The briefing paper (Introducing a voluntary Right to Buy for housing association tenants in England) sets out the story so far, summarises the findings of the first VRTB Pilot research (see our briefing here) and confirms the latest position.
Extended VRTB Pilot
The Government announced in the November 2016 Autumn Statement that there would be a “large-scale regional pilot of the Right to Buy for housing association tenants”. This extended pilot is expected to assist over 3,000 tenants into home ownership.
The second pilot will test one-for-one replacement and portability: two features of the VRTB agreement that the first Pilot didn’t test.
On 8 March 2017, the then Housing Minister, Gavin Barwell, confirmed that he was working with the National Housing Federation (NHF) to “identify the most effective location or locations for the regional pilots” and that he hoped to announce a decision “shortly”.
We await further announcements to confirm when and where the second pilot will take place.
And what about the main scheme?
There is still no announcement from the Government on the roll out of the main VRTB scheme. Inside Housing previously reported that the Government had not requested any high-value asset payments from local authorities, suggesting that the VRTB will not be rolled out until at least April 2018.
Keep watching this space.
If you would like more information on the background to the VRTB, the current position and pilots, please contact Emma Holmes or Jonathan Cox
Commercial and local authority landlords could benefit from urgently reviewing their legal options.
The Cabinet Office has published guidance asking for people to act responsibly, fairly and “in the national interest”.
To help our charity clients look to the future, we summarise key guidance and updates over the last week.
On 18 May 2020, the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) wrote to all social housing residents in England (residents).
For anyone who is currently restrained from holding their General Meeting or have held such in breach of their governing documents, help is on the way!
Social landlords may be surprised to learn that “landlords should be able to carry out routine as well as essential repairs for most households”.
Many housing providers are now re-thinking about gathering information to complete their data return to the Regulator of Social Housing, with the initial exercise having been delayed by Covid-19.
With many premises being left unoccupied (or minimally occupied) during the lockdown, both Public Health England and the Health and Safety Executive have warned of the increased risks of Legionella.
The Court of Appeal judgement in Booth and another v R [2020] EWCA Crim 575 will be welcome news for local authority prosecutors and their investigation teams.
The Local Authorities and Police and Crime Panels (Coronavirus) (Flexibility of Local Authority and Police and Crime Panel Meetings) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 came into force on 4 April.
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