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Recent Developments in Housing

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Recent Developments in Housing AprilLA_40_46 09/04/2013 18:46 Page 41 April 2013 LegalAction law&practice/housing 41 7 Available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- aid/funding-code/lord-chancellors-guidance.pdf. Recent developments 8 Available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- aid/funding-code/chancellors-guide-exceptional- funding-non-inquests.pdf and www.justice.gov. in housing law uk/downloads/legal-aid/funding-code/chancellors- guide-exceptional-funding-inquests.pdf respectively. 9 Available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- aid/funding-code/evidence-requirements-for- private-family-law-matters.pdf. Jan Luba QC and Nic Madge continue their monthly series. They 10 Available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- would like to hear of any cases in the higher or lower courts relevant to aid/funding-code/guidance-reporting-controlled- work.pdf. housing. In addition, comments from readers are warmly welcomed. 11 The standard terms 2013, available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal-aid/civil- contracts/standard-terms-2013.pdf. POLITICS AND LEGISLATION the rules on costs as recommended by Lord 12 2013 standard civil contract: specification, Justice Jackson’s Review of civil litigation costs. available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- Legal aid for housing cases Numerous other amendments are made to the aid/civil-contracts/2013-standard-civil-contract- general-specification.pdf. Since 1 April 2013, legal aid help in housing handling of multi-track and other civil cases. 13 Sample 2013 standard civil contract schedule, cases has only been available from holders of a The small claims track limit (below which costs available at: www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/legal- 2013 Standard Contract (or a varied 2010 cannot usually be recovered) has been doubled aid/civil-contracts/final-draft-schedule-2013.pdf. Standard Contract) issued by the former Legal from £5,000 to £10,000. A swathe of new Services Commission (now the Legal Aid CPR Practice Directions (and amendments to Agency). In 2012/13, there were 533 suppliers Practice Directions) accompany the changes: with contracts to undertake casework in 61st update – practice direction amendments housing law but 828 suppliers bid successfully (Ministry of Justice (MoJ), April 2013).4 for contracts for 2013/14.1 Although the number of mortgage As the bid round was non-competitive, the possession claims issued in the county courts available work (in the form of 51,889 ‘matter continues to fall, the recent increase in starts’) will have been distributed among as possession claims by landlords is continuing. many of those bidders as passed the In the last three months of 2012, 38,934 self-verification exercise and accepted the landlord possession claims were issued in offered contract. England and Wales: equivalent to over 3,250 The increased interest in providing legal aid every month, or more than 100 a day: services for housing law may have been Statistics on mortgage and landlord possession stimulated by the retention within the scope of actions in the county courts in England and legal aid of most housing cases: Legal Aid, Wales: October to December 2012 (MoJ, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders February 2013).5 In the same period, over (LASPO) Act 2012 Sch 1. However, legal aid 8,660 warrants for possession, generated by will only be available in those cases meeting landlord possession claims, were actually the criteria specified in new regulations: the executed by county court bailiffs. Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013 SI No 104. Guidance on how to apply Housing benefit in social housing the criteria has been issued by the Lord The new size criteria elements of the housing Chancellor: Lord Chancellor’s guidance under benefit (HB) scheme were applied to working- section 4 of Legal Aid, Sentencing and age social housing tenants on 1 April 2013: Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.2 the Housing Benefit (Amendment) Regulations Some housing cases otherwise excluded 2012 SI No 3040. They are expected to lead from scope might be covered by the new to benefit reductions for 660,000 households ‘exceptional funding’ arrangements in LASPO with one or more spare bedrooms. The detail is Act 2012 s10. For guidance as to how that explained in HB/CTB Circular A4/2012 Housing category operates, see Lord Chancellor’s benefit size criteria restrictions for working age exceptional funding guidance (non-inquests).3 claimants in the social rented sector from 1 The new (higher) rates for experts in April 2013. housing disrepair cases, for which the Housing The National Housing Federation (NHF) has Law Practitioners Group pressed successfully, published an information leaflet for tenants Vicky Ling is a consultant specialising in are set out in The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) about this and the other main HB changes, legal aid practice and a founder member of Regulations 2013 SI No 422. describing who will be affected and how the Law Consultancy Network. E-mail: tenants can get help and advice: What you [email protected]. She and Simon Housing cases in the county courts need to know about changes to housing Pugh are co-editors, with Anthony Edwards, The latest amendments to the Civil Procedure benefit (NHF, February 2013).6 The House of of LAG legal aid handbook 2013/14, April Rules (CPR) took effect on 1 April 2013: the Commons Library has published a helpful policy 2013, £45. Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2013 SI briefing on the issue: Under-occupation of No 262. They make fundamental changes to social housing: housing benefit entitlement AprilLA_40_46 09/04/2013 18:46 Page 42 42 LegalAction law&practice/housing April 2013 SN/SP/6272 (25 March 2013).7 Matthew Hennessy-Gibbs ‘Cash is king’, Inside relevant legislation provided that the right to The NHF has also published research Housing, 22 February 2013.13 occupy would be lost in cases of absence commissioned from the University of Every HB authority is being allocated exceeding six months (subject to exceptions). Cambridge and Ipsos MORI considering the additional central government funding to meet On a claim for possession, a court made a likely impact of these and other welfare reforms some of the administrative costs of the impact possession order because the applicants had on housing association landlords: Impact of of the various reforms to HB being introduced been absent for more than six months and welfare reform on housing associations (NHF, during 2013. This includes £4m in respect of there was no good reason to extend the period. January 2013).8 the impact of the social housing size criteria. Appeals against that order were dismissed. The The details of the allocation to each local applicants complained to the European Court Direct payment of housing benefit authority are given in Department for Work and of Human Rights that their right to respect for Several local housing authorities have been Pensions Circular HB/CTB S2/2013 Additional their home (article 8) had been infringed. participating in demonstration projects funding to meet the costs of implementing The complaint was declared inadmissible. designed to test the new arrangements for welfare reform changes in 2012/13.14 The domestic courts had applied the relevant payment of universal credit (including the legislation and considered the reasons for housing costs element) directly into the bank Housing and anti-social behaviour absence and the applicants’ circumstances. accounts of tenants, on a monthly basis. The draft Anti-social Behaviour Bill has Although there had been no explicit reference Southwark identified 2,000 tenants to take completed its pre-legislative scrutiny by the to the proportionality of eviction, the court itself part in its area (1,500 council tenants and 500 House of Commons Home Affairs Select did not consider that eviction could be said to tenants of Family Mosaic housing association). Committee. Its report states that current be disproportionate in all the circumstances of Its key findings were that: timescales for court proceedings do not reflect the case. Ⅵ only 60 per cent of the 2,000 tenants were ‘the misery caused by ASB [anti-social successfully moved onto the pilot scheme; behaviour]’ and the committee recommended Ⅵ 11 per cent refused to take part or were abandoning the shift of remedies into the POSSESSION CLAIMS unable to engage with the council; county court because: Ⅵ 14 per cent were later deemed too Secure tenants vulnerable to take part; and We heard that this was likely to severely Ⅵ Brent LBC v Tudor Ⅵ there was a lack of understanding about slow down the process for dealing with ASB as [2013] EWCA Civ 157, personal finance among some tenants and county courts are under pressure from reduced 6 March 2013 others were unable to obtain a bank account.9 staffing and more litigants in person because Ms Tudor’s mother was a secure tenant of a Based on these findings, the council has of the reduction in eligibility to civil legal aid. six-bedroom property. She died in March projected that its rent arrears for council County courts were also likely to be further 2009. As a member of the tenant’s family who tenants could increase by £14m when direct away for victims to attend: (House of Commons resided with the tenant throughout the payment is implemented borough-wide. The Home Affairs Committee. The draft Anti-social 12-month period ending with the tenant’s estimated additional administrative cost will be Behaviour Bill: pre-legislative scrutiny. Twelfth death, Ms Tudor was entitled to succeed to the in excess of £400,000 per year. Report of Session 2012–13).15 tenancy under Housing Act (HA) 1985 s89. A similar situation has been reported by The council sought possession under Schedule Wakefield. Its chief executive told a Private rented sector 2, Ground 16 arguing that the accommodation parliamentary committee that: A major new report on the private lettings afforded by the property was ‘more extensive market by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), than is reasonably required by the tenant’.
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