Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference

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Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference?

• Andrew Griffiths
• Chartered Institute of Environmental Health

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Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference?

• YES
• or possibly NO

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Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference?

• NO if
• you dont let any property in multiple occupation
• your properties are in good repair with all
  amenities and are safe and healthy to live in
• you always deal with repairs etc straightaway
• your properties are occupied
• you dont take any tenancy deposits
• there is no anti-social behaviour in or near
• your properties

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Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference?

• Otherwise
• Yes

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Housing Act 2004 Will I notice a difference?

• Multiple Occupation
• Safe and healthy houses
• Residential Property Tribunal
• Empty dwellings
• Tenancy deposits

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Multiple Occupation

• Definition of an HMO
• Mandatory licensing
• Discretionary licensing
• Management standards
• Amenity standards
• Fees
• Penalties

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Safe healthy houses

• Housing Health and Safety Rating System
• A new system for assessing housing conditions
• Underlying principle -
• A dwelling should provide a safe and healthy
  environment for the occupants and any visitors

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Safe healthy houses

• Housing Health and Safety Rating System
• Applies to the whole housing sector
• Enforcement only applies to the private sector
• Local councils cant prosecute themselves
• Action can be taken against social landlords
• Little change from present arrangements

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Safe healthy houses

• Housing Health and Safety
• Rating System
• 29 hazards summarised as follows
• Dampness, excess cold/heat
• Hygiene, sanitation, water supply
• Accidents falls, electric shocks, fires, burns,
  scalds
• Collisions, explosions, structural collapse
• Pollutants e.g. asbestos,
• Space, security, light, noise

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Safe healthy houses

• Housing Health and Safety Rating System
• Local councils required by law to deal with poor
  housing conditions in their areas
• Improvement notices
• Prohibition orders
• Emergency prohibition orders
• Hazard awareness notices

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Residential Property Tribunal

• Like rent assessment panels
• Expert panel
• More informal than a court
• Case management conferences
• Mediation
• Property visits
• Further appeal to Lands tribunal

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Empty Dwellings

• 689,675 empty homes in England
• (April 2004)
• More empty homes than homeless families
• 80 in the private sector
• Half have been empty for more than 6 months
• The market is not working

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Empty Dwellings

• Local authorities need to have a strategy for
  bringing empty homes back into use
• Strategies include carrots and sticks
• Housing Act introduces a new tool - Empty
  Dwelling Management Orders
• Designed to bring empty properties back into use
  and get rent to landlords

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Tenancy Deposits

• All deposits for AST tenants will have to be part
  of the new scheme (Oct 06)
• Custodial (free) or insurance based scheme
• No Section 21 if deposit not protected
• Alternative dispute resolution for custodial
  scheme (or the courts)

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• Rejoice!

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