Housing

Continuation of temporary cost of living protections for tenants in Scotland until 31 March 2024

New statutory instrument extends period that provisions limiting the private sector rent cap and pausing enforcement of evictions for all tenants apply for a further six months

Chronic and unresolved systemic issues mean that the government won’t meet its target to end rough sleeping by 2024

Kerslake Commission highlights that the latest national official figures show a 26 per cent increase in rough sleeping and the highest rates of people living in temporary accommodation on record

StepChange calls for increased protections for private tenants to be included in the Renters (Reform) Bill

On their own, the government's proposed reforms will fail to prevent the most financially vulnerable tenants from losing their homes, says debt charity

Scottish Parliament approves final extension of temporary cost of living tenant protections

MSPs vote for extension of period that 3 per cent cap on private sector rent increases and additional eviction protections remain in force until March 2024

Government reports that 85 per cent of the Afghan people who have left bridging accommodation have been moved or matched to settled accommodation

Update follows Home Office issuing notice to quit to the 8,000 people who remained in hotels in July 2023

Social landlords fail to comply with a record number of Complaint Handling Failure Orders

Housing Ombudsman reports that more than a third of the orders issued to landlords between April and June 2023 were not complied with

First commencement order issued in relation to the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023

New statutory instrument

Criticism mounts about government delay in progressing Renters (Reform) Bill

Labour Party and Shelter highlight failure to include second reading of the Bill in the forthcoming business of the House of Commons as the current parliamentary session enters its final weeks

Scottish Government confirms that it will introduce legislation to allow local authorities to apply council tax premium of up to 100 per cent on second homes

New legislation will encourage more housing to be used as homes and 'seek a fair contribution to local services from everyone', says Finance Minister

Lack of joined-up and collaborative planning by council’s housing and social care services prevented homeless disabled person moving from unsuitable temporary accommodation for far too long

Calderdale Council accepts Ombudsman's criticism and agrees to improve staff training and provide evidence of service improvements in order to prevent similar injustice happening in future

Government urged to abandon policy change that shortens move-on period for people granted refugee status

Housing and refugee support organisations highlight that a significant number of refugees have already been made homeless by th change, placing huge pressures on the voluntary sector and mainstream homelessness services

Ombudsman launches special investigation into social landlord after six findings of severe maladministration over a three-month period

Excessive delays and poor communication on multiple occasions highlighted by Ombudsman, with residents being ignored or left in the dark about the actions the landlord would be taking

More than one in thirty private rented properties in England have a ‘Category 1’ hazard rating due to damp and mould

New DLUHC analysis of local authority data also shows that as many as one in four properties are affected in some areas

More than 5,000 households were identified as unintentionally homeless and in priority need in Wales in 2022/2023

New statistics from the Welsh Government report that this represents an increase of 25 per cent over the previous year

Government announces new Rough Sleeping Initiative allocations worth £34.6 million

Provided on top of the original £500 million allocation, DLUHC says the new funding will go to areas most in need of support

Round-up of recent decisions from the Housing Ombudsman

Government must refocus its efforts on preventing homelessness and raise the LHA so people have a realistic chance of finding somewhere affordable to live

Homeless Link's annual review of the state of the sector also calls for a commitment to provide sufficient, sustainable funding of homelessness services