Get in on the Act - Housing and Planing Act
The Housing and Planning Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 13 October 2015 by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon Greg Clark MP. It followed an announcement made in the 2015 Queen’s Speech that legislation would be introduced to support home ownership and give housing association tenants the chance to own their own homes.
The legislation completed its passage through Parliament on 11 May 2016 and received Royal Assent on 12 May 2016.
The Housing and Planning Act 2016 (the Act) contains provisions on new homes (including starter homes), landlords and property agents, abandoned premises, social housing (including extending the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, sale of local authority assets, ‘pay-to-stay’, and secure tenancies), planning, compulsory purchase and public land (duty to dispose). The Act is made up on of nine parts that are split into a number of chapters, and also includes 20 schedules. Further information on the measures is included in this guide.
