Monitoring & Smart Controls Feature Fit for purpose
Ian Napier of Switchee explains why the Fitness for Human Habitation Bill is important for those managing private and social housing
Technology
it received widespread bipartisan support from both politicians as well as high-profile members of the housing industry. It was first proposed as a Private Members' bill but after receiving the backing of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, it successfully passed through parliament. Naturally, as with all high-profile bills, there has been plenty of coverage in the national news press – with titles like ‘Time is up’ for rogue landlords’ and ‘You can now sue your landlord over damp and mould’ – but what is the truth behind all this coverage?
O
IS THE BILL REALLY THAT BIG OF A DEAL? The short answer is yes. The Homes Act applies to all new tenancies (including secure, assured and AST agreements) starting on or after 20 March 2019. It also applies to all tenancies that began as a fixed term before 20 March 2019 but become a periodic tenancy after the commencement date. The Act will apply to nearly all tenancies from 20 March 2020. The basic idea of the bill is to ensure that properties start and remain fit for human habitation throughout a tenancy. In a change from previous legislation, it now gives tenants a direct approach to redress poor conditions in their properties. For social landlords this means tenants have now been given the power to go through the courts to compel repairs to be made. For private landlords the bill effectively takes the power of the local authority environmental health teams and puts it squarely into the hands of renters. The act uses the 29 hazards currently listed in the Housing Health and Safety
Rating system (HHSRS) to define ‘fit for human habitation’. Originally created in 2006 to help local authorities enforce conditions in the private rental sector, now all landlords and managing agents need to be aware of and familiar with
n 20 December last year – the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 received royal assent and it became law on 20 March. The bill was originally introduced by the MP Karen Buck although
these conditions. Each hazard category is assessed independently from each other and denoted a Category 1 or Category 2 ranking. Category 1 is deemed a serious and immediate risk to a person’s health and safety. Category 2 is less serious and urgent (but none-the-less may be considered a hazard).
The most relevant category areas that could be cause for alarm for most
landlords are the following: • Is your property free from damp and mould? Can you prove it? • Is there adequate natural light in the property? • Is the property adequately ventilated? • Does the property have an adequate supply of hot and cold water? • Is the property too hot or too cold?
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU? Landlords are likely to see an increase in disrepair claims for already recognised issues such are damp and mould: the process of registering a claiming has been made easier, and the level of proof required lowered. Furthermore, the increased scope of qualifying factors means both an expanded duty of care and also a likely additional rise in claims . Proactive solicitors may encourage an increased density of claims – and with tenants no longer needing to engage the Environmental Health Department there is the potential for development-wide claims of unfit properties. The bill amends the Landlord and Tenant Act (LTA) 1985 so that any
qualifying tenancy (excluding shared ownership) implicitly contains a covenant that the dwelling must be fit for human habitation at its commencement and will remain so for its lifetime. This obligation to ensure that a dwelling is, and stays fit, for human habitation extends to all parts of the building to which the landlord has an interest. This includes the common areas and the retained parts – for example, the external wall, the roof, the communal bin store area, the
www.housingmmonline.co.uk | HMM April/May 2019 | 31
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