March 2019

A number of statutory rules have been made by the Department for Communities in order to give effect to the new HMO regime coming into effect on 1 April 2019.  The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Commencement and Transitional Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2019 brings any remaining provisions which were not previously enacted into force on 1 April 2019.  The commencement order also includes transitional provisions for properties already registered under the current registration scheme.

The Last Time Buyer: housing and finance for an aging society, a new report by Prof. Les Mayhew (Cass Business School) for the Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation focuses on enabling older people to monetise the very substantial wealth that is trapped in the UK’s housing stock.

The well-being agenda has been growing in policy circles since the turn of the century and a new report by the Resolution Foundation looks at the regional differences in well-being across the UK as well as examining well-being scores across a number of different factors including income, employment and housing tenure.