Property Guardians

(asked on 8th July 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what protections they have put in place for property guardians who do not have a tenancy agreement.


Answered by
Lord Greenhalgh Portrait
Lord Greenhalgh
This question was answered on 22nd July 2020

Property guardians are typically offered licences to occupy rather than tenancies. Anyone entering into such an arrangement should be aware that their rights may be more limited than on a standard tenancy agreement. We have published a property guardian factsheet to enable potential or current property guardians to understand their rights.

If a property guardian is concerned about the condition of their property, they should contact their local authority, which has a duty to take action if serious hazards are present.

A local authority can inspect a property even when they haven’t been contacted by tenants, if they think that there may be serious risks to the health and safety of those living in a guardian property - whether or not it is let on an tenancy or a licence. The Housing Act 2004 gives local authorities powers of entry in these cases.

The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) applies across all tenures; it can be used to assess hazards in all residential premises including those let to property guardians and applies to all parts of a building that are occupied as a dwelling. If a local authority identifies a serious ‘category 1’ hazard, they have a duty to take action.

In regards to protections during COVID 19, all tenants and licensees who benefit from protection from eviction anyway under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 will be protected from possession proceedings by the suspension of ongoing proceedings until 23 August 2020. If property guardians do not know whether they have a licence or a tenancy they should seek independent advice.

The Government has put in place an unprecedented support package to help prevent people getting into financial hardship or rent arrears and property guardian licence agreements are a valid proof of housing costs for entitlement to the housing element of Universal Credit.

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