New law focuses on housing standards

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Living conditions:

There are only a few days to go before “The Homes (Fitness
for Human Habitation) Act 2018� comes into force on 20 March 2019. The
government has now published detailed guidance notes for landlords, tenants and
local authorities – se below.

The Act covers England and Wales but in practice the changes
apply only to England. The Act amends the existing “fitness for human
habitation� rules in the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985.

The Act covers all tenancies of less than seven years in
length in both the social and private rented sectors and includes periodic
tenancies and the legacy pre-1988 regulated tenancies.

According to the 2015/2016 English Housing survey, the
number of properties with a Category 1 hazard under the Housing
Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), which is defined as a “serious and
immediate risk to a person’s health and safetyâ€� are:  Social: 244,122 and Private: 794,600

The Bill updates a clause in the Landlord and Tenant Act
1985 requiring all rented homes to be ‘fit for human habitation’ at the start of
the tenancy and to remain so throughout. The clause was outdated due to its
reference to antiquated rent levels (£80/year in London, £52/year elsewhere).

In determining whether a house is ‘unfit’, the Bill
incorporates the hazards enshrined in the Housing HHSRS and now adds them to
the 9 original fitness categories. The updated “fitness standard� includes some
issues not currently covered by a landlord’s legal repair responsibilities, including
damp caused by design defects (for example lack of ventilation) rather than just
disrepair, and infestation, such as rodents, insects, bed bugs etc.

Recent fire tragedies which have prompted this revision of
the legislation provide a stark reminder of the dangers of unsafe accommodation.
Lack of proper standards and enforcement have clearly demonstrated the terrible
consequences of letting properties which are intrinsically unsafe.

What is Unfit for Human
Habitation?

A rental property will be considered
“unfit for human habitation� if there are serious defects in any of the
following: General Repair, Stability of the building structure, Freedom from
damp; Internal arrangement; Natural lighting; Ventilation; Water supply; Drainage
and sanitary conveniences; Facilities provided for preparation and cooking of
food and for the disposal of waste water.

In almost all circumstances the landlord will be held
responsible for the condition of the rental property, apart from where it can
be shown that damage or disrepair has been caused by the tenants’ behaviour.

Currently many councils across England claim that their
housing and environmental health officers are overstretched. It’s a long and
time consuming process so their efforts to investigate and evidence poor
conditions in all instances often fail to bring all rogue landlords to book – to
take legal action.

Tenant’s Self-help

This legislation therefore is designed to give tenants living
in poor conditions a practical route to improve conditions themselves without
relying on local authority resources. Tenants, both private and social, will be
empowered to take their landlord to court where the property is not fit – they will
be able to apply directly to the court for an injunction to compel a landlord
to carry out works, or for damages (compensation) for the landlord’s failure to
keep the property in good repair.

The legislation is in-line with the government’s consumer
rights agenda and its commitment to intervene in markets that are failing
consumers. To take their own enforcement action tenants may use an independent
surveyor’s report or they may apply directly to the court using their own evidence,
such as photographic evidence or disrepair.

The majority of private landlords who responsibly fulfil their
duties will be unaffected by this new legislation. However, landlords should be
aware that spurious claims can be contentious and without good evidence, such
as an independent inventory at the start of every tenancy, they could find
themselves vulnerable to a false claim.

The government (MHCLG) has published detailed
guidance notes for tenants, landlords and local authorities on the Homes
(Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018.

Homes
(Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

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