Housing law and advice

This course aims to explain the new legislation and briefly to outline its practical impact in relation to the new form of tenure, leaseholdenfranchisement, and right to manage.

There is detailed coverage of the major changes relating to leasehold management, including consultation of lessees, long-term contracts, limits on service charges, and the role of the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The course also explains recent and pending changes concerning annual statements to lessees, breach of covenant, forfeiture and rent demands.

Course outline

  • To give you an understanding of the legal framework associated with unauthorised occupation of property, abandonment and good practice in addressing these issues.
  • To examine your organisation’s current powers relating to anti-social behaviour and to ensure that you are equipped to use the right remedy for any situation. This course will also look at new approaches and emergency approaches.
  • To examine relevant legislation and case law and to enable you to give effective advice and assistance to occupiers in the private rented sector in order to prevent homelessness.
  • To provide a comprehensive range of knowledge of legislation to enable you to deal effectively with diverse cases of harassment and illegal eviction in rented accommodation.
  • To give you an understanding of tenancy law, how it relates to other legislation, common law, and how to use the law to enforce these rights and responsibilities.
  • To understand in what circumstances your organisation could be vulnerable to litigation and the processes involved in housing disrepair, including good practice to reduce threats of litigation.
  • To familiarise you with all aspects of joint tenancies, how they are created, when they are appropriate and how to terminate them.
  • To provide you with a detailed understanding of the functions of the leasehold valuation tribunal.
  • To examine the possible legal remedies to neighbour disputes and how to apply them.
  • To give you a guide to the Right to Acquire and the Right to Buy for RSLs, and local authorities about to undertake stock transfer.
  • To ensure that RSLs are fully aware of the impact of recent changes in legislation that affects VARIABLE service charges for secure and assured tenants, and are able to reconsider their policy and tenancy agreements to minimise administration and costs before full implementation in 2006.
  • This course will look at how effectively your organisation is complying with current housing legislation in progressing a “joined-up” approach to allocations and in turn reducing homelessness.
  • To examine the different types of transfers and exchanges in the social housing sector.

Sutable for

  • Estate based staff responsible for tenancy matters or empty property management.
  • EHOs, local authority housing staff and social services staff who have responsibility for anti-social behaviour and housing association staff who need to work with local authorities.
  • Housing advisors and homelessness officers.
  • Those working in shared ownership as well as management of properties sold on long leases, including those sold on right to buy and right to acquire.
  • Front line housing advice and homelessness staff who have to deal with complaints of harassment and illegal eviction as part of their daily routine and who need to prevent and delay homelessness. Also legal services team members new to this area of work.
  • Generic housing staff and others who have a responsibility for the enforcement of tenancy conditions. Suitable for staff from any type of housing organisation.
  • Local authority policy staff and those involved in providing a housing service. Also for RSL staff, particularly those who manage previous local authority stock.