Council Powers Of Entry For Housing: What You Need To Know. What powers of entry do local councils have in relation to housing? We will look at who has the power to enter a property, for what reasons, and what they can do.

The Housing Act 2004 introduced a number of changes to housing legislation in England and Wales. However, Part 1 of this Act is concerned particularly with housing conditions in residential properties. The Act confirms the responsibility of local housing authorities to keep housing conditions in their area under review and their duty to inspect properties where necessary. It also specifies the powers they have to take enforcement action. A key measure introduced by Part 1 was the introduction of a risk assessment tool, the HHSRS.

These regulations are part of the Housing Act 2004. The Housing Act 2004 introduced, amongst other things, mandatory licensing of many HMOs. The regulations are what are known as statutory instruments – a type of legislation which brings the provisions of an Act into force. Known as the HMO Management Regulations for short there are two versions of this legislation in effect in England, for which the full titles are: The Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 and The Licensing and Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (Additional Provisions) (England) Regulations 2007.

Recent research from the Building Research Establishment or BRE has tried to accurately assess what the costs of failing to act on poor quality housing in England might be. The report says that, potentially, investing £9bn in improving housing could save £135.5bn over the next 30 years – as well as having many other benefits. In this article we will look at what this research has found and at what we can learn from it.

Landlords who operate HMOs may find they need to make use of Temporary Exemption Notices or TENs. The Housing Act 2004 Part 2 requires that all properties which meet the definition of a licensable HMO in England and Wales are licensed. However, Section 62 of this legislation allows for landlords to apply for and for local authorities to grant exemptions from HMO licensing for short periods.

The government has recently published an update to its guidance on how local authorities should introduce selective licensing schemes. In this report, we will look at what has changed in the new version.

The criteria that apply for selective licensing to be introduced are: Low housing demand, a significant and persistent problem caused by anti-social behaviour, poor property conditions, high level of deprivation or high levels of crime. A recent study published in BMJ Open has looked at how selective licensing schemes in the PRS may impact social outcomes and mental health amongst tenants - here we take at look at some of those outcomes.

The new series has been designed to provide modelled estimates of two aspects of England’s housing stock: first, number and proportion of occupied homes that are deemed non-decent according to the Decent Homes Standard, and second, the number and proportion of occupied homes that are deemed unsafe due to having an HHSRS Category 1 hazard in each local authority area, by tenure and dwelling type.

Banning orders are one of a number of measures which can be used against landlords. A recent legal case has provided some more clarification on how banning orders should operate, and we will look at what it involved here.

The Regulator of Social Housing has recently published a regulatory notice which finds that Birmingham City Council has breached its consumer standards for social housing both in relation to health and safety and in complaints handling.

The Renters Reform Bill: What’s In It And What Does It Mean For Landlords? The government says that ‘The Renters (Reform) Bill will support the government’s manifesto commitment to deliver ‘a better deal for renters’, including by abolishing section 21 evictions and reforming landlord possession grounds. The objective of the Bill is to ensure private renters have access to a secure and decent home and that landlords retain the confidence to repossess their properties where they have good reason to.’ The government are describing the Bill as the most significant overhaul of landlord and tenant law in a generation.