1. Housing Law Update Key issues in 2016 Dean Underwood Barrister

2. Public law: a bar to repossession?

3. Out with the old toys, in with the new
Article 8 ECHR: yesterday’s legal plaything
Manchester CC v Pinnock [2011] 2 AC 104 SC
R (JL) v SoS for Defence [2012] ACD 21 QB
Public and administrative law: the defendants’ new toy
What is public and administrative law?
Why is it relevant?
Wandsworth LBC v Winder [1985] AC 461 HL
R (Weaver) v LQHT [2010] 1 WLR 363 CA
Potentially fatal to possession claims on discretionary, mandatory and absolute grounds

4. Equality Act defences: a real favourite
Equality Act defences still a favourite
discrimination
reasonable adjustments
public sector equality duty
Aster Communities Ltd v Akerman-Livingstone [2015] AC 1399
right to equal treatment different from- and extra to rights protected by Article 8 ECHR
proportionality requires structured approach
summary dismissals will be rare
test?
whether claim is genuinely disputed on grounds that appear to be substantial

5. Not keen on playing? Spoil the game …
The importance of good policy and decision making
policy reviews
policy compliance
educating staff
legal obligations, e.g. Equality Act 2010
decision-making
record-keeping
Take legal advice when necessary
The consequences of failure?
delay, expense, frustration of housing policy etc
see e.g. Barber v Croydon CC [2010] HLR 26 CA

6. A word about housing fraud …

7. Commonly-encountered housing fraud
How do you assess your organization’s exposure to housing fraud?
First step: understand the commonly-encountered risks
Obtaining a tenancy by fraudulent misrepresentation
applications under Parts VI and VII of the Housing Act 1996
succession applications
Subletting the whole of a let property
Right to buy fraud
Mutual exchange and assignment fraud
obtaining consent by material misrepresentation
Housing Benefit fraud

8. Protecting the English Public Purse 2015
RTB a significant risk for local authorities
detected RTB fraud more than doubled to 411, while their value increased by nearly 145% to more than £30m
at least 3% of London RTB applications are fraudulent; 1.5% elsewhere
extension of the RTB likely to result in similar levels of RTB fraud to that encountered by local authorities
with few notable exceptions, housing associations do not have the capacity or capability to tackle such fraud

9. The time to act is … now!
Six key questions for the Board or Committee …
Do you have a zero tolerance policy in respect of fraud?
Do you have a corporate fraud team?
Does anyone have responsibility for fighting fraud across the organisation?
Are you confident you have sufficient counter-fraud capacity and capability to detect and prevent fraud?
Have you measured your organisations’ performance against the TEICCAF fraud detection benchmark analysis? (If so, what trends and risks did the exercise expose?)
Do you have appropriate and proportionate defences against emerging fraud risks, such as right to buy fraud?

10. The ‘right to rent’

11. The ‘right to rent’ in overview
Immigration Act 2014
Generally, applies in England to tenancies starting on or after 1 February 2016
Applies to PRPs except (a) when allocating in accordance with LA statutory obligations or (b) where premises are excluded, e.g. student accommodation, hostels, care homes
Prohibits landlords from letting to certain people, according to immigration status
Will require landlords to check status of prospective tenants, licensees, subtenants; and make follow-up checks
Penalty of up to £3000 for non-compliance

12. The ‘bedroom tax’: Supremely important

13. Court decision awaited
Three conjoined appeals:
R (MA) v SoS for Work & Pensions
R (Rutherford) v SoS for Work & Pensions
R (A) v SoS for Work & Pensions
Issues:
whether changes to the HB Regulations discriminate against disabled people in breach of their human rights.
whether, in Rutherford and A, there was discrimination; and if so …

14. Court decision awaited
Three conjoined appeals:
R (MA) v SoS for Work & Pensions
R (Rutherford) v SoS for Work & Pensions
R (A) v SoS for Work & Pensions
Issues (continued) …
whether, in Rutherford and A, the CA was right to find that the SoS had failed to justify the treatment; and
In Rutherford, whether the CA was wrong to find that the SoS failed to have regard to the child’s best interests when devising the HB (Amendment) Regulations 2012

15. Housing Law Update Key issues in 2016 Dean Underwood Barrister

16. Contact details: Dean Underwood Cornerstone Barristers 2-3 Grays Inn Square London WC1R 5JH Tel: Fax: Twitter: @deanunderwood01