Legal
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Access and abandonment
Operationally messy and problematic to get right: refusal of access causes corporate anxiety and confusion...
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Anti-social behaviour (ASB) and how to tackle it – a masterclass
ASB is a serious issue for landlords and has been legislated for innumerable times over the past few years. The introduction of the ASB Crime and Policing Act 2014 is a shift change from previous approaches in that it is now clearly victim led.
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Coronavirus and benefits
The outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020, has had an immediate impact on the demand for benefit advice. This workshop gives you the latest information to help you understand the changes in these fast-moving times and keep your tenants in the know about what is available for them.
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Disciplinary and grievance appeals for boards/executives
Many housing organisations manage employee disciplinary and grievance situations well, but when things progress to appeal stage they can often involve senior executives and Board Members who have little involvement with employee relations issues and who may find it hard to scrutinise the decisions made by managers and adopt an impartial and fair stance for all concerned.
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Domestic abuse awareness – looking behind closed doors
Meeting the needs of domestic abuse victims from a social housing provider perspective – updated for the Social Housing White Paper
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Equality and diversity: Safeguarding adults at risk
Safeguarding adults is everyone’s business and the housing industry has a key role to play. Staff must be alert to the signs of abuse and aware of their responsibilities.
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GDPR – two years on
GDPR has now been in force for two years. 25 May 2018 was marked by messages of impending doom and the threat of extortionate fines for organisations if they did not comply. Not to mention millions of emails from organisations that you hadn’t heard from in years asking for consent to process your data.
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Governance in the virtual world – half-day course
Achieving the best in governance and board effectiveness was tough enough before the coronavirus turned the world upside down. Now it’s got that much more difficult.
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Governance: The governance and financial viability standard explained – half-day course
This is a practical workshop providing advice and guidance for everyone who wants to understand the practical requirements of the governance and financial viability standard and gain an overview of regulatory expectations.
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Hate crime – kick it into touch
This course looks at the practical and legal routes for housing practitioners to work with their communities to stamp out hate crime. We will address the key types of hate crime, how to investigate claims and build a successful case for court.
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Homelessness – Tackling homelessness reduction – the impact of the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017
The Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 is due to come into force in April 2018.
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Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and housing disrepair
This virtual training course covers everything you need to know about the new Act. It takes a practical look at what it means to social housing providers highlighting the key changes and their implications.
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Housing case law update
Common law (ie, the right to ‘quiet enjoyment’) pre-dates statute, although latterly housing practitioners have focused on Parliamentary law such as the Localism Act 2011. However, common law is still evolving and higher case law may interpret statute differently. A good example is how the Human Rights Act 1998 has been applied.
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Housing disrepair claims - preventing them
Do you want to increase customer satisfaction and reduce disrepair claims?
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Housing law - a basic survival guide
This event has been developed to provide officers within the social housing sector with an introduction to the law that affects their day-today work.
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Housing law - advanced
Middle and senior managers rarely attend housing law training – apart from short conference workshops. But their knowledge is often dated, maybe based on sector myths, and/or they too quickly ask their chosen retained lawyers. Case law is replete with examples of where this approach is found expensively wanting.
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Housing management law update
Middle and senior managers rarely attend Housing Law training – apart from short conference workshops. But their knowledge is often dated, maybe based on sector myths and/or they too quickly ask their chosen retained lawyers. Case law is replete with examples of where this approach is found expensively wanting.
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Housing management: Solutions for tricky housing management issues
Some housing management issues can be incredibly time consuming to resolve and often get put on the “too difficult” pile. They can be relatively routine, and often minor, but still present challenges.
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Illegal evictions
Illegal eviction has been criminal since the Forcible Entry Act 1381 – yet landlords continue to make errors. Since 1988 it has also been tortuous and expensive to lose. Indeed in 2014 the Supreme Court awarded statutory damages of £90,500 to a council tenant for unlawful eviction.
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Leases and recovery of service charges - an introduction
This course is designed for those who need an understanding of leaseholder service charges as part of their day-to-day work.
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Modern slavery
This course will introduce participants to the subject of modern day slavery, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and the different forms it can take. It will enable staff to develop skills to better identify and work with both adults or children who may have been exploited. It will provide an understanding of the processes for escalating concerns, recording and reporting procedures.
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Money laundering – Anti money laundering half-day
Does your organisation meet the requirements of the UK anti money laundering regime and legislation?
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Possession proceedings in the County Courts
Possession proceedings are a serious matter, undertaken by landlords as a last resort. This course is designed for staff taking possession action and will cover notices for possession, grounds for possession, the court powers on considering possession action, warrants of possession and dealing with applications to suspend a warrant.
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Regulation explained – half-day course
This training is for everyone wanting to understand the requirements of regulation, from new staff to those wishing to refresh their knowledge and/or to progress to executive level.
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Relationship breakdown and housing
The end of a relationship is often a difficult and stressful time. This course aims to clarify how property and family rights overlap, suggest landlord options and how to advise those going through relationship breakdown
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Right to Buy and Right to Acquire
Landlords are required to process Right to Buy applications correctly and within set time limits. There may be penalties to pay if is this isn’t done. This practical course will take you through the process including all the common pitfalls – from initial enquiry to final completion. Get up to speed with the latest best practice.
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S20 consultation - Asset Management and Leaseholders
With reductions in qualification periods, the levels of leasehold accommodation owned and managed by social housing providers is increasing, and will continue to do so.
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S.20 consultation – how to do it correctly so you can recover the costs of repairs and improvements from leaseholders and tenants
The aim of this training is to provide officers with an understanding of how different activities carried out by different parts of the business can impact on an organisation’s ability to fully recover “eligible” costs from both leaseholders and tenants.
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Safeguarding adults at risk
Safeguarding adults is everyone’s business and the housing industry has a key role to play. Staff must be alert to the signs of abuse and aware of their responsibilities.
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Safeguarding children and adults at risk
Safeguarding children and adults at risk is everyone’s business and the housing industry has an important role to play.
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Safeguarding children and child protection
Recent high profile tragic cases have highlighted the need for increased vigilance on child abuse. These are extreme cases. However, much child abuse goes unnoticed and unreported. It’s rarely a one-off incident and can happen in all areas of society.
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Tenancies - fixed term and flexible
Conventionally, social housing landlords granted periodic (or life-time) tenancies – but since 1 April 2012 the Localism Act 2011 has given them almost total discretion in choosing the kind of tenancies they offer. Many are now choosing to offer people fixed-term tenancies and others flexible tenancies for two to five years.
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Tenancies and licences
In English law, there are some 15 different kinds of tenancy, all with different names, all with different rights and responsibilities and, since the Localism Act 2011, there are minimum two-year fixed-term flexible and affordable rent tenancies. Many people only have a licence (personal permission) to occupy. Confusion reigns and mistakes are all too common when creating, managing and terminating these occupation agreements.
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Tenancy enforcement – nuts and bolts
Messy gardens; access issues; internal walls knocked down without permission – sound familiar? Every housing officer’s bread and butter is dealing with breaches of tenancy but they’re not always easy to handle, especially if the tenant has mental health problems. This course will look at the ways to deal effectively with the most common tenancy breaches and will also address issues around mental capacity.
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Tenancy fraud
Tenancy fraud is not new – but in recent times social landlords have had to do significantly more and more to tackle the problem. So what is it, exactly? Does it mean fraud at application? After the granting of the tenancy or lease? At the end of the tenancy or lease? Or all three?
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Tenancy management – the essential guide for housing officers
Are you new to the field of housing and wondering what your job will involve? Have you been a housing officer for a while and would like to know that you are dealing with tenancy management issues effectively? If so, then this is the course for you!
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Unlawful subletting - stamp it out
Unlawful subletting is a stealthy problem which can escalate and cause significant problems for landlords. Those unlawfully subletting their social housing home will do all they can to avoid detection. Can you be sure you are doing all you can to identify and tackle unlawful subletting?
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Witness statement workshop
Success in court proceedings is dependent on a strong witness statement. This will be the first evidence the judge sees in support of your case and the basis on which the other party will cross-examine your witnesses.