The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (c. 22) is

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in the United Kingdom that makes widespread changes to

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

policy and the

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

system. It introduces legislation to allow the sale of higher value local authority homes, introduce

starter home A starter home or starter house is a house that is usually the first which a person or family can afford to purchase, often using a combination of savings and mortgage financing. In the real estate industry the term commonly denotes small one- or tw ...

s and " Pay to Stay" and other measures intended to promote

home ownership Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, con ...

and boost levels of housebuilding. The Act has been subject to a number of criticisms by those opposed to the loss of

social housing Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, def ...

promoted, the extension of right-to-buy to

housing associations In Ireland and the United Kingdom, housing associations are private, non-profit making organisations that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in need of a home. Any budget surplus is used to maintain existing housing and to help fin ...

and possible work disincentives under "Pay to Stay".

Background

When the Bill was announced the Government stated that it would kick-start a "national crusade to get 1 million homes built by 2020" and transform "generation rent into generation buy". The Housing and Planning Bill was introduced on 13 October 2015 by

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities, also referred to as the levelling up secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction o ...

, the Rt Hon

Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 7 July 2022 to 6 September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Member of Pa ...

MP.

Changes

The Act introduces numerous changes to housing law and planning law: * A proposal to abolish

secure Secure may refer to: * Security, being protected against danger or loss(es) **Physical security, security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment, and resources **Information security, defending information ...

and

assured tenancies An assured tenancy is a legal category of residential tenancy to an individual (or individuals jointly) in English land law. Statute affords a tenant under an assured tenancy a degree of security of tenure. A tenant under an assured tenancy may n ...

for new tenancies, and replace them with fixed term tenancies lasting between two and five years. However, following an amendment, this was later extended to tenancies of up to 10 years with the possibility of for longer tenancies for families with children. The Act requires where there is a succession to the tenancy that unless they are a spouse or civil partner the new tenancy has to be fixed term rather than secure. Housing associations are not affected by this change. * The promotion of self-build and custom build housebuilding * The building of 200,000 starter homes which will be obtainable to first time buyers between 23 and 40 for sale at 20% below market prices. * The extension of

right to buy The Right to Buy scheme is a policy in the United Kingdom, with the exception of Scotland since 1 August 2016 and Wales from 26 January 2019, which gives secure tenants of councils and some housing associations the legal right to buy, at a large ...

to include housing association properties. Due to a deal with the

National Housing Federation The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade association for member social housing providers in England. Function The National Housing Federation (NHF) is a trade or industry body representing providers of social housing in England. The Fede ...

right to buy will be extended to housing association tenants on a voluntary basis with the Government making payments to housing associations to compensate for the discounts on offer. * A policy dubbed " pay to stay" that would see some council tenants pay higher rent. Income of £31,000 or £40,000 in London would see someone hit by "Pay to Stay". Tenants in receipt of housing benefit would not be affected by this change and neither would housing association tenants. * The forced sale of high value empty local authority properties. The stated aim of this policy was to fund right-to-buy for housing associations in order to promote home ownership. The Act states that lost social housing will be replaced with "affordable housing" which could be a starter home. In London two properties will be built for every one sold. * The speeding up of the planning system so as to deliver more housing. A concept called "permission in principle" is being introduced which is "an automatic consent for sites identified in local plans and new brownfield registers subject to further technical details being agreed by authorities". It is hoped that this will speed up house building. * Powers to force local authorities to have a

Local Plan A development plan sets out a local authority's policies and proposals for land use in their area. The term is usually used in the United Kingdom. A Local Plan is one type of development plan. The development plan guides and shapes day-to-day dec ...

where they do not have one. * Changes to banning orders on "rogue landlords". The Act allows a local authority to apply for a banning order when a landlord or letting agent commits certain offences. The Act also creates a database of rogue landlords that will be maintained by local authorities. * Changes relating to

Rent Repayment Order A Rent Repayment Order (RRO) is an order in the United Kingdom that allows a tenant or local authority to reclaim rent or housing benefit where a landlord rents out an unlicensed property such as a House in multiple occupation (HMO). Rent Repaymen ...

s allowing a local authority to apply for one where a landlord has committed certain offences. *A law allowing recovery of abandoned properties. A private landlord will be allowed to do this without serving a

section 21 notice 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 sh ...

and without serving a court order.

Criticism

The Housing and Planning Act was subject to a number of criticisms during its passage.

Loss of social housing

The housing charity Shelter have criticised the proposal to sell off higher value social housing. John Bibby argues that to raise £4.5b "they

he Government He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

have to sell off homes in some areas that are relatively cheap – homes that are 'higher value' in name only".

Right to buy

The Public Accounts Committee have criticised the lack of detail on the policy of extending right-to-buy to housing association tenants.

Abandonment law

The Act introduces a law of abandonment allowing a landlord to take possession of property where a tenant has abandoned possession. Usually a

would need to be served on a tenant in order to take control of a property.

Giles Peaker Giles may refer to: People * Giles (given name), male given name (Latin: ''Aegidius'') * Giles (surname), family name * Saint Giles (650–710), 7th–8th-century Christian hermit saint * Giles of Assisi, Aegidius of Assisi, 13th-century compa ...

, a partner at Anthony Gold solicitors has argued that the "proposed clauses on tenure and on abandonment are badly drafted and in legal terms, a mess".

Work disincentives

The "Pay to stay" policy has been criticised as potentially discouraging work if it means that council tenants will pay higher rents by increasing their earnings.

References

External links

*
Housing and Planning Bill
{{Welfare reform in the United Kingdom (2010-Present) Housing in the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2016