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SPICe Briefing

The Housing (Scotland) Bill 10 January 2014 14/02 Kate Berry, Angus Evans and Sarah Harvie-Clark The Housing (Scotland) Bill covers a wide range of issues concerning social and private housing. In particular, the main provisions in the Bill seek to:        

Abolish the right to buy Increase the flexibility social landlords have when allocating housing and allow social landlords to make best use of their stock Provide social landlords with additional tools to tackle antisocial behaviour Provide additional protections for tenants, particularly those with a short Scottish Secure Tenancy Transfer jurisdiction for civil cases relating to the private rented sector from the sheriff court to the First-tier Tribunal Establish a registration system for letting agents Amend the site licensing requirements for mobile home sites with permanent residents Amend local authority powers to enforce repairs and maintenance in private homes

This briefing sets out the background to the Bill and summarises its main provisions.

CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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INTRODUCTION

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SOCIAL HOUSING

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CONTEXT PART 1- RIGHT TO BUY BACKGROUND Scottish Government Consultation THE BILL - RIGHT TO BUY (SECTION 1 AND 2) PART 2 - SOCIAL HOUSING ALLOCATION OF SOCIAL HOUSING - BACKGROUND Scottish Government Consultation THE BILL - REASONABLE PREFERENCE (SECTIONS 3 AND 4) THE BILL - FACTORS WHICH MAY BE CONSIDERED IN ALLOCATION (SECTIONS 5 AND 6) THE BILL - DETERMINATION OF MINIMUM PERIOD FOR APPLICATION TO REMAIN IN FORCE (SUSPENSIONS) (SECTION 7) SOCIAL HOUSING TENANCIES (SECTIONS 8-16) BACKGROUND Short SSTs Possession Anti-social behaviour Scottish Government Consultation THE BILL - ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR SHORT SSTS (SECTIONS 8,10,11,12) THE BILL - GROUNDS FOR EVICTION: ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR (SECTION 15) THE BILL - GRANT OF SHORT SECURE TENANCY: HOMEOWNERS (SECTION 9) THE BILL - ASSIGNATION, SUBLET AND JOINT TENANCY OF SST (SECTION 13) THE BILL - SUCCESSION TO SST (SECTION 14) OTHER ISSUES – PROBATIONARY TENANCIES PART 3 – PRIVATE RENTED HOUSING

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CONTEXT 23 Scottish Government Private Rented Sector Strategy 24 PRIVATE RENTED HOUSING DISPUTE RESOLUTION 25 Background 25 Scottish Government Consultation 27 THE BILL - TRANSFER OF SHERIFF’S JURISTICTION TO FIRST TIER TRIBUNAL (SECTIONS 17-21) 28 THE BILL - PRIVATE LANDLORD REGISTRATION (SECTION 22) 31 THE BILL - ENFORCEMENT OF REPAIRING STANDARD (SECTION 23) 32 STAGE 2 AMENDMENT - ENHANCED ENFORCEMENT AREAS 32 PART 4 – LETTING AGENTS BACKGROUND Current regulatory framework Scottish Government Consultation THE BILL- LETTING AGENTS (SECTIONS 26-52) PART 5 - MOBILE HOMES WITH PERMANENT RESIDENTS, SITE LICENSING BACKGROUND Current Site Licensing Regime Other developments Scottish Government Consultation THE BILL - MOBILE HOME SITES WITH PERMANENT RESIDENTS (SECTIONS 53-71) PART 6- PRIVATE HOUSING CONDITIONS

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BACKGROUND 42 Scottish Government consultation 43 THE BILL - TENEMENT MANAGEMENT SCHEME : MISSING SHARES (SECTION 72) 43 THE BILL - CHANGES TO WORK NOTICES, MAINTENANCE ORDERS AND REPAYMENT CHARGES (SECTIONS 73–76) 44 OTHER ISSUES - EXTENDING THE POWERS TO REQUIRE IMPROVEMENTS TO PROPERTIES 44 PART 7 - MISCELLANEOUS

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THE BILL - RIGHT TO REDEEM A SECURITY AFTER 20 YEARS (SECTION 77) 45 THE BILL - SCOTTISH HOUSING REGULATOR: TRANSFER OF ASSETS FOLLOWING INQUIRIES (SECTION 79) 46 SOURCES

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RELATED BRIEFINGS

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Housing (Scotland) Bill covers a wide range of issues concerning social and private housing with the overall objectives of, “…safeguarding the interests of consumers, supporting improved quality an