There was a lot of talk about new laws last year. In 2004, we'll see some action.
Social housing had numerous legal developments to respond to last year – the Law Commission's final report on housing law reform, the Housing Bill and proposals for new powers on antisocial behaviour, to name but three – and the pace shows no sign of slowing this year.

Let's start with the Housing Bill. Introduced into parliament last month, it is a significant measure even though much of it is intended to affect the private rather than the public sector. The provisions in part 6 of the bill are most directly relevant to the social rented sector.

Councils and other public sector landlords that use introductory tenancies will get a discretion to extend the probationary period from 12 to 18 months and there are new restrictions on the right to buy. Some increase the qualifying period from two to five years, others are designed to curb abuses – for instance, one stipulates that the right to buy cannot be exercised if a property is to be demolished within the next 18 months, addressing the problem of tenants using the right in regeneration areas where their interests then have to be repurchased, often at substantially increased prices, giving the tenant a windfall and increasing the cost of regeneration.

The rent-to-mortgage scheme is to be repealed and there are other changes made in connection with antisocial behaviour, such as the right to refuse consent to an exchange of tenancies. Succession rights are modernised so as to allow succession by a partner of the same sex as the deceased tenant. And last, but far from least, the Housing Corporation is to have controversial new powers to give grants to private developers.

Elsewhere in the bill there is a new standard by which local housing authorities will act in relation to unfit or unsatisfactory private sector housing, a new housing health and safety rating system to replace the present statutory housing fitness standards, and the power to license private landlords.

The bill also introduces a duty on local housing authorities to license larger houses in multiple occupation – implementing this will take some time.

Meanwhile, part 5 of the bill may revolutionise the conveyancing process through the introduction of home information packs – previously known as "seller's packs" – which will place obligations on those selling a home or marketing homes for sale.

The Antisocial Behaviour Act
Part 2 of this law contains measures, likely to come into force from February, that give social landlords additional powers to deal with nuisance.

Landlords will have a new duty to publish a statement of their policies and procedures for dealing with such behaviour; they will get new powers to seek injunctions and a new power, which may be used as an alternative to recovering possession, to demote a tenant's status.

The courts will also be required to take a more structured approach when considering possession claims in antisocial behaviour cases by considering the effects of the tenant's behaviour on residents and related factors.

Pre-action protocol for housing disrepair cases
This protocol was agreed in December as part of the underlying policy in civil procedure rules to encourage early settlement of claims. It contains detailed provisions encouraging good pre-litigation practice, including the early exchange of information and guidance on the instruction of experts.

Law Commission report on rented housing
The commission's final report on this subject was expected in the summer of 2003 but has been delayed, apparently because of the sheer volume of responses to its consultation. Expect it later this year once the accompanying draft bill is ready. It is most unlikely, however, that there will be any major changes to the position already advocated by the commission: that there should be a common tenancy for the whole of the social rented sector, a simplification of all statuses into just two and the use of written agreements in all cases corresponding to the requirements of the unfair terms and consumer contracts regulations plus, of course, the principles in the European Convention on Human Rights.

The commission still feels social landlords should only be able to use the lower-security type two housing agreement in statutorily prescribed cases, and this is causing concerns that it may operate as too much of a straitjacket on the new housing initiatives by registered social landlords – for example, the higher level of security of tenure that will apply (as currently drafted) to key workers. Because the whole point of key worker housing is to provide affordable homes for individuals who cannot otherwise afford to live in their employer's area, it may be desirable for the housing to be freed up once the person ceases to be employed in an eligible sector or starts earning enough money that they no longer need help. This would not be possible using a type one housing agreement.

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform
Commonhold is likely to be introduced in April and may prove to be attractive for social housing developments. Statutory restrictions on the leasing of units will be problematic, however, for social landlords, although it is expected that this will exclude shared-ownership leases granted by RSLs.

Some important leasehold reform provisions from the 2002 Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act are like to come into force in the summer of 2004: restrictions on the use of forfeiture in residential lease cases and the requirement to serve notices in a specified form when making service charge and ground rent demands.