Housing and Planning - legislation

1 EXPLANATORY NOTESH ousing and Planning Act 2016 Chapter 22 2016 c. 22-EN Housing AND Planning ACT 2016 EXPLANATORY NOTES What these notes do These Explanatory Notes relate to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) which received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016. These Explanatory Notes have been prepared by the Department for Communities and Local Government in order to assist the reader in understanding the Act. They do not form part of the Act and have not been endorsed by Parliament. These Explanatory Notes explain what each part of the Act will mean in practice; provide background information on the development of policy; and provide additional information on how the Act will affect existing legislation in this area. These Explanatory Notes might best be read alongside the Act.

2 They are not, and are not intended to be, a comprehensive description of the Act. So where a provision of the Act does not seem to require any explanation or comment, the Notes simply say in relation to it that the provision is self-explanatory. These Explanatory Notes relate to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) which received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016 2 2 Table of Contents Subject Page of these Notes Overview of the Act 9 Policy background 13 Home ownership 13 Housing supply and the speed of delivery 14 Housing management 16 Land management 17 Legal background 18 Territorial extent and application 19 Commentary on provisions of the Act 20 Part 1: New Homes in England 20 Chapter 1: Starter Homes 20 Section 1: Purpose of this Chapter 20 Section 2: What is a starter home?

3 20 Section 3: Power to require payments or discounts on resale (subject to tapering) etc 21 Section 4: General duty to promote supply of starter homes 21 Section 5: Planning permission: provision of starter homes 21 Section 6: Monitoring 22 Section 7: Compliance directions 22 Section 8: Interpretation of this Chapter 22 Chapter 2: Self-Build and Custom Housebuilding 22 Section 9: Definitions 22 Section 10: Duty to grant Planning permission etc 22 Section 11: Exemption from duty 23 Section 12: Further and consequential amendments 23 Part 2: Rogue Landlords and Property Agents in England 23 Chapter 1: Introduction 23 Section 13: Introduction to this Part 23 Chapter 2: Banning Orders 24 Banning orders: key definitions 24 Section 14: "Banning order" and "banning order offence" 24 Imposition of banning orders 24 Section 15: Application and notice of intended proceedings 24 Section 16: Making a banning order 24 Section 17: Duration and effect of banning order 25 Section 18: Content of banning order: Involvement in bodies corporate 25 Section 19: Power to require information 25 Section 20: Revocation or variation of banning order 26 Consequences of banning order, including consequences of breach 26 Section 21: Offence of breach of banning order 26 Section 22: Offences by bodies corporate 26 These Explanatory Notes relate to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c.)

4 22) which received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016 3 3 Section 23: Financial penalty for breach of banning order 26 Schedule 1: Financial penalty for breach of banning order 27 Section 24: Saving for illegal contracts 28 Section 25: Banned person may not hold HMO licence etc 28 Schedule 2: Banned person may not hold HMO licence etc 28 Section 26: Management orders following banning order 28 Schedule 3: Management orders following banning order 28 Anti-avoidance 29 Section 27: Prohibition on certain disposals 29 Chapter 3: Database of Rogue Landlords and Property Agents 29 The database and its contents 29 Section 28: Database of rogue landlords and property agents 29 Section 29: Duty to include person with banning order 29 Section 30: Power to include person convicted of banning order offence 29 Section 31: Procedure for inclusion under section 30 30 Section 32: Appeals 30 Section 33: Information to be included in the database 30 Section 34: Updating 30 Section 35: Power to require information 30 Removal or variation 31 Section 36: Removal or variation of entries made under section 30 31 Section 37: Requests for exercise of powers under section 36 and appeals 31 Access to information in the database 31 Section 38: Access to database 31 Section 39: Use of information in database 31 Chapter 4: Rent Repayment Orders 32 Rent repayment orders: introduction 32 Section 40: Introduction and key definitions 32 Application for rent repayment order 32 Section 41.

5 Application for rent repayment order 32 Section 42: Notice of intended proceedings 32 Making of rent repayment order 32 Section 43: Making of rent repayment order 32 Section 44: Amount of order: tenants 32 Section 45: Amount of order: local Housing authorities 33 Section 46: Amount of order: following conviction 33 Enforcement of rent repayment order 33 Section 47: Enforcement of rent repayment orders 33 Local Housing authority functions 33 Section 48: Duty to consider applying for rent repayment orders 33 Section 49: Helping tenants apply for rent repayment orders 33 Amendments etc and interpretation 33 Section 50: Rent repayment orders: consequential amendments 33 Section 51: Housing benefit: inclusion pending abolition 34 Section 52: Interpretation of Chapter 34 Chapter 5: Appeal under this Part 34 Section 53: Appeals from the First-tier Tribunal 34 Chapter 6: Interpretation of Part 2 34 Section 54: Meaning of "letting agent" and related expressions 34 Section 55: Meaning of "property manager" and related expressions 34 Section 56: General interpretation of Part 34 Part 3: Recovering Abandoned Premises in England 34 Section 57: Recovering abandoned premises 34 Section 58: The unpaid rent condition 35 These Explanatory Notes relate to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c.)

6 22) which received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016 4 4 Section 59: Warning notices 35 Section 60: Reinstatement 35 Section 61: Methods for giving notices under section 57 and 59 35 Section 62: Interpretation of Part 36 Section 63: Consequential amendment to Housing Act 1988 36 Part 4: Social Housing in England 36 Chapter 1: Implementing the Right to Buy on a Voluntary Basis 36 Funding of discounts offered to tenants 36 Section 64: Grants by Secretary of State 36 Section 65: Grants by Greater London Authority 36 Monitoring compliance 36 Section 66: Monitoring 36 Amendments to other legislation 37 Section 67: Consequential changes to HCA's duty to give grants 37 Interpretation 37 Section 68: Interpretation of this Chapter 37 Chapter 2: Vacant Higher Value Local Authority Housing 37 Payments to Secretary of State by Local Housing Authorities 37 Section 69: Payments to Secretary of State 37 Section 70: Housing to be taken into account 38 Section 71: Procedure for determinations 38 Section 72: More about determinations 39 Section 73: Determinations in the first year that section 69 comes into force 39 Section 74: Reduction of payment by agreement 39 Section 75: Set off against repayments under section 69 40 Duty to consider selling 40 Section 76: Duty to consider selling vacant higher value Housing 40 Amendments and interpretation 40 Section 77: Local authority disposal of Housing : consent requirements 40 Section 78.

7 Set off under section 11 of Local Government Act 2003 41 Section 79: Interpretation of Chapter 41 Chapter 3: Rents for High Income Social Tenants 41 Mandatory rents for local authority tenants 41 Section 80: Mandatory rents for high income local authority tenants 41 Section 81: Meaning of "high income" etc 41 Section 82: Information about income 41 Section 83: HMRC information 41 Section 84: Reverting to original rents 42 Section 85: Power to change rents and procedure for changing rents 42 Section 86: Payment by local authority of increased income to Secretary of State 42 Section 87: Provision of information to Secretary of State 42 Section 88: Interaction with other legislation and consequential amendments 42 Private registered providers: rent policies for high income tenants 42 Section 89: Private providers: policies for high income social tenants 42 Section 90: HMRC information for private registered providers 42 Interpretation 43 Section 91: Interpretation of Chapter 43 Chapter 4: Reducing Regulation of Social Housing Etc 43 Section 92: Reducing social Housing regulation 43 Schedule 4: Reducing social Housing regulation 44 Section 93: Reducing local authority influence over private registered providers 45 Section 94: Recovery of social Housing assistance: successors in title 45 Chapter 5: Insolvency of Registered Providers of Social Housing 45 Housing administration 45 These Explanatory Notes relate to the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c.)

8 22) which received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016 5 5 Section 95: Housing administration order: providers of social Housing in England 45 Section 96: Objective of Housing administration 45 Section 97: Objective 1: normal administration 46 Section 98: Objective 2: keeping social Housing in the regulated sector 46 Section 99: Applications for Housing administration orders 46 Section 100: Powers of court 47 Section 101: Housing administrators 48 Section 102: Conduct of administration etc 49 Section 103: Housing administrator may sell land free from Planning obligations. 49 Restrictions on other insolvency procedures 49 Section 104: Winding-up orders 49 Section 105: Voluntary winding up 50 Section 106: Making of ordinary administration orders 51 Section 107: Administrator appointments by creditors 51 Section 108: Enforcement of security 52 Financial support for registered providers in Housing administration 52 Section 109: Grants and loans where Housing administration order is made 52 Section 110: Indemnities where Housing administration order is made 53 Section 111: Indemnities: repayment by registered provider etc 53 Section 112: Guarantees where Housing administration order is made 54 Section 113: Guarantees: repayment by registered provider etc 54 Supplementary provisions 54 Section 114.

9 Modification of this Chapter under the Enterprise Act 2002 54 Section 115: Amendments to Housing moratorium consequential amendments 54 Section 116: Interpretation of Chapter 54 Section 117: Application of Part to Northern Ireland 55 Schedule 5: Conduct of Housing administration: companies 55 Schedule 6: Amendments to Housing moratorium and consequential amendments 55 Chapter 6: Secure Tenancies Etc. 56 Section 118: Secure tenancies etc: phasing out of tenancies for life 56 Schedule 7: Secure tenancies etc: phasing out of tenancies for life 56 Section 119: Termination of fixed-term secure tenancies without need to forfeit 57 Section 120: Succession to secure tenancies and related tenancies 57 Schedule 8: Succession to secure tenancies and related tenancies 57 Section 121: Secure and assured tenancies: transfer of tenancy 57 Part 5: Housing , Estate Agents and Rentcharges: Other Changes 58 Electrical safety standards 58 Section 122: Electrical safety standards for properties let by private landlords 58 Section 123: Electrical safety standards: enforcement 58 Accommodation needs in England 58 Section 124.

10 Assessment of accommodation needs 58 Housing regulation in England 59 Section 125: Licences for HMO and other rented accommodation: additional tests 59 Section 126: Financial penalty as alternative to prosecution under Housing Act 2004 59 Schedule 9: Financial penalty as alternative to prosecution under Housi