The report also supports the wider adoption of “sunset clauses” within planning policies which would ensure that Parliament review each law after a fixed period and assess its benefits.

In dealing with the current housing shortage, it cites the concept of Garden Cities and New Towns such as Milton Keynes as a model for a solution. The report also points to the Urban Development Corporation model established in the 1980s which helped to transform the London Docklands area through relaxing planning controls and taxes and encouraging investment.

For more information on this topic please contact Paul Buckland.

All three organisations have been in talks for a number of months and following

board meetings, resident consultation and approval from the local authority and

the Homes & Communities Agency (HCA), the transfer normally took place on 22 April.

As part of the transfer, a Mitali Fund Committee has been created which will

provide grants for residents to encourage employment, educations and community

cohesion. Grants will be limited to transferring tenants for three years before

being opened up to all THCH households.

THCH’s chief executive, Mike Tyrrell, said: “This transfer is a perfect fit

for both THCH and residents of Mitali and I hope our new residents will benefit

from the services we provide and the excellent ties we have with the local

community."

It is aimed that the Act will:

• Kick start stalled building projects that have been halted due to economically unviable terms of Section 106 agreements by allowing these agreements to be reconsidered.
• Remove excessive red tape regarding householder development rights, encouraging small scale home improvement projects and ensure that neighbours are consulted when the new rights are exercised.
• Prevent local residents from using the laws surrounding village greens as a tool to restrict development. Under the new legislation, locals will not be able to make a Town and Village Green application where there are plans in place to develop that land.
• Generate a significant number of new jobs and new investment by removing a regulatory barrier to a £160 million investment programme in the gas network and giving developers of large scale developments the ability to fast-track major projects but keep community consultation.
• Simplify planning systems that support sustainable growth and speed up development procedures by reducing the volume of required paperwork for planning applications, remove the requirement for consents from multiple government agencies and prevent delays by allowing applications to go to the Planning Inspectorate where a council has failed to meet statutory requirements to consider applications within the time limit.

Eric Pickles, Communities and Local Government Secretary, commented on the Act. "The common sense reforms in this Act will make it possible for local businesses to grow and to create the jobs and opportunities people need to get on in life.

It will unlock British entrepreneurship that has been jammed up for too long in red tape whilst ensuring democratic checks and environmental safeguards remain in place."

For more information, please contact Paul Buckland.

• HR support
• Company secretarial support
• Workplace mediation
• Training

This service will be offered under the brand name of Devonshires Consultancy, but will remain a part of Devonshires Solicitors and separate to our new Business Advisory Service.

This service will offer cost-effective advice to clients on a flexible day or half-day rate basis and will incorporate advice from our Employment, Banking and Governance and HR teams. Please contact Nicola Philp if you would like more information.

The new Acas guide includes case studies and provides a checklist for employers handling collective redundancies. It aims to provide clarity for employers, employee representatives and employees in relation to collective redundancy legislation, the impact of case law and best practice. It also includes an explanation of the meaning of “establishment” setting out case law on the issue and key questions for employers to consider when determining the meaning of establishment in different circumstances.

The full guidance can be found here

1. Arrears incurred since 1 April 2013 as a result of the bedroom tax

Tenants affected by the bedroom tax are affected through no fault of their own but as a result of a government decision. Given that this is the case, where a tenant falls into arrears as a result of the reduction in their Housing Benefit and possession proceedings are subsequently issued, Judges are likely to be a lot more sympathetic to the tenant than if they are in arrears due to their own actions.

Affected tenants should already be fully aware of the implications of the bedroom tax and landlords should hopefully have an idea of which of their tenants can pay the shortfall and which cannot. For those that cannot pay the shortfall, landlords should have an idea of how they are going to deal with the inevitable influx of arrears cases that will arise and how they will help tenants to avoid incurring them in the first place. By having a procedure in place, landlords will hopefully ensure that affected tenants receive the assistance they need to properly manage their tenancy, limit the landlord’s loss of income and allow them to successfully seek possession of a property, if necessary.

In some cases it will be necessary and appropriate to seek possession due to arrears incurred as a result of the bedroom tax but this will depend on the circumstances of each case. We are in unchartered waters at the moment on this point, as it is unclear how far landlords will have to go to assist a tenant before the Courts will consider it reasonable to make a possession order.

Below are a few suggestions to help tenants avoid incurring arrears and also strengthen a landlord’s case should they need to seek possession of a property as a result of arrears incurred due to the bedroom tax:

a) Provide tenants with details of how they can downsize to a suitably-sized property and what they need to do to register for this. If this is done at an early stage and the tenant is able to mutually exchange or transfer, then you may be able to avoid any arrears being incurred at all.

b) Some landlords are promoting “lodger schemes” as a method of tenants avoiding incurring the bedroom tax.

c) Make sure that you maintain the lines of communication with tenants so that you are aware of how a tenant is coping with the shortfall and also to make sure that they are aware of any arrears and how they have been incurred. You should offer support to the tenant and refer them to external agencies, where appropriate to assist them.

The above suggestions are unlikely to be as straightforward as they seem because suitable alternative properties will not always be available and tenants may not engage in a lot of cases. However, as long as landlords do everything they can to assist a tenant in avoiding arrears being incurred and it is the tenant who refuses to engage, it will be difficult for a Judge to criticise them should arrears build up, as the fault will lay with the tenant.

Who is culpable seems to be the key question, so providing that a landlord is able to show that they have done all they can to assist a tenant and this is detailed in the witness statement, the landlord should be able to obtain a possession order.

For example, in the event that a suitable alternative property which meets a tenant’s needs is declined by the tenant, the Courts are likely to take a dim view of the tenant, who will be considered culpable for the arrears.

The difficultly will lie where there are no suitable alternative properties available for tenants who want to move, meaning that they are effectively stuck. The way to deal with this has yet to be seen.

2. Existing rent possession claims where further arrears are incurred due to the bedroom tax

Landlords will have a number of active rent possession claims at the moment and in many cases the arrears are going to increase at a higher rate as a result of the bedroom tax. Given the inevitable increase in arrears, switched-on tenants who are subject to possession proceedings (and are usually legally represented) are likely to request a transfer to another property to avoid incurring further arrears.
This poses a number of difficult questions, as most transfer policies state that tenants are not permitted to transfer when they are in arrears. So, how do landlords deal with rent claims where the arrears are just going to increase further as a result of bedroom tax?

a) Refuse the request

Each landlord will deal with a request to transfer differently. It is foreseeable that some landlords will refuse any request to transfer or mutually exchange if the tenant is in arrears and proceedings are ongoing. This is a perfectly acceptable position to take but you must consider how the Judge will view this standpoint at trial.

If a tenant was in high arrears prior to the bedroom tax affecting their Housing Benefit and the tenant has not made any effort to pay off any of the arrears before or after 1 April 2013 then the Judge may not have much sympathy for them and make a possession order. This will depend on the facts of each case, as detailed above.

b) Agree to allow the tenant to downsize

In other cases, landlords may need to make commercial decisions in respect of requests to transfer or mutually exchange in order to limit the loss of rental income. If a transfer or mutual exchange takes place fairly quickly after a request is made, the arrears will not increase too much. Also, the existing arrears could be attached to the new tenancy as former tenant arrears. It has also been suggested that former arrears could be included in the actual terms of a tenancy so that if a tenant does not repay them, landlords could seek possession of the new property on that basis. 

The difficulty that arises with allowing a tenant to transfer or mutually exchange when they have existing arrears is if there is a change of landlord. In these cases, there would be no agreement for former tenant arrears between the tenant and their new landlord and landlords may have to just write off the arrears.
A further way of dealing with the arrears in the event of a transfer by a tenant to a smaller property would be to agree that the money the tenant would usually receive for downsizing (often £500 per room) be paid directly towards the arrears. If the arrears are not significant this may clear them or at least make a decent reduction. 

The way in which landlords decide to deal with tenants affected by the bedroom tax who fall into arrears will vary from case to case and each situation must be considered on its own facts. However, it is important to remember that a tenant’s obligation to pay their rent remains unchanged. This means landlords are entitled to take enforcement action if a tenant fails to do so.

However, caution should be taken before issuing proceedings, as landlords will have to show the court that they have taken all possible steps to assist the tenant in dealing with the reduction in their Housing Benefit before a Court will consider it reasonable to make a possession order. Culpability is going to be a key question.

For further information please contact Samantha Darlington.