Legal update In order to be decent, the home must


be free from the most serious health and safety hazards (such as fall risks, fire risks, or carbon monoxide poisoning). Kitchens and bathrooms should be adequate, located correctly and, where appropriate, not too old, and ‘decent noise insulation’ will also be required. Rented homes must also be warm and dry. Enforcement powers will be given to local authorities. Most care home providers will no doubt already meet standards that are equivalent to, or higher than, the DHS standard. The government plans to run pilot schemes by selecting local councils to trial improvements to the enforcement of existing standards. The white paper cites the example of Blackpool which has some of the worst housing conditions in the country. The government is working with Blackpool Council to strengthen enforcement; driving up compliance with existing health and safety requirements, penalising or banning landlords who do not meet basic standards, and gathering information on how rental properties in Blackpool measure up against the DHS.


The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities is funding the Council to require an expanded local enforcement team to tackle exploitation in the PRS and supporting housing market. The example in the white paper also states that further support will be given for residents in supported housing, with funding to better standards of support. A total of £20m will be invested in relation to the provision of better quality and value for money in supported housing to fund councils which face acute challenges.


Increased security and more stability The government will abolish section 21 ‘no- fault’ evictions and deliver a simpler, more secure tenancy structure. It will reform grounds for possession, allowing landlords to have an effective way to regain possession of their property.


Currently, at the end of a fixed term AST, the landlord may serve two months’ notice under section 21. If the tenant refuses to leave at the end of that two-month period,


the landlord is usually entitled to apply to the county court for a possession order. The government’s plan is to move all tenants who would previously have had an assured tenancy or an AST onto a single system of ‘periodic tenancies’. Periodic tenancies are weekly or monthly tenancies. They do not last for a fixed period, but ‘tick along’ until ended. Tenants will need to give two months’ notice when leaving a tenancy but landlords will only be able to evict a tenant in ‘reasonable circumstances’, which will be defined in law, thereby supporting tenants because of fewer unwanted moves. Removing section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions


will level the playing field between the landlord and tenant and will give power to tenants to challenge poor practice and unjustified rent increases. However, landlords may have less certainty as to whether properties can be taken back. For care home providers who are landlords, this white paper is surprisingly thin on the detail of what would be a ‘reasonable circumstance’ where a landlord will be able to evict a tenant.


Reformed grounds for possession The white paper states that the reformed grounds of possession will be ‘comprehensive, fair, and efficient, striking a balance between protecting tenants’ security and landlords’ right to manage their property’.


There will be a new ground for landlords who wish to sell their property, or where landlords and their close family members wish to move into a rental property. Those grounds cannot be used in the first six months of the tenancy. There will also be a new mandatory ground of possession for repeated serious arrears of rent. Eviction will be mandatory where a tenant has been in at least two months’ rent arrears three times within the previous three years, regardless of the arrears balance at the hearing.


The notice period for the existing rent arrears ground will be increased to four weeks and the mandatory threshold of two months’ arrears at the time of serving the notice and hearing will be retained. If the


Removing section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions will level the playing field between the landlord and tenant and will give power to tenants to challenge poor practice and unjustified rent increases


September 2022 www.thecarehomeenvironment.com


arrears arise because a relevant benefits payment has not been received, the reforms will prevent tenants in this situation from being evicted if that is the reason why the mandatory rent period has been exceeded. Where there is serious antisocial


behaviour, the notice period for the existing mandatory eviction ground will be lowered. The government intends to explore where further guidance would help landlords and tenants to resolve issues at an earlier stage. There will also be new ‘specialist’ grounds for possession to make sure that those who provide supported and temporary accommodation can continue to deliver vital services. Supported housing is defined in the white paper as accommodation where support, supervision, or care is provided to help people live as independently as possible within the community. It is not exactly clear whether this new


specialist ground for possession will also apply to care homes where the care home resident is not necessarily living ‘in the community with support’ but is within a more institutional-type environment. Private Registered Providers (PRPs) will apparently continue to have access to the same range of grounds as private landlords. One of the supporting papers that


was published alongside this white paper (the government’s response to the 2019 consultation on abolishing section 21) does go into more detail about how such grounds for possession can be used. The supporting paper refers to grounds of possession where supported accommodation is concerned (i.e. housing that is accompanied by a support or care element). A new limited ground for possession will be introduced covering clearly defined circumstances that have been identified in discussion with the supported housing sector including where: n The tenancy was intended to be short term from the outset, and that term has come to an end.


n The funding or supported element has ended naturally or dropped away unexpectedly or has been reconfigured so it no longer meets the tenant’s safety and wellbeing needs.


n The support is no longer in line with the tenant’s needs, which may have increased or decreased meaning that the arrangement is no longer safe or necessary for the resident.


n The tenant is not engaging with the support.


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