What's new on Shelter Legal
The pages on Shelter Legal are updated regularly to reflect changes in the law.
This page lists the most recent updates to Shelter Legal.
What makes a section 21 notice invalid
12 July 2024
This page has been updated to clarify that a section 21 notice served at the same time as a gas safety certificate or EPC is valid. This clarification in relation to a gas safety certificate is contained in para 37, Trecarrell House Ltd v Rouncefield [2020] EWCA Civ 760.
View amended articleEU Settlement Scheme
3 July 2024
The Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) (Amendment) Order 2024 amends art 13(4) of The Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) Order 2000 so that a person with pre-settled status can retain their status if they leave the UK, as long as they are not absent for more than five years. Before 21 May 2024, this time limit was two years. The Home Office can still end a person's pre-settled status on a case by case basis if they exceed the absences allowed in the Withdrawal Agreement.
View amended articleDebt relief order applications
1 July 2024
On 28 June 2024, the Insolvency Proceedings (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order 2024 amended the Insolvency Proceedings (Monetary Limits) Order 1986 to increase the debt limit for a DRO from £30,000 to £50,000. The Insolvency (England and Wales) (Amendment) Rules 2024 amended Rule 9.9(2)(ii) Insolvency Rules 2016 to increase the limit on the value of an exempt motor vehicle from £2,000 to £4,000. This and related pages have been amended.
View amended articlePermission for company directors in a DRO
26 June 2024
This new page explains what happens when a company director applies for a debt relief order, how to apply to court for permission to be a director and the criminal sanctions for people who continue acting as a director without permission. This page was produced in partnership with Shelter's Specialist Debt Advice Service.
View amended articleEviction from land not owned by Travellers
25 June 2024
In R (Smith) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] EWHC 1137, the High Court found that the 12 months’ prohibition on returning to occupy land introduced by sections 83 and 84 of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 by way of amendments to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, was incompatible with the rights of Gypsies and Travellers under the European Convention on Human Rights, because there is a shortage of transit pitches and transit pitches cannot be occupied for more than three months.
View amended articleRegulated tenancy discretionary grounds for possession
24 June 2024
The court can order possession of a regulated tenancy on a discretionary ground if it is reasonable to do so. This page has been improved and updated with information about what a discretionary ground is, when a landlord can use each ground, and more details about possession for rent arrears on ground 1.
View amended articlePeople from abroad who are eligible for homeless assistance
6 June 2024
The Allocation of Housing and Homelessness (Eligibility) (England) and Persons Subject to Immigration Control (Housing Authority Accommodation and Homelessness) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 introduce two new classes of person eligible for housing and homelessness assistance. From 7 June 2024, certain people who can enter the UK under immigration rules as a victims of transnational marriage abandonment, and people who have their no recourse to public funds condition lifted by the Home Office, can now be eligible.
View amended articleLocal authority statutory nuisance duties
3 June 2024
In Ball, R (On the Application Of) v Hinckley & Bosworth Council (Rev1) [2024] EWCA Civ 433, the Court of Appeal held that a local authority has no power to vary the terms of an abatement notice once it has been satisfied a statutory nuisance exists or is likely to occur.
View amended articleSuitability of bed and breakfast accommodation
31 May 2024
From 1 June 2024, the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024/371 reintroduces the six week limit on the use of bed and breakfast accommodation for people with family commitments who make a homeless application within two years of arriving in the UK. The six week limit was lifted between 1 June 2022 and 31 May 2024 for new arrivals to the UK. The updated para 17.39 of the Homelessness Code of Guidance confirms that time spent in bed and breakfast accommodation before 1 June 2024 counts towards the six week limit. If any applicants have already spent more than six weeks in bed and breakfast accommodation on 1 June 2024, the local authority must immediately find alternative suitable accommodation.
View amended articleLocation and suitability of accommodation for homeless applicants
31 May 2024
The Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024/371 extends the temporary changes made to suitability requirements by the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (Amendment) (England) Order 2022 until 1 June 2025. The amendments, first introduced from 1 June 2022, give local authorities more flexibility to place homeless households who have arrived in the UK in the last two years outside of the local authority area.
View amended article