{"id":3356,"date":"2021-01-06T12:22:54","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T12:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/?p=3356"},"modified":"2021-01-06T12:22:54","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T12:22:54","slug":"open-letter-to-secretaries-of-state-for-housing-and-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/2021\/01\/open-letter-to-secretaries-of-state-for-housing-and-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Open letter to Secretaries of State for Housing and Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"

House of Commons<\/span>
\nLondon<\/span>
\nSW1A 0AA<\/span>
\nrobert.buckland.mp@parliament.uk<\/span>
\nrobert.jenrick.mp@parliament.uk<\/span><\/p>\n

CC\u2019ed<\/span>
\nRt Hon Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Secretary for Housing<\/span>
\nRt Hon David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice<\/span><\/p>\n

6th January 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Rt Hon Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State HCLG<\/span>
\nRt Hon Robert Buckland QC, Lord Chancellor<\/span><\/p>\n

On 4 January 2021 a further national lockdown was announced. The public health crisis is worse now than in March 2020 and the new, more virulent strain of Covid-19, has accelerated the crisis alarmingly. It is 50-70% more contagious than it was in March and it is considered that up to 1 in 50 people have it.<\/span><\/p>\n

During relatively less torrid periods of the pandemic, possession claims were stayed to protect parties, advocates and court staff from the inherent dangers in conducting possession lists at court, as well as the unthinkable consequences of tenants and borrowers being made homeless.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no logical or persuasive reason why the measures put in place in March 2020 should not be put in place again pending roll out of the vaccine:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nobody should lose their home during a pandemic where their personal and economic circumstances are entirely beyond their control . These are unprecedented times and peoples\u2019 incomes and financial circumstances are worse than they were in March 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody should lose their home where they are unable to effectively access legal advice and representation and the courts. In April 2020, HLPA submitted written evidence in the Court of Appeal case of Arkin v Marshall to illustrate the difficulties faced by HLPA members and their clients. That evidence, which was not disputed, remains as relevant now as it was then.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody should be forced to travel to court to try to save their home. Individuals must always have the absolute right to act in a way which does not to place their life at risk; and they must not be forced to choose between that right and preserving a roof over their head.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nobody should be out on the streets. People without a home or at risk of losing their home must engage in frequent and repeated contact with others in order to keep themselves and their families safely housed. That is simply not compatible with public health guidance and regulations.<\/span><\/p>\n

HLPA calls for the government to act now:<\/span><\/p>\n

(i)\u00a0 extend the moratorium on eviction beyond 11 January 2020;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(ii)\u00a0 put the \u2018everyone in\u2019 policy on a formal footing so that councils are obliged to accommodate everyone at risk of rough sleeping, including those with no recourse to public funds; and<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

(iii)\u00a0 there must be an immediate stay on possession proceedings.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We welcomed the commitment of the Secretary of State for Housing when he said on 18 March 2020, that \u201cno renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home.\u201d It follows, therefore, that he must also:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0 Abolish s.21 (as promised in the government\u2019s manifesto).<\/span>
\n\u2022\u00a0 Suspend Ground 8 in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 to allow judges to decide in rent arrears cases.<\/span>
\n\u2022\u00a0 Reform the benefits system to ensure that at the very least it acts as an effective welfare safety net.<\/span><\/p>\n

HLPA is also deeply concerned that its members, the ones who have only just survived brutal attacks on legal aid through LASPO, will again be at risk of financial meltdown. Many will not survive. It is imperative to the administration of justice, the rule of law, and the government\u2019s stated aim of a fair deal for renters that our sector is sustained. Housing lawyers need to be supported, not attacked, and they need it urgently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yours sincerely,<\/span><\/p>\n

Marina Sergides<\/span>
\nSimon Mullings<\/span>
\nCo-Chairs of HLPA<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

House of Commons\nLondon\nSW1A 0AA\nrobert.buckland.mp@parliament.uk\nrobert.jenrick.mp@parliament.uk<\/p>\n

CC\u2019ed\nRt Hon Thangam Debbonaire, Shadow Secretary for Housing\nRt Hon David Lammy, Shadow Secretary of State for Justice<\/p>\n

6th January 2021<\/p>\n

Dear Rt Hon Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State HCLG\nRt Hon Robert Buckland QC, Lord Chancellor<\/p>\n

On 4 January 2021 a further national lockdown was announced. The public health crisis is worse now than in March 2020 and the new, more virulent strain of Covid-19, has accelerated the crisis alarmingly. It is 50-70% more contagious than it was in March and it is considered that up to 1 in 50 people have it.<\/p>\n

During relatively less torrid periods of the pandemic, possession [... read more]<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3356"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3361,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3356\/revisions\/3361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/old.hlpa.org.uk\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}