VE Day: Council duties under the Armed Forces Covenant
As we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, Geoff Wild, Legal & Governance Consultant, looks at the duties of councils under the Armed Forces Covenant.
‘No desire’ to address short-term homelessness system
24/01/2025 MPs examining the homelessness crisis have warned that there is seemingly ‘no desire to move away from an unsatisfactory short-term system’. |
Councils empowered to auction off leases
04/12/2024 The Government has handed councils new powers to tackle the empty shop scourge and revitalise high streets. |
Renters' Rights Bill to extend homelessness prevention duty
06/11/2024 Councils' homelessness prevention duty to evicted tenants could be extended from 56 to 147 days or more under the Renters' Rights Bill. |
Just 5% of London private rentals affordable to low-income households
17/10/2024 Only 5% of private rental listings in London are affordable to households who use Local Housing Allowance (LHA) to pay their rent, new research has found. |
Brum misses out on £165m in council tax
02/10/2024 Birmingham City Council has missed out on over £165m worth of council tax in five years, new research reveals. |
Value of rental arrears jumps 70%
02/10/2024 The value of rental arrears owed to local authorities has increased by more than 70% in the last five years, new research has revealed. |
No-fault evictions ban returns to Commons
11/09/2024 A ban on landlords evicting tenants without a valid reason is among the ‘landmark’ renting reforms to be introduced to Parliament today. |
Landlords facing increasing costs due to selective licensing
12/08/2024 Thousands of landlords in England are facing increasing costs due to selective licensing schemes imposed by local councils, new research has found. |
King’s Speech: No-fault evictions to be banned
17/07/2024 Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech has confirmed that so-called no-fault evictions will be banned. |
Islington identifies £1.8bn housing shortfall
05/07/2024 Islington Council is facing a deficit ‘in excess of’ £1.8bn in its housing revenue account (HRA) over the next 30 years. |
Labour-commissioned report calls for cap on rent rises
14/05/2024 Rent rises should be capped to help millions of struggling renters in England and Wales, a new report commissioned by Labour argues. |
Councils fail to collect £7m in fines from rogue landlords
14/05/2024 Less than half the fines levied against rogue landlords have been collected by local authorities, a freedom of information request has revealed. |
Four in 10 council homes sold under right to buy owned by private landlords
10/05/2024 More than four in 10 council homes sold under right to buy are now owned by private landlords, new research has revealed. |
MPs sign off indefinite delay to no-fault evictions ban
25/04/2024 The Renters (Reform) Bill, which now includes an indefinite delay to the long-awaited ban on ‘no-fault’ evictions, passed its third reading in the Commons yesterday. |
Khan pledges to build 6,000 ‘rent control’ homes
05/04/2024 London mayor Sadiq Khan will today commit to building homes with capped rents as part of his bid for re-election next month. |
Brent council set to launch landlord licensing scheme
26/03/2024 A new borough-wide landlord licensing scheme is set to launch in Brent on April 1, the council has announced. |
No-fault evictions in London rise 60%
04/03/2024 London mayor Sadiq Khan has slammed ministers ‘broken promises’ over protections for private renters amid reports that promised reforms are being watered down. |
Oxford leader slams Gove’s short-term lets plan
21/02/2024 Oxford City Council has criticised the Government’s proposals to limit short-term lets arguing that they ‘fall a long way short of what's needed’. |
Gove: Short-term lets to require planning permission
19/02/2024 Second-home owners will have to seek planning permission for future short-term lets, the Government has announced. |
New complaint handling codes launched
08/02/2024 New closely aligned codes aimed at making good complaint handling easier for local authorities have been launched. |
Two in five adults fear mounting housing pressures
24/01/2024 Two in five people who pay housing costs in England are worried that pressures will get worse this year, new research has found. |
Housing crisis forcing poorer older renters to move
22/01/2024 Older renters living on low incomes are being forced to move to more deprived areas with fewer services due to the housing crisis, new research suggests. |
Fresh call for minimum standards to protect private renters
19/01/2024 MPs have urged the Government to protect tenants from the ‘catastrophic’ impact of poor-quality homes on their health. |
Gove consults on plan for quicker housing repairs
09/01/2024 Social landlords would be required to fix hazards including damp and mould within ‘strict time limits’ under proposals set out by housing secretary Michael Gove today. |
Rental reforms at risk from cash-strapped councils
12/12/2023 Local authorities will struggle to enforce the Government’s rental reforms without a ‘significant boost to their resources,' MPs warn. |
Autumn Statement: Housing benefits unfrozen
22/11/2023 Housing benefits for private renters are set to increase as Jeremy Hunt confirms the uprating of Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates in autumn statement. |
Government urged to push through ‘no fault’ evictions ban
09/11/2023 The chair of the levelling up, housing and communities (LUHC) committee has urged the Government to commit to a timetable for abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. |
‘Stark inconsistency’ across London on Build to Rent
08/11/2023 Planning policy across London boroughs ‘could do far more’ to provide a comprehensive basis for the delivery of Built to Rent (BtR) schemes, a report has argued. |
Councils respond to King’s Speech
08/11/2023 The Local Government Association (LGA) has responded to proposed legislation announced yesterday in the King’s Speech. |
‘Nothing for local government’ in King’s Speech
07/11/2023 Councils have expressed disappointment that the King’s Speech offered no commitment to improving local government finances or furthering devolution. |
Social housing complaints hit record high
17/10/2023 Complaints against social housing landlords last year saw a record spike due to poor property conditions and media coverage after the death of Awaab Ishak. |
Charities repeat call for ‘no-fault’ evictions ban
16/10/2023 Thirty charities and non-profit organisations have called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to pass a bill to ban ‘no-fault’ evictions. |
LGA warns Hunt over housing allowance rates
16/10/2023 The LGA has warned chancellor Jeremy Hunt he will force more into homelessness unless he ends a three-year freeze on housing rental benefits. |
Agency found guilty of harassing tenants
11/10/2023 In a prosecution by Brighton and Hove City Council, a lettings agency has been found guilty of harassing tenants and fined £60,000. |
Government set to fail to meet rough sleeping target
25/09/2023 The Government will fail to meet its target to end rough sleeping because of a ‘chronic shortage’ of affordable housing and support services, experts warn. |
Homeless London families evicted as emergency housing deals end
30/08/2023 More landlords are quitting the temporary accommodation sector in London, causing homeless families to be evicted from emergency housing. |
Calls for affordable homes funding in holiday hotspots
29/08/2023 Councils need long-term funding and more planning powers to build affordable homes for local people being priced out of tourist areas, Localis has said. |
Millions of renters a pay cheque away from losing home
23/08/2023 More than two million private renters in England would be immediately unable to pay their rent if they lost their job, homelessness charity Shelter reveals. |
Let renting childminders work from home, minister tells landlords
21/08/2023 Children and families minister Claire Coutinho has told developers and social landlords to allow childminders to work from rented properties. |
Rent arrears surge
02/08/2023 Four in five council landlords have reported growing rent arrears over the past year, according to the findings of a new survey. |
Family rental neighbourhood under development in Leeds
31/07/2023 A new rental community with 223 family homes is under construction in the suburbs of Leeds. |
Ombudsman orders landlord L&Q to pay £142,000
27/07/2023 One of the biggest social landlords in Britain has been ordered to pay £142,000 after an investigation revealed it was ‘dismissive’ of complaints. |
Charity urges against Renters Bill delays as homelessness surges
26/07/2023 Shelter has warned against delays to the Renters (Reform) Bill after figures revealed a record 80,000 households faced homelessness between January and March. |
‘Landmark’ social housing Act becomes law
21/07/2023 The Government’s new Social Housing (Regulation) Act, which includes greater powers to tackle failing social landlords, has become law. |
172 families served no-fault eviction notice every day
19/07/2023 Every day in England, 172 private renting families are handed a no-fault eviction notice as progress stalls on the Renters (Reform) Bill, Shelter has said. |
Turn empty buildings into affordable housing, MPs say
10/07/2023 APPGs have called on the Government to turn empty buildings into affordable housing, after they found repurposing properties could create thousands of homes. |
London facing ‘unmanageable’ housing pressures
05/07/2023 Housing pressures in London have become ‘unmanageable’ due to a sharp fall in private rental listings that is worsening near-record levels of homelessness. |
Campaigners call for more ‘sex for rent’ protections
29/06/2023 Generation Rent has called for the Government to do more to protect financially vulnerable renters from being forced into ‘sex for rent’ arrangements. |
More funding needed to enforce no-fault evictions ban, council chiefs say
27/06/2023 Local authorities will require more staff and funding to enforce the government’s proposed ban on no-fault evictions in England, the LGA has said. |
Newly listed properties unaffordable to benefit recipients
27/06/2023 The proportion of newly listed private rental properties on Zoopla affordable to recipients of housing support has dropped from 23% to 5%, according to IFS. |
Increase in rent arrears since Covid pandemic
22/06/2023 The number of social housing tenants in rent arrears has gone up since the Covid pandemic, according to new research. |
Charity warns of backdoor ‘no fault’ evictions
15/06/2023 Landlords will continue with ‘no fault’ evictions even after Section 21 evictions are banned if renters’ rights are not strengthened, charity warns. |
Local Housing Allowance failing to cover costs
13/06/2023 The allowance paid to help people pay rent for private housing is failing to cover their costs, according to new analysis. |
Holiday homes threaten housing supply in 25 areas
05/06/2023 The growth in holiday homes is threatening to outstrip the housing supply in popular tourist areas, campaigners have warned. |
Social landlords urged to build ‘partnership of equals’
01/06/2023 Social landlords should build a ‘partnership of equals’ with their tenants, a leading housing association has urged. |
Think tank calls for expansion of ‘selective licencing’
24/05/2023 London councils are being prevented from adopting schemes to improve conditions for people in private rented accommodation by regulations, researchers say. |
Council chiefs welcome proposals to ban ‘no fault’ evictions
17/05/2023 Local government leaders have welcomed the announcement of proposals to stop landlords evicting tenants without a good reason. |
Opportunities missed to help man who died of starvation
15/05/2023 A man with severe mental health problems died alone weighing four and a half stone after opportunities to help him were missed, a review of the case found. |
Ombudsman reminds councils to investigate renters’ concerns
11/05/2023 Councils reminded of their duties to investigate problems in private rented housing after concerns were raised about Worcester CC's complaint handling. |
Regulator criticises council for health and safety failures
10/05/2023 Adur District Council failed to meet a range of health and safety requirements in tenants’ homes, the the social housing watchdog has ruled. |
Estimated 700,000 households miss housing payments
09/05/2023 An estimated 700,000 households missed a housing payment in the last month, according to consumer watchdog. |
Risk of eviction higher among minorities
05/05/2023 The risk of eviction is a third higher among ethnic minority private renters than it is among white British or Irish renters, new research shows. |
Government launches £500,000 know-your-rights scheme
19/04/2023 Social housing tenants in seven cities are to be offered a place on a Government-funded training scheme aimed at helping them hold their landlords to account. |
Short-term lets to need planning permission
13/04/2023 The Government has announced new rules to give communities greater control over short-term lets in their areas which it says will strengthen tourism sector. |
London councils set out ‘shared vision’ to improve social housing
12/04/2023 London boroughs have vowed to do better for tenants in social housing after acknowledging the poor state of many homes. |
Private renters risk eviction if they complain, charity reveals
30/03/2023 Private renters risk being evicted if they complain to their landlords that repairs are needed in their homes, according to new research. |
Landlord criticised over toddler death ‘dismissive’ of residents
28/03/2023 The housing association criticised over death of toddler Awaab Ishak treated residents in ‘dismissive, inappropriate or unsympathetic’ ways, Ombudsman says. |
Cornwall Council scheme to help residents rent to homeless
27/03/2023 Cornwall Council has introduced a new scheme which would enable them to lease a property from a home owner before renting it out to an individual or family. |
Ombudsman warns councils ‘not getting it right’ on homelessness
21/03/2023 Vulnerable people are facing homelessness because some councils are ‘still not getting it right’, according to the local government ombudsman. |
Half of Ukrainian refugees face housing barriers
17/03/2023 More than half of Ukrainian refugees have struggled to find somewhere affordable to rent, according to new research. |
Rough sleeping numbers see record rise
28/02/2023 The number of rough sleepers has risen by 26% – the biggest increase since 2015 – in what one charity has branded a ‘collective failure’. |
Cambridge council highlights efforts to use empty properties
28/02/2023 Cambridge City Council is highlighting the support it can give to help bring long-term empty properties back into use. |
Housebuilding set to fall to lowest level since WWII
27/02/2023 Housebuilding in England is set to fall to the lowest level since the second world war, according to the Home Builders Federation (HBF). |
Grant councils power to fight ‘exploitative lets’, think tank says
23/02/2023 Councils should be given more powers to set the rules about who can buy properties as one measure to tackle ‘exploitative lets’, think tank says. |
Torbay Council’s first temporary home ready
15/02/2023 The first home bought by Torbay Council as part of the local authority’s efforts to help meet the needs of homeless families is ready to move into. |
Tenant jailed for £200,000 housing fraud
14/02/2023 A tenant who lived in council housing in Dudley while renting out a flat she owned has been jailed for 32 months. |
Homelessness charity welcomes ‘Awaab’s Law’
10/02/2023 Homelessness charity Shelter has welcomed the Government’s announcement that landlords will be forced to deal with damp and mould in tenants’ homes. |
‘No-fault’ evictions up by over 140%
10/02/2023 Evictions by private landlords have increased by143% in a year according to the latest Government?figures. |
Ban on ‘no fault’ evictions at risk, MPs warn
09/02/2023 MPs have warned that Government risks undermining its own proposed policy of banning ‘no fault’ evictions for tenants unless it fixes delays in court system. |
DLUHC to miss housebuilding target by 32,000
07/12/2022 The Government looks set to miss its house building target by over 30,000, a new PAC report published today has revealed. |
One million private renters at risk of eviction
01/12/2022 One in 12 private renters in England – or nearly one million people – are currently under threat of eviction, housing charity reveals. |
Social housing tenants group launched
28/11/2022 Over 250 tenants met on Saturday to launch a group aimed at directly influencing the Government’s plans on improving social housing conditions. |
Landlords warn against plans to cap social housing rents
07/10/2022 Landlords have warned that the Government’s plans to cap rents for social housing will undermine efforts to make homes safer and greener. |
Landlords call for cost-of-living plan
30/09/2022 Landlords have urged the Chancellor to adopt a cost-of-living plan for the private rented sector. |
Cost-of-living crisis to have ‘catastrophic’ impact
21/09/2022 The cost-of-living crisis is likely to have a ‘catastrophic’ impact on homelessness and so should be treated with the same level of urgency as the pandemic. |
Council announces ‘largest’ selective licensing scheme in UK
20/09/2022 Birmingham City Council has been granted permission to introduce a Selective Licensing Scheme for all private rented properties in 25 wards across the city. |
Renters paying ‘stubbornly high’ rents for smaller homes
20/09/2022 Private renters are forced to pay ‘stubbornly high’ rents for accommodation with increasingly less floor space per person, new research has revealed. |
Poor quality housing ‘ticking time bomb’, think tank warns
12/09/2022 Tens of thousands of residents in the Greater Manchester region are living in unsafe, poor quality homes with inadequate insulation, think tank finds. |
Landlords warn against end of ‘no fault’ evictions
07/09/2022 Government plans to stop landlords from being able to carry out ‘no fault’ evictions will encourage anti-social behaviour, landlords claim. |
Consultation on standards in private rented sector launched
02/09/2022 Council chiefs have welcomed a consultation on improving standards in the private rented sector, but cautioned that councils should be sufficiently funded. |
London councils warn of ‘devastating’ homelessness spike
26/08/2022 The cost-of-living crisis and increases in private rents are set to cause a homelessness spike in the coming months, London boroughs have warned. |
Grant worth £500,000 launched to help social housing residents
16/08/2022 Social housing residents are to be given more access to training and support to help them raise issues with their landlord thanks to a £500,000 grant. |
Right to Buy-back scheme helps councils buy over 1,500 homes
10/08/2022 The Mayor of London’s flagship Right to Buy-back scheme has brought more than 1,500 homes back into public ownership. |
Council office move to save £200,000 a year
08/08/2022 Gloucester City Council is relocating to new offices in the city centre in a move aimed at saving the local authority hundreds of thousands of pounds. |
Record high rents and bills ‘tipping thousands’ into homelessness
28/07/2022 Homelessness in England increased by 11% over the first three months of 2022 due to high private rents and rocketing household bills, charity warns. |
Councils need more funds to provide affordable housing, report says
27/07/2022 Councils should be funded to buy and upgrade homes to be let out at affordable rents as part of a wider shake up of the private rented sector, think tank says. |
Leaseholder protections ‘insufficient’, council chiefs warn
28/06/2022 Council leaders welcome measures protecting leaseholders from being landed with unfair bills to make their homes safe but warn protections are ‘insufficient’ . |
Two thirds of private renters unaware of new rights
23/06/2022 Two thirds of renters are unaware that their local authority can help them when they experience problems with a landlord, letting agent or home, report finds. |
Council launches review into HMOs in Northampton
22/06/2022 West Northamptonshire Council yesterday launched a review into houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) in Northampton after complaints by local campaigners. |
Council chiefs cautiously welcome new private renting protections
16/06/2022 New measures aimed at protecting the rights of renters are welcome but local authorities must be properly funded to support implementation, council chiefs say. |
