Housing tenure refers to the financial arrangements under which someone has the right to live in a house or apartment. The most frequent forms are tenancy, in which rent is paid to a landlord, and owner-occupancy. Mixed forms of tenure are also possible.
Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing in England and Scotland. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people. It works in partnership with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland.This charity was founded in 1966 and has raised over 60.9 million pounds altogether.
In England, local authorities have duties to homeless people under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002. There are five hurdles which a homeless person must overcome in order to qualify as statutory homeless. If an applicant only meets the first three of these tests Councils still have a duty to provide interim accommodation. However an applicant must satisfy all five for a Council to have to give an applicant "reasonable preference" on the social housing register. Even if a person passes these five tests councils have the ability to use the private rented sector to end their duty to a homeless person.
Under the provisions of the United Kingdom Housing Act 2004 every landlord or letting agent that takes a deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy in England and Wales must protect the deposit under an authorised tenancy deposit scheme. The regulations came into effect on 6 April 2007, and were amended by the Localism Act 2011, taking effect from 6 April 2012. The Deregulation Act 2015 further amended the regulations from 26 March 2015.
Shelter Cymru describes itself as Wales's people and homes charity. Its vision is that a decent, secure home is a fundamental right and essential to the health and well-being of communities.
Homelessness in the United Kingdom is measured and responded to in differing ways in England, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland but affects people living in all areas of the countries.
In England and Wales, a section 21 notice, also known as a section 21 notice of possession or a section 21 eviction, is the notice which a landlord must give to their tenant to begin the process to take possession of a property let on an assured shorthold tenancy without providing a reason for wishing to take possession. The expiry of a section 21 notice does not bring a tenancy to its end. The tenancy would only be ended by a landlord obtaining an order for possession from a court, and then having that order executed by a County Court bailiff or High Court enforcement officer. Such an order for possession may not be made to take effect earlier than six months from the beginning of the first tenancy unless the tenancy is a demoted assured shorthold tenancy. If the court is satisfied that a landlord is entitled to possession, it must make an order for possession, on a date no later than 14 days after the making of the order unless exceptional hardship would be caused to the tenant in which case possession may be postponed to a date no later than six weeks after the making of the order. The court has no power to grant any adjournment or stay of execution from enforcement unless the tenant has a disability discrimination, public law or human rights defence, or the case is pending an appeal.
A Discretionary Housing Payment is a discretionary and short-term payment made in the United Kingdom that help people with their housing costs. To get a Discretionary Housing Payment a person must be in receipt of housing benefit or Universal Credit.
A contrived tenancy is a term used in British housing law to describe a situation where a tenancy is created in order to take advantage of the housing benefit system. Contrived tenancies can occur where a family member 'rents' to a family member but on a non-commercial basis. Contrived tenancies also exist if a landlord only asks for rent when a tenant is not working and so entitled to Housing Benefit but not when a tenant is working.
A Demoted tenancy is in English law a type of tenancy created by a court when a housing association get a demotion order from a court. It is typically created when an assured tenant or secure tenant engages in anti-social behaviour. The creation of the demoted tenancy is an alternative to eviction and makes a tenant easier to evict in the future.
A Starter tenancy is a type of tenancy in the United Kingdom which are offered by some housing associations. They are trial tenancies and tenants are easier to evict during this period.
Budgeting loans are a feature of the social security system in the United Kingdom. Budgeting Loans are interest free loans from the Social Fund that are available only to people claiming certain income-related benefits.
A secure tenancy is a type of tenancy in the United Kingdom created by the Housing Act 1980. Most tenancies started before 15 January 1989 are likely to be secure. The secure tenancy was replaced on 15 January 1989 for new tenancies by an assured tenancy, with weaker protection, by the Housing Act 1988.
Succession rights in the United Kingdom is an area of housing law concerning the ability to pass on their tenancy when they die something known as a succession.
Flexible tenancies also known as fixed term flexible tenancies or flexible council tenancies are a type of tenancy in the United Kingdom created by the Localism Act.
The Housing Act 1988 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom. It governs the law between landlords and tenants. The Act introduced the concepts of assured tenancy and assured shorthold tenancy. It also facilitated the transfer of council housing to not-for-profit housing associations.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 is Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom that makes widespread changes to housing policy and the planning system. It introduces legislation to allow the sale of higher value local authority homes, introduce starter homes and "Pay to Stay" and other measures intended to promote home ownership and boost levels of housebuilding. The Act has been subject to a number of criticisms by those opposed to the loss of social housing promoted, the extension of right-to-buy to housing associations and possible work disincentives under "Pay to Stay".
In the United Kingdom a bond scheme is an alternative to a landlord taking a deposit from their tenant(s). They are usually run by councils, housing associations or charities and operate with the scheme operator guaranteeing any losses the landlord suffers due to the damage by the tenant(s). A bond scheme is not considered a deposit so it does not have to be protected in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme.
