Much ado about housing
District Judge Nic Madge summarises major statutory changes - some already in force, some on their way - to the laws on housing
Three Acts of Parliament which make important changes to housing law have received the Royal Assent this year - the Homelessness Act, the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act and the Land Registration Act.
Available at: www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts2002
Homelessness Act 2002
The Homelessness Act 2002 received the Royal Assent on 26 February 2002.
It is intended to:
l Require housing authorities to take a more strategic, multi-agency approach to the prevention of homelessness and the rehousing of homeless households;
l Ensure that everyone accepted by housing authorities as unintentionally homeless and in priority need must be provided with suitable accommodation until they obtain settled housing;
l Allow housing authorities greater flexibility to assist non-priority homeless households, principally through a new power for housing authorities to secure accommodation for such households where they have scope to do so; and
l Facilitate lettings policies which offer more choice to homeless people and others in housing need with the aim of creating sustainable communities, tackling social exclusion and making better use of the national housing stock.
Other provisions relating to homelessness include amendments to part VI of the Housing Act 1996.
In brief they provide for:
l The abolition of the former two- year period during which a housing authority was subject to the main homelessness duty;
l The abolition of the former duty on housing authorities to consider whether other suitable accommodation was available before they could secure accommodation themselves;
l Additional circumstances in which the applicant can bring the main homelessness duty to an end by accepting an assured tenancy; and
l A power for authorities to secure accommodation for homeless applicants who are not in priority need.
Section 8 (entitlement to seek review of decisions as to suitability of accommodation whether or not they have accepted accommodation) and schedule 1, paragraphs 3 and 7 (exclusion from access to Housing Act 1996 parts VI and VII of people from abroad who are not entitled to housing benefit) came into force on receipt of the Royal Assent on 26 February 2002 (see section 20).
In England, most of the remaining homelessness provisions were brought into force by Homelessness Act 2002 (Commencement No.1) Order 2002 SI No.
1799 C.56) on 31 July 2002.
Section 12 (co-operation in children cases) is likely to be brought into force on 1 October 2002.
However, the provisions not yet in force include section 11 (appeals against refusal to accommodate pending appeal) and schedule 1 paragraph 17 (power to extend time for filing section 204 appeal).
In Wales, all the remaining homelessness provisions will be brought into force on 30 September 2002 by the Homelessness Act 2002 (Commencement) (Wales) Order 2002 SI No.
1736 (W.166)(C.53).
In addition, the Homelessness (Priority Need for Accommodation) (England) Order 2002 SI No.
2051 extends the categories of people who have 'priority need' within the meaning of the Housing Act 1996 section 182 to include vulnerable people leaving institutions, young people including those leaving care and people fleeing violence.
It came into force on 31 July 2002.
Other changes to practice have been brought about by amendments to the code of guidance on homelessness.
Other provisions in the Homelessness Act, changing the rules for allocation of local authority accommodation, will be brought into force in England and Wales in January 2003.Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act
The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 received the Royal Assent on 1 May 2002.
The Act includes provisions which will:
l Introduce commonhold as a form of tenure for blocks of flats;
l Give leaseholders of flats the right to manage their blocks and make it easier to enfranchise and obtain longer leases;
l Give leaseholders protection against unreasonable charges for administration and improvements;
l Require landlords to give written notice of ground rents before taking any action - or imposing any penalties - as a result of late payment;
l Require landlords to satisfy a court or tribunal that a lease has been breached before taking any action - or imposing any penalties - as a result of an alleged breach;
l Prevent landlords from forfeiting leases as a result of trivial debts;
l Prevent landlords from insisting that leaseholders of houses use a particular insurance company to insure their house;
l Make it easier for leaseholders and other interested parties to vary their leases;
l Widen the right to seek the appointment of a manager;
l Introduce accounting requirements and a right for leaseholders to withhold service charges where certain information is not provided; and
l Make changes to the provisions governing Leasehold Valuation Tribunals (LVTs) to enable them to provide a more effective and efficient service.
This will include the extension of LVTs' jurisdictions.
The Act will be implemented by a series of commencement orders.
Important parts were brought into force on 26 July 2002 by the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002 (Commencement No.
1, Savings and Transitional Provisions) (England) Order 2002 SI No.
1912 (C.58).
They include changes to: collective enfranchisement and acquisition of new leases by tenants of flats; enfranchisement and lease extension by tenants of houses; applications to leasehold valuation tribunals for the appointment of managers to blocks of flats, and grounds for applying to vary a lease.
Land Registration Act
The Land Registration Act 2002, which among other things contains important provisions dealing with the law of adverse possession, received the Royal Assent on 26 February 2002.
Part 9 disapplies the periods of limitation contained in Limitation Act 1980 sections15 to 17.
Schedule 6 contains a procedure for the registration of an adverse possessor's interest in land if that person has been in adverse possession for ten years ending on the date of the application.
Section 98 provides a defence to a possession action if the defendant was, on the day immediately before the issue of proceedings, entitled to make an application under schedule 6 to be registered as the proprietor of an estate in the land, and had in fact made such an application.
There is also a defence if, on the day before the issue of proceedings, the defendant was entitled to make an application under schedule 6 paragraph 6 to be registered as the proprietor of an estate in the land.
Part 9 will not come into force until a com-mencement order is approved.
District Judge Nic Madge sits at West London County Court
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