MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) announces ‘New protections for renters over duration of national restrictions‘.
As a result of the second national lockdown, which came into effect on November 5, the Government has announced guidance to protect renters. This guidance is not legally binding, but suggests best practice. Whilst The Almshouse Association would advise its members to follow this guidance during the national lockdown, Members should remember that the terminology used will not reflect the legal status of almshouse residents and should take additional advice where necessary.
The key measures announced are:
- Evictions will not be enforced whilst national
restrictions are in place, except for the most egregious cases such as
anti-social behaviour and fraud,
- Taken with the winter pause on enforcement of
evictions, this means that there will not be any bailiff activity until 11
January 2021 at the earliest except in the most serious circumstances,
- Six month notice periods will remain in place
until at least the end of March 2021, except for most serious cases.
Housing possession claims are
able to be actioned through the courts, but evictions will not be enforced
except in the most serious circumstances. These serious circumstances are:
- Cases of illegal occupation,
- Anti-social behaviour,
- Fraud,
- Eviction of a perpetrator of domestic abuse in
social housing
- Where a property is unoccupied following the
death of a tenant.
MHCLG have said they also intend
to introduce an exemption for extreme pre-COVID rent arrears and will provide
more details on this in due course.
More information can be found here.
Posted 9 November 2020
Following representations by The Almshouse Association on behalf of our members to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), we are pleased to announce positive clarification regarding the Green Homes Grant.
Members have reached out to us, asking if almshouse charities are eligible for this grant, which could provide some much needed support to make almshouses across the country more energy efficient. Following our consultations, it has been confirmed that almshouse charities can apply for the Green Homes Grant as they are viewed as providers of social housing under the scheme’s eligibility criteria.
The Almshouse Association welcomes this much needed clarification and would encourage our members to investigate this scheme as a way to improve the energy efficiency of your dwellings, as well as the associated cost savings and improvements to the comfort of residents which this entails.
Full details on the scheme can be found here.
Posted 4 November 2020
The Charity Commission has released a number of “5-minute guides” to help trustees to carry out their roles in line with the law.
The new guides cover five key aspects of charity management
– a ‘core syllabus’ covering the basics that the regulator expects all trustees
to be aware of.
They explain the basics of:
- financial oversight
- achieving a charity’s purposes
- good decision making
- addressing conflicts of interest
- what to file with the Commission and what
support is available
Further information can be found here.
The Charity Commission has also published a useful reminder of what charities need to send them and details of the support and guidance they provide. This includes informing the Commission of changes to the charity’s details (e.g. changes of trustees or contact details), submitting your charity’s annual return, and reporting serious incidents. To read the guidance, please visit:
www.gov.uk/guidance/what-to-send-to-the-charity-commission-and-how-to-get-help.
Similarly, trustees may find the following publication helpful:
Charities and Investment Matters – A guide for Trustees
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/charities-and-investment-matters-a-guide-for-trustees-cc14/charities-and-investment-matters-a-guide-for-trustees
Charity Intelligence
Charity Intelligence is a free website that provides independent financial information and performance data for Charity Funds in the UK. It is a free service but charities/individuals have to register. Members seeking financial information may find this a useful tool:
https://www.charityintelligence.co.uk/
Posted 3 November 2020
The Almshouse Association has received a written response to a question raised by Baroness Eaton during the House of Lords discussion on almshouses on October 20.
During the discussion Baroness Eaton put forward:
“To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to protect and promote small-scale community housing models, such as almshouses, as part of their reforms of the planning system.”
The Government, through Lord Greenhalgh, responded by
saying:
“As part of its contribution to the Loneliness Strategy being led by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has commissioned the London School of Economics to undertake research into the benefits of community-led housing in respect of addressing loneliness. The final report of the research is expected in 2021.
We are currently consulting widely on the proposals for reform set out in the Planning White Paper, and we will be listening carefully to all the representations made, including those from organisations representing almshouses. In relation to s106 planning obligations, we are consulting on proposals to replace the existing system of developer contributions with a new Infrastructure Levy, which will deliver at least as much onsite affordable housing as at present.
The upcoming government guidance on producing local design codes will set out more detailed parameters for key elements of successful design, recognising the need for a variety of housing tenures, including community and co-housing schemes, to create diverse, equitable and resilient communities. Further information on this will be published in due course.”
The Almshouse Association welcomes this response and would like to thank Baroness Eaton for assisting us. We look forward to continuing our work with the Government to ensure that almshouses are able to continue offering their vital service.
Posted 3 November 2020
On Saturday 31 October, the Prime Minister announced that England would go into a four week lockdown from Thursday 5 November to Wednesday 2 December.
The finer details of the proposed lockdown are still to be published but the main points are as follows:
- Stay at home – you should only leave your house for specific purposes, including to go to work (if it’s not possible to work from home), to go shopping for essential items, for medical reasons (to attend appointments, collect medication from the pharmacy etc), visit members of your support bubble or care for vulnerable people, and to exercise outdoors with members of your household or support bubble.
- Staying safe outside the home (Social Distancing) – you should minimise time spent outside your home and when around other people ensure that you are two metres apart from anyone not in your household or support bubble.
- Meeting family and friends – you should not meet indoors or in private gardens with anyone who is not part of your household or support bubble. You can exercise or visit outdoor public places with the people you live with, your support bubble, or 1 person from another household. Outdoor public places include parks, beaches, countryside, public gardens (whether or not you pay to enter them), allotments, and playgrounds.
- Businesses and venues – all but essential shops will close, as will leisure, entertainment and personal care facilities. Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services will remain open.
- Going to work – you should work from home if you are able to do so. Those who continue to go to work should follow social distancing guidelines.
- Shielding – there won’t be a return to the shielding programme that was in place during the first lockdown. Instead, anyone over the age of 60 or who is clinically vulnerable should be especially careful in following the social distancing rules and minimise their contact with others. Those who are considered clinically extremely vulnerable should not go to work. The government will write to those who are clinically extremely vulnerable.
- Visiting relatives in care homes – guidance on this will be published later this week.
- Overnight stays – these will not be allowed. It means you cannot stay in a second home, if you own one, or staying with anyone you do not live with or are in a support bubble with. There are specific exceptions, for example if you need to stay away from home (including in a second home) for work purposes. Guest rooms should therefore be closed.
- Property safety checks/repairs – repair work and essential safety checks can still be carried out on properties so long as social distancing is observed.
- Moving home – the housing market remains open and people are free to move home should they wish to do so. Social distancing should be observed when viewing properties and interviews should be carried out via phone or videoconferencing.
Full details about the new restrictions can be found here.
We will publish further updates over the coming days to reflect new government guidance as it is published.
Posted 2 November 20
From 2 to 6 November 2020, Getting on Board will be running its Festival of Trusteeship.
The week will consist of numerous webinars including:
- safeguarding for trustees,
- how to attract great candidates for trustee roles, and
- charity finances – the basics.
Sessions are being held online and tickets range from £5 to £15. To find out more, visit: www.gettingonboard.org/festival-of-trusteeship
Posted 29 October 2020
Today marks the start of the latest national lockdown in England after it was approved by MPs in Parliament on Wednesday.
For the most up-to-date Government advice, please visit www.gov.uk.
Posted 5 November 2020
The Almshouse Association held a webinar on ‘Making Changes to your governing document’ in partnership with the Charity Commission on Wednesday 28th October 20.
The webinar was fully booked with 100 members signing up and more wanting to take part. To ensure all our members have the opportunity to see the webinar, we have made a recording and also produced pdf slides. These can be accessed by clicking in the links below.
About the Presenter
William Byrne is a Case Manager with The Charity Commission where he deals with complex permissions casework. He is based in the Commission’s Liverpool site within a team that spans Liverpool and Newport. William is a trustee himself, being the Vice Chair of Governors at a large primary school.
To see a list of previous webinars access recordings and slides, please visit our training pages and scroll down to webinars here.
Posted 29 October 2020
Following the announcement of the Affordable Housing Programme, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has announced a number of roundtable meetings to take place over the next 2 months. Whilst they are targeted at regulated organisations, , re-modelling is available to all almshouse charities.
The events are open to any organisation with an interest in developing new affordable homes – including those who haven’t accessed affordable housing funding or worked with Homes England previously.
Each session will provide a general introduction to the new fund, covering:
- Information about what the fund will deliver and policy requirements.
- Details on how to bid for funding and what the Government is looking for.
- Information on wider support that Homes England can provide.
In addition, four of the sessions will provide specific
information on some of the key areas of focus for the fund, including:
- The Supported Housing tenures that the funding can deliver and the support that Homes England can provide in this space.
- Information for New Entrants to the affordable housing sector.
- How the fund can help to address local housing challenges and the type of support Homes England can provide to Places.
- How Homes England can support the delivery of Rural Housing.
More details on the events can be accessed here and you are invited to email queries to the Affordable Homes Programme team ahp2126@homesengland.gov.uk
The grant programme can be complex so some members may find an early conversation with Almshouse Consortium Ltd (ACL), an independent group led by Almshouse Association members, to get a ‘warts ‘n’ all’ guide to the process may be helpful, or call us at The Almshouse Association.
Contact details for ACL – email: kathy.green.projects@gmail.com or Tel: 01225 865573 Mob: 07940 590173
See also Chapter 9 of Standards of Almshouse Management
Posted 27 October 2020
The Government has published a National Statement of Expectations (NSE) for supported housing.
This sets out guidelines of best practice in the sector for standards in accommodation and ‘is an important step in establishing what good looks like and how it can be achieved.’ To be clear, these are not legal requirements but recommendations on how to maximise the services offered. Members may, however, find their recommendations useful.
In supported housing, accommodation is provided alongside support, supervision or care to help people live as independently as possible in the community.
The statement outlines that all parties involved in the delivery of supported housing benefit from working collaboratively to:
- assess local demand for supported housing
- plan effectively for the required provision
- deliver accommodation which is good quality and value for money
Some of the key recommendations include:
- Collaboration between local councils, providers and local delivery partners to assess, plan and deliver supported housing
- Accommodation is assessed for its suitability in meeting the needs of residents
- Regular communication and collaboration between local council housing services, landlords, managing agents, support staff and commissioners of support services, to share information so that arrangements can be adapted as resources or residents’ needs change
- Supported housing providers encouraged to participate in sector-led accreditation and benchmarking schemes which demonstrate compliance with standards and are aimed improving transparency and performance on value for money and quality of housing services
- Both local councils and providers ensure they take a consistent approach to administration and information sharing.
The full statement can be found here.
Posted 27 October 20