Housing condition problems and potential remedies for non-tenant occupiers

Housing partner Lou Crisfield recently provided training to the Housing Law Practitioners Association on creative strategies to address poor housing conditions suffered by people accommodated via:

• s17 Children Act 1989
• Care Act 2014
• Asylum Support provisions under Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (IAA99).

The training session focused on problems arising in situations, such as:

• shared accommodation for families with children, vulnerable adults, or victims of trafficking or domestic violence;
• mixed sex accommodation for some vulnerable adults;
• poor quality accommodation – e.g. damp, overcrowded, infestations etc.
• unlicensed HMO accommodation; and
• unlicensed accommodation where local licensing is in force.

Remedies were considered under:

• The provisions of the IAA99;
• The Housing Act 2004 – via the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS); or HMO licensing.
• The Environmental Protection Act 1990;
• Human Rights Law; and
• The Public Sector Equality Duty.

Click here to download a copy of the seminar handout. 

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.