Welcome to the Autumn edition of our Social Housing update.

In September, I was delighted that we won the Best Legal Services Firm Award at the National Housing Awards in London. Congratulations to all our hard working team.

Early in October, the Secretary of State announced proposals to remove the Housing Revenue Account borrowing cap to enable councils to build more homes. Early indications suggest this is welcomed by councils. However, because many councils do not have the personnel to undertake house building, we expect to see councils enter JVs and partnerships with housing associations to deliver on their behalf. 

In this week's Budget, the Chancellor announced first time buyers of shared equity homes, up to £500,000, will be exempt from stamp duty, and the exemption will be backdated to all shared equity homes bought since the last Budget in November 2017. This is a welcome initiative.

The Chancellor also announced the Help to Buy scheme has been extended to 2023 and that the upper price cap for a property to be eligible for the scheme will increase. The Government expects to have helped 360,000 home owners by the time the scheme closes.

In this month's newsletter, we look at:

• Proposed reforms to the leasehold market which affect all clients engaged in the disposals of new houses and flats;
• The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill which affects all landlords; and
• Whether tenants need to staircase their shared ownership leases to 100% before qualifying for a claim in collective enfranchisement/lease extension/the right to manage.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me or a member of my team.

In February 2017, the Government announced in the White Paper 'Fixing our broken market' that it intended to improve consumer choice and fairness in the leasehold market, and it planned to tackle unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold transactions.

The Secretary of State has said that for many, the reality of living in a leasehold home has not lived up to the dream, and many people find themselves trapped by the small print in leases.

The Government has announced its proposals on how it will address these issues.

Karen Buck MP private member's bill - Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill - continues to make progress through Parliament. If the bill comes into effect, it will greatly improve the quality of life for many people in England. Organisations such as Shelter, The Residential Association of Landlords and the National Association of Landlords all support the bill and in January 2018 the Government confirmed it would also back the bill.

Do I need top staircase my shared ownership lease to 100% before I qualify for a claim in collective enfranchisement/ lease extension/ the right to manage?