Social housing

Social Housing providers (and others in the sector) face an ever-changing list of challenges driven by Government demands, new legislation and the economy.  Currently, these range from targets for more and improved social housing to providing housing management services which meet rising customer expectations.  Our team of lawyers have a true understanding of those challenges and will provide you with practical and clear advice, to overcome them.

Our Social Housing team has acted for a broad range of national and regional RSLs, local authorities, private housebuilders and funders on a wide range of issues affecting the sector.  Some of the team are or have been RSL Board members while others were previously lawyers in public sector organisations.  We are a multi-disciplinary team, used to working together on major projects.  The breadth of our expertise means that we provide you with a fully comprehensive service which covers all the legal needs of RSLs and other bodies within the affordable housing sector including:

• Development
• Stock transfer and rationalisation
• Planning and s.106 Agreements
• Construction
• Projects (PFI, PPP and Key Worker Schemes)
• Housing management litigation
• Regulation
• Homelessness legislation
• Employment
• Plot sales, including Right to Buy/Acquire and Shared Ownership Schemes
• Funding and related drawdown work
• Corporate structures
• Charity law
• Commercial agreements, data protection and freedom of information

We have particular strengths in development (including stock transfer) and its related discipline sectors: construction, planning and projects.  Allied to this, we can call on our well-established plot sales function to support RSL development teams – this is particularly important as the range of home ownership products increases and for those RSLs who employ private sales to cross-subsidise schemes. We have a wealth of experience in housing management issues, particularly in relation to nuisance and anti-social behaviour.  In addition, we have skilled advisers covering your core business needs such as employment law and funding.