Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 update
Scottish Government guidance.
The Scottish Government wrote to all CEOs of RSLs yesterday to provide further information on guidance and training packs associated with this legislation. The letter also provides information on the laying of the commencement order and when the new provisions are expected to come into force.
The final two pieces of draft guidance are now available on the Scottish Government website.
These are:
- Minimum period for applications to remain in force – suspensions under section 20B of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987
- Short Scottish Secure Tenancies for antisocial behaviour and other miscellaneous changes to short Scottish secure tenancies
The draft guidance documents can be found at: https://beta.gov.scot/policies/social-housing/
The government expects to lay the Commencement Order and Statutory Instruments by the end of January 2018. The social housing provisions in Part 2 of the 2014 Act covering allocations, tenancies and antisocial behaviour will then come into force from early 2019.
Training packs to help landlords undertake training on the changes are also now available on the Scottish Government website. The training packs, comprising PowerPoint presentations and speakers’ notes, with the help of stakeholders.
The packs aim to be a flexible resource which landlords can use and adapt for their own training purposes and tailor to reflect their own allocations and housing management policies. They do not constitute legal advice and users of the material should bear in mind the disclaimer at the start of the presentations.
The packs cover:
- Introduction
- Allocations – legal framework
- Allocations – suspensions
- Assignation, subletting, joint tenancies and succession to a Scottish secure tenancy
- Streamlined eviction – criminal or antisocial behaviour
- Short SST for homeowners
- Repossession of properties designed or adapted for special needs
- Short SST for antisocial behaviour and other miscellaneous changes to short SSTs
The training packs can also be accessed at: https://beta.gov.scot/policies/social-housing/
SFHA will keep you informed of any further developments.