Shelter successfully assisted a client to challenge a letting agent’s refusal to allow her to view a property because the agent did not accept tenants in receipt of housing benefit. So-called “No DSS” policies have never been successfully challenged in court before as the defendants generally settle, with a number of such settlements receiving media attention earlier this year.
The Housing Mediation Service operated by local charity Housing Rights and funded by the Department for Communities, offers tenants and landlords in the private rented sector a new way of finding agreements that are sustainable and satisfactory for both parties.
The Department for Communities is conducting some research into how the Covid-19 pandemic is impacting on both landlords and tenants who live and work in the private rented sector in Northern Ireland. To assist with this the Department is seeking as much feedback as possible.
This week the Housing (Amendment) Bill passed its final stage in the NI Assembly. In addition to other changes to the regulation of housing associations, the bill will end the compulsory house sales scheme for housing association tenants.
