control over the design and build of their home. But despite this self-build surge, we continue to lag behind the rest of the world. I am determined to change this so anyone who wants to embark on a self build project has the opportunity to do so."

The case for increasing the number of self built homes has been set out by Shapps in his article for the conservativehome blog.

The National Self Build Association has also announced that Kevin McCloud, presenter of Channel 4's Grand Designs, has been appointed to be a champion for all self builders. He will raise public awareness of the benefits of self building and help the self-build industry promote the services available to those looking to build for the first time.

To mark the start of his new role, Kevin McCloud has accompanied Grant Shapps as he leads a UK trade delegation to the Netherlands, to see what lessons can be learnt from the successful Dutch self build industry.

In July 2011, working closely with the government, the National Self Build Association published a detailed Action Plan to promote the growth of the UK self build industry.

A new industry-sponsored self build website, backed by Kevin McCloud, was launched at the end of April 2012. It offers help and advice for aspiring self builders.

Conservatives 'get' housing

Policy Exchange Director Nick Faith has written an article for Conservativehome outlining the importance of housing in winning marginals at the next election.

Mr Faith believes that housing is an 'authentic' policy area for Conservatives to win support in marginal constituencies, especially among non-white voters in urban areas.

He says:

"One of the greatest worries for older generations is the fear that their children will not be able to get on in life....If younger generations are unable to afford to buy a place of their own their parents will increasingly start to ask whether the government is doing all it can to help future generations."

"The construction of thousands of new, good quality homes – especially in northern, urban areas – provides the Tories with a strong message for those swing voters in the key, urban marginals. Not only that, it’s an issue that sounds authentic."

The article also contains details of how urbanity and ethnicity have negative correlation with voting Conservative.

Select committee four point plan

The Communities and Local Government Select Committee has published a report examining the financing of new housing supply.

The report acknowledges that there is no single 'silver bullet' to solve the nation's housing crisis, but concentrating on four key areas could raise the finance to meet housing's shortfall.

The four areas are:

• large-scale investment from institutions and pension funds
• changes to the financing of housing associations, including a new role for the historic grant on their balance sheets
• greater financial freedoms for local authorities
• new and innovative models, including a massive expansion of self build housing

Using evidence from across the private and social housing sectors, the report examines the Government's housing strategy and considers measures to improve supply.

The report concludes with a number of recommendations including:

• housing associations should play a role in attracting institutional equity investment
• allow the creation of private, unlisted residential REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)
• establish a pilot housing investment fund (a bank) run by housing associations
• consult housing associations on the treatment of the historic grant on their balance sheets
• lift the cap on local authorities' borrowing for housing, and allow councils to borrow in accordance with the Prudential Code
• the Government make additional resources available in the event that "like-for-like" right to buy replacement cannot be delivered
• incentivise local authorities to support pilot "volume self build" schemes by allocating sites and taking a flexible approach to planning

The Government is expected to respond to the report's recommendations in July.

Queen's speech spoiler

The House of Commons library has published details of the Queen's speech 2012, a day before the official state opening of parliament.

The 17-page Standard Note gathers together issues that officials believe to be in this year's "Gracious Address".

For the social housing sector this includes:

• Home Office Bill to streamline anti-social behaviour remedies
• Bill to close down the Audit Commission
• Co-operatives Bill to remove cost and complexity
• Public sector pension reform

The Queen's speech and state opening of parliament is scheduled to take place on 9 May from around 11am.

Private clamping outlawed

Royal Assent was granted to the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 on 1 May.

The main focus of the Act is to limit the scope of the state to make and keep records, but it also includes an 'AOB' list of random measures covering midnight marriages, car clamping and out-of-date convictions of gay men.

The Home Office says the "sweeping reforms to restore British liberties" will see "thousands of motorists protected from rogue wheel clamping firms" and "curb local authority snooping".

For social landlords the main implication of the Act is outlawing private sector car clamping. Any immobilisation device attached to a vehicle (or trailer, caravan etc) is now illegal - unless conducted or contracted by a law enforcement agency. The only lawful way to stop cars parking on private land is to use a barrier.

Other measures that may cross paths with housing include restrictions on public authorities to enter private dwellings and use CCTV - details of both are to be to published by the Government after consultation.

Squatting criminalised and legal aid removed

The controversial Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act has received royal assent, 11 months after it was introduced to parliament. The Act met strong opposition in both houses of parliament, which inflicted 14 defeats on the government.

Clause 144 of the LASPO Act makes all forms of squatting a criminal offence in England and Wales. At present it is a civil matter unless the squatters break other laws, such as criminal damage or displacing a lawful occupant, but according to the London Evening Standard from September 2012 it will be a criminal offence.

Squatters may face up to six months in jail and a maximum £5,000 fine if they squat in a residential building.

The LASPO Act also introduces a wide range of reforms to the justice system as well as delivering structural reforms to the administration of legal aid. The Act removes legal aid for wide areas of law including most private family law, social welfare law, clinical negligence, education and employment.

Legal aid will no longer be available where legal help is not absolutely necessary – for example where a landlord and tenant are arguing over routine maintenance. The Act aims to encourage people to take more responsibility for exploring the range of practical advice available to them to tackle problems early.

The Legal Services Commission has provided an overview of the changes to legal aid. The following will be out of scope of legal aid from 1 April 2013:

• asylum support (except where accommodation is claimed)
• housing matters, except those where the home is at immediate risk (excluding those who are “squatting”), homelessness assistance, housing disrepair cases that pose a serious risk to life or health and anti-social behaviour cases in the county court
• welfare benefits; except for advice and assistance for welfare benefits appeals in the Upper Tribunal; and advice, assistance and representation for welfare benefits appeals in the higher courts.

Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said, "The Act will fundamentally improve many areas of the justice system and start to tackle the shameful rate of reoffending in this country, as well as ensuring we have clear, tough prison sentences and suitable punishments for criminals who use knives to threaten others, ruin lives with dangerous driving or who squat in people’s homes."

Law Society president John Wotton warned, "The consequence of this act will be that, in some very important areas like housing and welfare benefits law, vulnerable members of society will find legal advice and representation in the courts, funded by legal aid, more difficult to obtain."