Consultation outcome

Technical consultation on consequential changes to the homelessness legislation

Updated 17 May 2023

Applies to England

Scope of the consultation

Topic of this consultation

This consultation seeks views on the consequential amendments to homelessness legislation as a result of the Renters Reform Bill, namely, the removal of section 21 evictions, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed-term tenancies.

This consultation aims to identify and understand the impacts these changes will have on the sector, to ensure local authorities can continue to deliver their homelessness duties effectively and give people the support they need.

Scope of this consultation

This technical consultation seeks views on the proposed consequential changes to the homelessness legislation, the scope is limited to responses on the legislative technical amendments. The majority of the amendments to the legislation are minor and, while the consultation is open to everyone, we expect most responses to be from local authorities and charities in the homelessness space.

The consultation will run for 7 weeks. We have considered this to be an adequate amount of time to ensure quality responses and inform legislation.

Geographical scope

These proposals relate to England only.

Impact assessment

The purpose of the consultation is to gather evidence and seek views on the issues above. Any policy change brought forward as a result of the consultation would be subject to appropriate assessment.

Basic information

This consultation is open to everyone. We expect the consultation to be of particular interest to local authorities or any organisations involved in homelessness assessments and decisions and third sector organisations with an interest in homelessness.

Body/bodies responsible for the consultation

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Duration

This consultation will last for 7 weeks from 7 December 2022 and will close 25 January 2023

Enquiries

For any enquiries about the consultation please contact:

homelessnesspolicy@levellingup.gov.uk

How to respond

You may respond by completing an online survey

If you are responding in writing, please make it clear which questions you are responding to.

Written responses should be sent to:

Homelessness Policy and Strategy Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Second Floor, Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

When you reply, please confirm whether you are replying as an individual or submitting an official response on behalf of an organisation and include:

• your name,
• your position (if applicable),
• the name of organisation (if applicable),
• an address (including postcode),
• an email address, and
• a contact telephone number.

Consequential changes to the homelessness legislation (Part 7, Housing Act 1996)

Background

In July 2019 the government published a ‘A new deal for renting’ consultation to seek views on how to implement the government’s decision to abolish section 21 of the Housing Act 1988^{[footnote 1]} and strengthen the grounds for possession in section 8 of the same Act.^{[footnote 2]} Within that consultation we sought views on how those proposals would impact homelessness and how local authorities exercise their duties to prevent and relieve homelessness. The government response to the consultation set out that 55% of respondents thought the proposals would have an impact on homelessness and 47% thought they would have impact on local authorities’ homelessness duties.

The government published the ‘Fairer Private Rented Sector’ white paper in June 2022, re-affirming the commitment to legislate to put an end to so called ‘no-fault’ evictions by repealing section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, and to move away from assured shorthold and fixed term tenancies^{[footnote 3]} to assured tenancies.^{[footnote 4]}

Assured shorthold tenancies were introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and are the default private residential tenancy in England. One of the features of the assured shorthold tenancy regime is the ability of landlords to end the tenancy without needing to give a reason, by issuing a two-month notice under section 21. The government is of the view that, with section 21 removed, the assured shorthold regime no longer serves a practical purpose, and, in future, the default tenancy will be assured tenancies.

Currently, assured shorthold tenancies can either have a fixed term or be periodic.^{[footnote 5]} While this system appears to offer choice, the consultation showed that many tenants and landlords find this system complex and that fixed terms lock tenants in, meaning they are unable to move if their circumstances change or the property isn’t safe to live in. In future, the White Paper proposes all tenancies will be periodic, giving both parties more flexibility to end the tenancy.

Under the new framework, a tenant will not be able to be evicted from their home without good reason. The government will ensure the grounds for possession are comprehensive and fair, so landlords are able to regain their property when it is appropriate for them to do so. This will include introducing a new ground for when the landlord intends to sell the property and extending the existing moving in ground to apply when close family members of the landlord need the property. A full list of grounds for possession can be found in Annex A of the government response, published alongside the White Paper.

Impacts to the homelessness legislation

Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 sets out local authorities’ statutory duties in relation to homelessness. In a number of places, the homelessness legislation refers to section 21 notices, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed-term tenancies. As a result of the reforms being brought forward by the Renters Reform Bill, there will therefore be consequential impacts to the homelessness legislation. This consultation sets out which parts of the Housing Act 1996 will need to be changed and what our proposed changes are for each part. These changes will be made through the Renters Reform Bill, and we will make the relevant update to the Homelessness Code of Guidance when the changes come into force.

The majority of changes we propose are minor amendments to the wording to remove reference to ‘section 21 notices’ and replace the references to ‘assured shorthold tenancies’ and ‘fixed-term tenancies’ with ‘assured tenancies’, since these phrases are no longer relevant in these parts of the legislation.

There are two parts of the legislation where the removal of section 21 notices will have a larger impact on how the policy operates. These are the ‘threatened with homelessness definition’ in Part 7, section.175 of the Housing Act 1996 and ‘the ending the prevention duty’ in Part 7, section.195(6) of the Housing Act 1996. We are considering changes to these parts of the legislation together to ensure the threatened with homelessness definition is aligned with ending the prevention duty. Currently, if a local authority accepts the prevention duty under certain circumstances, they are then unable to end the duty if those circumstances still stand. We have proposed three options for how to change these parts of the legislation. We have also proposed to remove one part of the legislation, ‘the reapplication duty’, as we move to a new tenancy framework.

In identifying the options in the consultation, we have sought to uphold the principles of the ‘Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper’ to give renters flexibility, stability and security, while making sure landlords can regain possession of their property when need. However, we are aware the removal of section 21 notices from these parts of the homelessness legislation and proposed amendments will impact the tenant experience as well as local practice and resourcing within local authorities. Therefore, we are seeking views through this consultation to make sure the impacts are properly considered.

The consequential amendments and proposed options

1) Substantial changes

A) Threatened with homelessness and ending the prevention duty

Summary

These parts of the legislation on ‘threatened with homelessness’ must be considered together to make sure how local authorities end the prevent duty is aligned with the threatened with homelessness definition.

The parts of the legislation we need to amend are as follows:

[i] Part of Housing Act: Homelessness and threatened with homelessness.

Section 175, Housing Act 1996, Part VII

Description: Defines the terms homelessness and threatened with homelessness.

(4)A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that he will become homeless within 56 days.

(5) A person is also threatened with homelessness if -

(a) a valid notice has been given to the person under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) in respect of the only accommodation the person has that is available for the person’s occupation, and

(b)that notice will expire within 56 days.

[ii] Part of Housing Act: Duties in cases of threatened homelessness - Section 195, Housing Act 1996, Part VII.

Description: Describes the circumstances in which local authorities can end the prevention duty. Subsection (5) allows the authority to end the prevention duty if they have taken reasonable steps to seek to prevent homelessness and 56 days have passed. However, subsection (6) prevents local authorities from ending the prevention duty in this way if a valid section 21 notice has been served to an applicant.

(5) If any of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (8) apply, the authority may give notice to the applicant bringing the duty under subsection (2) to an end.

(6) But the authority may not give notice to the applicant under subsection (5) on the basis that the circumstances in subsection (8)(b) apply if a valid notice has been given to the applicant under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) that -

(a)will expire within 56 days or has expired, and

(b)is in respect of the only accommodation that is available for the applicant’s occupation.

Proposed changes: Option 1

[i - Section 175, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Deleted subsection (5) and keep the definition otherwise unchanged:

(4)A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that he will become homeless within 56 days.

[REMOVE] (5) A person is also threatened with homelessness if -

[REMOVE] (a) a valid notice has been given to the person under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) in respect of the only accommodation the person has that is available for the person’s occupation, and

[REMOVE] (b)that notice will expire within 56 days.

[ii - Section 195, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Delete subsection (6)

(5) If any of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (8) apply, the authority may give notice to the applicant bringing the duty under subsection (2) to an end.

[REMOVE] (6) But the authority may not give notice to the applicant under subsection (5) on the basis that the circumstances in subsection (8)(b) apply if a valid notice has been given to the applicant under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) that -

[REMOVE] (a)will expire within 56 days or has expired, and

[REMOVE] (b)is in respect of the only accommodation that is available for the applicant’s occupation.

What this means in practice: Local authorities would assess whether the applicant is threatened with homelessness (within 56 days) and, if so, accept a prevention duty. Applicants who have been served valid notice to leave a tenancy may or may not be considered threatened with homelessness, and the local authority would assess whether a prevention duty is owed. The prevention duty could be ended when any of the circumstances for ending the duty apply, including having secured that suitable accommodation is available for 6 months or more, or that 56 days has passed. If after 56 days the applicant continued to be threatened with homelessness, the local authority could extend the duty and continue taking reasonable steps to prevent homelessness or could end the prevention duty. This option would completely remove the specific requirements to accept and continue prevention duties that currently apply to section 21 notices and evictions.

Q1a: What will be the impact of option 1 on local authority resourcing? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q1b: What will be the impact of option 1 on local authority caseloads? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q1c: What will be the impact of option 1 on the demand on time for local authority staff? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q1d: What will be the impact of option 1 on homelessness prevention activity and success rates within local authorities? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q1e: Do you have any additional comments on the impacts of option 1 which have not been covered in your response to Q1a-d? Yes/No. If yes, please provide comments for your answer.

Proposed changes: Option 2

[i - Section 175, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Remove reference to section 21 notices and assured shorthold tenancy and change to:

(4)A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that he will become homeless within 56 days.

(5) A person is also threatened with homelessness if -

(a) a valid notice has been given to the person under [REMOVE: section 21(orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy)]section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 in respect of the only accommodation the person has that is available for the person’s occupation, and

(b)that notice will expire within 56 days.

[ii - Section 195, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Remove reference to a section 21 notice and assured shorthold tenancy and change to:

(5) If any of the circumstances mentioned in subsection (8) apply, the authority may give notice to the applicant bringing the duty under subsection (2) to an end.

(6) But the authority may not give notice to the applicant under subsection (5) on the basis that the circumstances in subsection (8)(b) apply if a valid notice has been given to the applicant under [REMOVE: section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy)]section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 that -

(a)will expire within 56 days or has expired, and

(b)is in respect of the only accommodation that is available for the applicant’s occupation.

What this means in practice: Local authorities will be required to accept the prevention duty at the point of a section 8 notice being served regardless of whether the person is at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days. The local authority would owe a prevention duty where a valid notice was served on any ground relating to any Housing Act 1988 tenancy, including where the landlord is a Private Registered Provider. Where a local authority has accepted a prevention duty in respect of someone served with a section 8 notice they cannot end the duty on the basis that 56 days have passed. The local authority would be required to keep the prevention duty open until one of the other circumstances for ending the duty applied. If the local authority were unable to prevent the landlord from pursuing possession of the property, the local authority will be required to assess at what point it is no longer reasonable for the applicant to continue to occupy, such that a relief duty is owed.

Q2a: What will be the impact of option 2 on local authority resourcing? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q2b: What will be the impact of option 2 on local authority caseloads? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q2c: What will be the impact of option 2 on the demand on time for local authority staff? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q2d: What will be the impact of option 2 on homelessness prevention activity and success rates within local authorities? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q2e: Do you have any additional comments on the impacts of option 2 which have not been covered in your response to Q2a-d? Yes/No. If yes, please provide comments for your answer.

Proposed changes: Option 3

[i - Section 175, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Remove reference to section 21 notices and assured shorthold tenancy and change to:

(4)A person is threatened with homelessness if it is likely that he will become homeless within 56 days.

(5) A person is also threatened with homelessness if -

(a) a valid notice has been given to the person under [REMOVE: section 21(orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy)]section 8 relying on mandatory landlord circumstance grounds in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 in respect of the only accommodation the person has that is available for the person’s occupation, and

(b)that notice will expire within 56 days.

[ii - Section 195, Housing Act 1996, Part VII] Remove reference to section 21 notices and assured shorthold tenancy and change to:

(6) But the authority may not give notice to the applicant under subsection (5) on the basis that the circumstances in subsection (8)(b) apply if a valid notice has been given to the applicant under [REMOVE: section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy]section 8 relying on mandatory landlord circumstance grounds in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 that -

(a)will expire within 56 days or has expired, and

(b)is in respect of the only accommodation that is available for the applicant’s occupation.

What this means in practice: Local authorities would accept the prevention duty where a valid notice had been served under section 8 notice for one or more of the landlord circumstance grounds, regardless of whether the person is at risk of becoming homeless within 56 days. Where a local authority has accepted a prevention duty in respect of someone served with a section 8 notice under the landlord circumstance grounds, they would not close it on the basis that 56 days have passed even if the notice has expired. The local authority would continue to owe the prevention duty until one of the other circumstances for ending the duty applied. This option would replace the current requirement to accept and continue a prevention duty where a valid section 21 notice is served, but only where certain grounds for possession are to be relied on. The full list of mandatory landlord circumstance ground can be found at Annex B.

Q3a: What will be the impact of option 3 on local authority resourcing? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q3b: What will be the impact of option 3 on local authority caseloads? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q3c: What will be the impact of option 3 on the demand on time for local authority staff? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q3d: What will be the impact of option 3 on homelessness prevention activity and success rates within local authorities? Please provide comments for your answer.

Q3e: Do you have any additional comments on the impacts of option 3 which have not been covered in your response to Q3a-d? Yes/No. If yes, please provide comments for your answer.

B) The reapplication duty

Summary

The reapplication duty was introduced alongside the introduction of Private Rented Sector Offers (PRSOs) as a means to end the main homelessness duty, in response to concern that due to the short-term nature of Assured Shorthold Tenancies, applicants who accepted a PRSO may become homeless again within a two-year period and, on application for assistance, would be found to no longer have priority need.

The White Paper proposes to remove fixed terms in the PRS and we will need to remove references to them in legislation. In future, all tenancies will be assured and offer greater security of tenure. This increased security of tenure and removal of section 21 evictions means the reapplication duty will no longer be relevant.

The parts of the legislation we need to amend is as follows:

Part of Housing Act: Reapplication after private rented sector offer - Section 195A, Housing Act 1996, Part VII.

Description: The duty owed by a local authority to an applicant who accepted a final offer of suitable accommodation in the private rented sector, and the applicant becomes homeless again within two years and reapplies for accommodation or for assistance in obtaining accommodation. The duty applies regardless of whether the applicant has priority need.

1) If within two years beginning with the date on which an applicant accepts an offer under section 193(7AA) (private rented sector offer), the applicant re-applies for accommodation, or for assistance in obtaining accommodation, and the local housing authority -

(a)is satisfied that the applicant is homeless and eligible for assistance, and

(b)is not satisfied that the applicant became homeless intentionally, the duty under section 193(2) applies regardless of whether the applicant has a priority need.

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), an applicant in respect of whom a valid notice under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (orders for possession on expiry or termination of assured shorthold tenancy) has been given is to be treated as homeless from the date on which that notice expires.

(5) Subsection (1) does not apply to a case where the local housing authority would not be satisfied as mentioned in that subsection without having regard to a restricted person.

(6) Subsection (1) does not apply to a re-application by an applicant for accommodation, or for assistance in obtaining accommodation, if the immediately preceding application made by that applicant was one to which subsection (1) applied.

Part of Housing Act: Duty to persons with priority need who are not homeless intentionally - Section 193, Housing Act 1996, Part VII.

(7A) An offer of accommodation under Part 6 is a final offer for the purposes of subsection (7) if it is made in writing and states that it is a final offer for the purposes of subsection (7).

(7AB) The matters are—

…

(c)in a case which is not a restricted case, the effect under section 195A of a further application to a local housing authority within two years of acceptance of the offer.

Proposed change:

Remove the reapplication duty from the Housing Act 1996 and, therefore, delete section 195A, Housing Act 1996, Part VII and subsection (7AB) (c) in section 193, Housing Act 1996, Part VII.

What this means in practice: All reapplications will be treated according to the current circumstances, with no distinction between those who accepted private sector or social housing offers to end their previous main duty. They will be owed the prevention, relief duty and main duty in the same way as any other homelessness applicant.

Q4: Do you have any comments on the proposed option to remove the reapplication duty from the homelessness legislation? Yes/No/Don’t Know. Please provide comments for your answer.

2) Minor technical changes

Summary

There are several parts of the legislation that refer to section 21 notices, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed term tenancies.

We propose to remove all references to section 21 notices, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed term tenancies from the Housing Act 1996. Where appropriate we will replace the reference to assured shorthold tenancies and fixed term tenancies with assured tenancies.

For these minor amendments to the wording of the legislation, Annex A sets our proposals out in detail.

What this means in practice: We do not expect these minor amendments to have an impact on local authority operation or prevention activity. They will only remove wording that is no longer relevant in the legislation.

Q5a: Do you have any comments on the proposed approach to minor technical changes? Yes/No/Don’t know. Please give your comments.

Q5b: Do you have any comments on the proposed minor technical changes in Annex A? Yes/No/Don’t know. Please give your comments.

Public Sector Equality Duty assessment

We are required to assess these proposals by reference to the Public Sector Equality Duty contained in the Equality Act 2010. A Public Sector Equality Duty Assessment and an impact assessment will be prepared prior to any legislation being laid.

We would welcome your comments as part of this consultation on whether any of the proposed consequential changes could give rise to any impacts on people who share a protected characteristic (Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; and Sexual Orientation).

The range of changes to the legislation is broad, so please specify which part of the legislative and proposed amendment any comments relate to.

Q6: Do you think that any of the proposed changes could give rise to any impacts on people who share a protected characteristic? Yes/No/Don’t know. Please give your comments.

Annex A: Minor technical changes

Summary

The below sets out in detail our proposals for minor amendments to the wording of the homelessness legislation. We do not expect these will have an impact on how local authorities exercise their homelessness duties. These amendments are to align the homelessness legislation with the wider reforms.

Please use Q5 above to give comments on the proposed approach and amendments below.

Part of Housing Act: Duty to persons with priority need who are not homeless intentionally - Section 193, Housing Act 1996, Part VII.

Description: This part of the legalisation outlines the duties owed by local authorities to an applicant who is eligible for homelessness assistance, not intentionally homelessness and has priority need – the main homelessness duty.

(6) The local housing authority shall cease to be subject to the duty under this section if the applicant

…

(cc) accepts an offer of an assured tenancy (other than an assured shorthold tenancy) from a private landlord

and

(7AC) For the purposes of this section an offer is a private rented sector offer if -

…

(c)the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 12 months.

Proposed changes: Remove subsection (6)(cc) and remove the reference to fixed term tenancy for a period of at least 12 months and change to:

(6) The local housing authority shall cease to be subject to the duty under this section if the applicant

…

[REMOVE] (cc) accepts an offer of an assured tenancy (other than an assured shorthold tenancy) from a private landlord

and

(7AC) For the purposes of this section an offer is a private rented sector offer if -

…

(c)the tenancy being offered is an assured tenancy.

Part of Housing Act: Consequences of refusal of final accommodation offer or final Part 6 offer at the initial relief stage - Section 193A, Housing Act 1996, Part VII

Description: Where a local authority owes a duty to an applicant to help secure suitable accommodation and the applicant, having been informed of the consequences of refusal and of the applicant’s right to request a review of the suitability of the accommodation, refuses a final accommodation offer or a final Part 6 offer (i.e. social housing), then the authority’s duty to the applicant to help secure suitable accommodation ends.

(4) An offer is a “final accommodation offer” if -

(a)it is an offer of an assured shorthold tenancy made by a private landlord to the applicant in relation to any accommodation which is, or may become, available for the applicant’s occupation

…

(c)the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 6 months.

Proposed changes: Replace reference to assured shorthold tenancy with assured tenancy and delete subsection (4)(c) and change to:

(4) An offer is a “final accommodation offer” if -

(a) it is an offer of an assured tenancy made by a private landlord to the applicant in relation to any accommodation which is, or may become, available for the applicant’s occupation

…

[REMOVE] (c)the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 6 months.

Part of Housing Act: Notice under section 193B: consequences - Section 193C, Housing Act 1996, Part VII

Description: Where a local authority has made a final offer of suitable accommodation and is no longer subject to the main homelessness duty.

(7) An offer is “a final accommodation offer” if -

(a)it is an offer of an assured shorthold tenancy made by a private landlord to the applicant in relation to any accommodation which is, or may become, available for the applicant’s occupation

…

(c)the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 6 months.

Proposed changes: Replace reference to assured shorthold tenancy and delete subsection (7)(c) and change to:

(7) An offer is “a final accommodation offer” if -

(a)it is an offer of an assured tenancy made by a private landlord to the applicant in relation to any accommodation which is, or may become, available for the applicant’s occupation

…

[REMOVE] (c)the tenancy being offered is a fixed term tenancy (within the meaning of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988) for a period of at least 6 months.

Part of Housing Act: Discharge of functions: arrangements with private landlord - Section 209, Housing Act 1996, Part VII

Description: Governs security of tenure where a private landlord provides accommodation to assist a housing authority to discharge an interim duty.

(2)A tenancy granted to the applicant in pursuance of the arrangements cannot be an assured tenancy before the end of the period of twelve months beginning with -

…

unless, before or during that period, the tenant is notified by the landlord (or in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them) that the tenancy is to be regarded as an assured shorthold tenancy or an assured tenancy other than an assured shorthold tenancy.

Proposed changes: Remove reference to assured shorthold tenancy and change to:

(2)A tenancy granted to the applicant in pursuance of the arrangements cannot be an assured tenancy before the end of the period of twelve months beginning with -

…

unless, before or during that period, the tenant is notified by the landlord (or in the case of joint landlords, at least one of them) that the tenancy is to be regarded as an assured tenancy.

Part of Housing Act: Minor definitions: general- Part VII -Section 218, Housing Act 1996, Part VII

Description: A table which shows provisions defining or otherwise explaining expressions used in Part VII of the Housing Act.

The following table shows provisions defining or otherwise explaining expressions used in this Part (other than provisions defining or explaining an expression used in the same section) -

assured tenancy and assured shorthold tenancy

section 230

Proposed changes: Delete reference to assured shorthold tenancy.

Annex B: Landlord circumstance grounds

The table below describes the circumstances in which government considers it reasonable for a landlord to seek possession, under grounds relating to their own circumstances. A full list of Ground for Possession has been published in A new deal for renting: government response.

Ground	Mandatory / Discretionary	Notice period	Information
The landlord wishes to move into the property	Mandatory	2 months	The landlord will need to demonstrate that they, or a close family member, intends to live in the property. The ground cannot be used within the first 6 months of a new tenancy. We will prevent the original landlord marketing and reletting the property for 3 months following the use of this ground.
The landlord wishes to sell the property	Mandatory	2 months	The landlord will need to demonstrate they intend to sell the property. It cannot be used within the first 6 months of a new tenancy unless selling to an acquiring authority in a situation where compulsory purchase could be used. We will prevent the original landlord marketing and reletting the property for 3 months following the use of this ground.
The landlord wishes to demolish or substantially redevelop the property	Mandatory	2 months	The landlord will need to demonstrate that they intend to demolish or make substantial changes to the property that cannot be undertaken with the tenant living in the property. The ground cannot be used within the first 6 months of a new tenancy unless the landlord is an acquiring authority in a situation where compulsory purchase could be used. The ground cannot be used by social landlords unless redevelopment is required by a superior landlord. Private registered providers of social housing will be required to pay reasonable moving costs to tenants when using this ground.
The property has been repossessed by the mortgage lender	Mandatory	2 months	This ground can be used by mortgage lenders who have repossessed a property from a landlord.
A superior landlord requires vacant possession	Mandatory	2 months	Use of the ground is limited to private registered providers of social housing, providers of supported accommodation, and agricultural landlords where a superior lease/tenancy has come to an end and the superior landlord requires vacant possession to fulfil the terms of that lease/tenancy.

Annex C: About this consultation

This consultation document and consultation process have been planned to adhere to the Consultation Principles issued by the Cabinet Office.

Representative groups are asked to give a summary of the people and organisations they represent, and where relevant who else they have consulted in reaching their conclusions when they respond.

Information provided in response to this consultation may be published or disclosed in accordance with the access to information regimes (these are primarily the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and UK data protection legislation. In certain circumstances this may therefore include personal data when required by law.

If you want the information that you provide to be treated as confidential, please be aware that, as a public authority, the Department is bound by the information access regimes and may therefore be obliged to disclose all or some of the information you provide. In view of this it would be helpful if you could explain to us why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will at all times process your personal data in accordance with UK data protection legislation and in the majority of circumstances this will mean that your personal data will not be disclosed to third parties. A full privacy notice is included below.

Individual responses will not be acknowledged unless specifically requested.

Your opinions are valuable to us. Thank you for taking the time to read this document and respond.

Are you satisfied that this consultation has followed the Consultation Principles? If not or you have any other observations about how we can improve the process please contact us via the complaints procedure.

Personal data

The following is to explain your rights and give you the information you are entitled to under UK data protection legislation.

Note that this section only refers to personal data (your name, contact details and any other information that relates to you or another identified or identifiable individual personally) not the content otherwise of your response to the consultation.

1. The identity of the data controller and contact details of our Data Protection Officer

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) is the data controller. The Data Protection Officer can be contacted at dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or by writing to the following address:

Data Protection Officer,
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London SW1P 4DF

2. Why we are collecting your personal data

Your personal data is being collected as an essential part of the consultation process, so that we can contact you regarding your response and for statistical purposes. We may also use it to contact you about related matters.

We will collect your IP address if you complete a consultation online. We may use this to ensure that each person only completes a survey once. We will not use this data for any other purpose.

Sensitive types of personal data

Please do not share special category personal data or criminal offence data if we have not asked for this unless absolutely necessary for the purposes of your consultation response. By ‘special category personal data’, we mean information about a living individual’s:

• race
• ethnic origin
• political opinions
• religious or philosophical beliefs
• trade union membership
• genetics
• biometrics
• health (including disability-related information)
• sex life; or
• sexual orientation.

By ‘criminal offence data’, we mean information relating to a living individual’s criminal convictions or offences or related security measures.

3. Our legal basis for processing your personal data

The collection of your personal data is lawful under article 6(1)(e) of the UK General Data Protection Regulation as it is necessary for the performance by DLUHC of a task in the public interest/in the exercise of official authority vested in the data controller. Section 8(d) of the Data Protection Act 2018 states that this will include processing of personal data that is necessary for the exercise of a function of the Crown, a Minister of the Crown or a government department i.e. in this case a consultation.

Where necessary for the purposes of this consultation, our lawful basis for the processing of any special category personal data or ‘criminal offence’ data (terms explained under ‘Sensitive Types of Data’) which you submit in response to this consultation is as follows. The relevant lawful basis for the processing of special category personal data is Article 9(2)(g) UK GDPR (‘substantial public interest’), and Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (‘statutory etc and government purposes’). The relevant lawful basis in relation to personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences data is likewise provided by Schedule 1 paragraph 6 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

4. With whom we will be sharing your personal data

DLUHC may appoint a ‘data processor’, acting on behalf of the Department and under our instruction, to help analyse the responses to this consultation. Where we do we will ensure that the processing of your personal data remains in strict accordance with the requirements of the data protection legislation.

5. For how long we will keep your personal data, or criteria used to determine the retention period.

Your personal data will be held for 2 years from the closure of the consultation, unless we identify that its continued retention is unnecessary before that point.

6. Your rights, e.g. access, rectification, restriction, objection

The data we are collecting is your personal data, and you have considerable say over what happens to it. You have the right:

a. to see what data we have about you

b. to ask us to stop using your data, but keep it on record

c. to ask to have your data corrected if it is incorrect or incomplete

d. to object to our use of your personal data in certain circumstances

e. to lodge a complaint with the independent Information Commissioner (ICO) if you think we are not handling your data fairly or in accordance with the law. You can contact the ICO at https://ico.org.uk/, or telephone 0303 123 1113.

Please contact us at the following address if you wish to exercise the rights listed above, except the right to lodge a complaint with the ICO:

dataprotection@levellingup.gov.uk or

Knowledge and Information Access Team
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Fry Building
2 Marsham Street
London
SW1P 4DF

7. Your personal data will not be sent overseas.

8. Your personal data will not be used for any automated decision making.

9. Your personal data will be stored in a secure government IT system.

We use a third-party system, Citizen Space, to collect consultation responses. In the first instance your personal data will be stored on their secure UK-based server. Your personal data will be transferred to our secure government IT system as soon as possible, and it will be stored there for 2 years before it is deleted.

---

1. Section 21: Refers to Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. A Section 21 notice is served to end a tenancy agreement after the fixed term period, so that the landlord can gain possession. The landlord must provide 2 months notice and no reason for the eviction is required. ↩

2. Section 8: Refers to Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. A Section 8 notice is served to end a tenancy agreement for one (or more) of the grounds for possession listed in Schedule 2 of the same Act. The length of notice required depends on the ground being used, but it is usually two weeks or two months. ↩

3. Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST): The most common type of tenancy used by landlords to let residential properties to private tenants. A tenancy may be an AST if all of the following apply: it is let by a private landlord or housing association; the tenancy started on or after 15 January 1989; the property is a tenants’ main accommodation; a landlord does not live in the property. A landlord can end a tenancy of this type with either a section 8 notice and possession ground, or a section 21 notice if the fixed term period has ended. ↩

4. Assured Tenancy (AT): These are tenancies agreed under the Housing Act 1988, which offer more security than ASTs. A landlord can only end these with a section 8 notice. They are mostly offered by private registered providers of social housing. ↩

5. Fixed terms and periodic: During a fixed term, tenants are liable for the rent for the duration, and in return the landlord cannot change the rent or evict the tenant using Section 21. In a periodic tenancy, a tenant can be evicted or leave at any point. ↩