*Not really. The current housing minister, who holds the current record for the number of times a housing minister's name can be mentioned in a press release, has announced forthcoming legislation, in response to the Rugg report. More details here [link to...
HMO Planning Changes and a Consultation
The Department of Communities and Local Government has published new proposals on dealing with HMOs.
Its all in the name
The Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 (Registration of Local Authorities) Order 2010 has just been laid before Parliament in draft form, to come into effect on April 1, 2010. A copy is available here. In short, it makes it compulsory for local authorities...
Rent Repayment Orders
As well as the process of criminal convictions and fines which results from the failure to have the necessary property licence as required by the Housing Act 2004 there is a further penalty which can be imposed on unlicensed landlords. This is the Rent...
On the Naughty Step
And what a thoroughly deserving new entrant to the roll we have in Anthony Carroll, apparently known as 'Uncle Tony', although 'Uncle' to whom and whether any Godfather style references were intended is not at all clear. Mr Carroll is a Nottingham based...
Telling the TSA what to do
The Government in the form of the DCLG has issued its response to consultation on the directions it is to give the Tenant Services Authority under s.197 Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 and also the directions on regulatory standards themselves. The...
Extending the role of the TSA
The Government has just issued a consultation paper (available here) on extending the TSAs regulatory role to local housing authorities. Whilst the document is expressed to be a consultation, the tone of the document suggests that the Government is already...
Peverse incentive
We don't usually cover gypsy & traveller planning permission cases, since they tend to turn on their own facts, but Rafferty and another v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and another [2009] EWCA Civ 809 has one point of wider...
Shocking lack
And I apologise for the pun in the title, which is in dubious taste. Normally on NL, we restrict putting our view on matters to a few comments or the odd, albeit caustic, remark. But the events and legal requirements that are set out in this story from the...
Tales from the pink campervan
The Tenants Services Authority (the new regulatory body for RSLs and, from April 2010, local authorities) has been holding a "national conversation" with tenants, touring round in a pink campervan amongst other engagement techniques. The outcome from that,...
Regulating renting proposals
I'm just in the process of marking what feels like thousands of coursework essays on proprietary estoppel and constructive trusts. The thing that gets me - time for a rant - is that my very clever three As students can't actually write a proper sentence,...
Green Paper "within 10 days"
It's the little things in life which get me excited and, as a bit of a policy nerd on the side, it looks like a Green Paper is to be expected within 10 days if The Times is to be believed. I'd heard on the grapevine that the GP had been canned because they...