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Housing Briefing – February 2021All items are relevant to England and Wales unless stated otherwiseGovernment announcement on leasehold reform The Government has announced detailed proposals on the reform of leasehold, following a review and recommendations from the Law Commission on enfranchisement (extending a lease or purchasing the freehold) and other aspects of leasehold law. Under the proposals, leaseholders of both houses and flats will be able to extend their leases to?a new standard 990 years, with their post-extension ground rent set at zero. A cap will also be introduced on the amount payable when a leaseholder chooses to enfranchise, with an online calculator to?make working out costs simpler. Ground rents on newly created leases will be set at zero and, in a reversal of the Government’s previous position, this will also apply to retirement leasehold properties (homes built specifically for older people). Legislation to set future ground rents to zero will be brought forward in the upcoming session of Parliament, but its application to retirement housing will be delayed by one year, so developers who had been expecting an exemption have time to prepare.For more information, see here.Ombudsman criticises council in local connection case (England only)The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has highlighted the importance of councils considering the exceptional circumstances of people fleeing domestic abuse when assessing their housing needs, following a complaint about London Borough of Wandsworth. The complainant, a single mother who had been assaulted and seriously injured by her former partner, was staying temporarily with her mother in the area where she and her former partner had been residing. The council for that area told her to make a homelessness application elsewhere, as it was not safe for her to continue living there. She therefore made an application to the neighbouring local authority – Wandsworth – but was advised she was not homeless or threatened with homelessness, due to her temporary residence with her mother.The Ombudsman found that this was incorrect – Wandsworth should have considered whether the client was ‘homeless at home’ by virtue of it not being reasonable to remain in the mother’s property. Given the ongoing risk to her safety in that area, ‘it is likely that the council would have concluded it was not reasonable for Ms X to continue to live with her mother and therefore, she was homeless’. Although the council eventually accepted that the client was threatened with homelessness and drew up a Personalised Housing Plan (PHP) in accordance with the relevant legislation, it was noted that (see over):[This] gave no actions for the Council and did not include a review date. The Council did not review the PHP. This is fault. The PHP included incorrect information. It wrongly said Ms X could not register on the allocation scheme. It wrongly said the Council could not help with measures to be safer where she was. This is fault.The plan was wrong in stating that the client could not register for social housing, as:The statutory guidance says councils should not adopt allocations criteria that disadvantage those fleeing an area because of domestic violence. The latest guidance extends this to a person who had recently arrived in an area because of domestic violence. If the Council had dealt correctly with Ms X’s application, her status as someone fleeing domestic violence and still in danger meant it could have waived its local connection criteria.The complaint was upheld with various financial and other recommendations made. This is an important case for clients needing to move as a result of domestic abuse, but the findings on the deficiencies of the PHP, namely the council’s failure to give itself any actions to undertake and set a review date, have much wider implications.Impact of Covid-19 on Housing Ombudsman operations (England only)On 15 January 2021, the Housing Ombudsman announced it is temporarily reducing the phone service operating times due to current lockdown restrictions and staff resourcing issues. Lines are open Monday, Thursday and Friday from 9.15am to 5.15pm, with half days on Tuesday and Wednesday (9.15am to 1.15pm). Clients are advised not to send post to the Canary Wharf office, which is closed. Email or an online complaint form to the PO Box address in Liverpool is strongly advised, as remote working restricts the ability of staff to send and receive post. These arrangements mean it may take longer than usual for calls to be returned or emails responded to. For more information, see here.Green Homes Grant scheme ‘in chaos’ (England only)The Guardian reports the Government’s newly-launched Green Homes Grant scheme is ‘in chaos’, with delays in approving and paying grants leaving firms out of pocket and leading to debt and job losses. Under the scheme, homeowners and park homeowners can get a Government voucher of up to ?5,000 (?10,000 if claiming certain benefits including Pension Credit and Attendance Allowance) to pay for green energy efficiency measures. You are expected to cover at least a third of the cost of measures unless claiming benefits. The contract for the scheme was awarded to a US firm, with UK installers complaining of communication difficulties and long delays. Some are owed tens of thousands of pounds for work dating back to last Autumn or are in debt after scaling up their operations to meet expected demand. One installer running a staff of two in a call centre for 40 told the Guardian only 61 out of his 300 clients had received their vouchers. He had installed six systems, but had not received any money from Government, and was ?250,000 out of pocket. For more information, see here. ................
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