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The purpose of this paper is to use the notion of “casualisation” in an employment context to reflect on similar developments in England and Wales since 1996 which have combined to undermine security of tenure in the private and social rented sectors and exposed the vulnerability of owner occupiers who default on mortgage repayments.

The paper draws on observations made by commentators in housing and social policy as well as official papers, statutes and cases.

The problems posed for the long‐term security of residential occupiers are highlighted and are shown to result from a combination of factors including the deregulation of the private rented sector, the dependency of housing association on their rental streams, governmental preoccupation with anti‐social behaviour in social housing and the principle that mortgage lenders have the right to possession of the mortgaged property.

The notion of casualisation is used as an analytical tool to assess changes in law and policy, and to suggest possibilities for reform.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the appropriateness of mediation as a homelessness prevention tool for statutorily homeless people who are in need of emergency housing assistance from local authorities in England. It is argued that although mediation is potentially an effective method for facilitating communication as a homelessness prevention tool, caution needs to be exercised in its use in attempting to prevent immediate homelessness.

In‐depth interviews were carried out with five housing law practitioners and six mediators. The paper also draws on observations made by commentators on homelessness legislation as well as ADR. Government papers, including guidance and policy papers and statutes, have been examined.

Mediation could potentially offer effective assistance to homeless people, although it is questionable whether immediate homelessness could genuinely be prevented. In addition, in order to prevent potentially unlawful decisions being made, local authority officers need to take into account their reactive duties under Part VII of the Housing Act 1996 as amended by the Homelessness Act 2002.

Findings from the research address homelessness mediation, an area that requires discussion. More research is needed on the benefits of mediation to homeless people.

The paper contributes to discussions between a range of academics and practitioners interested in the potential benefits of mediation in the context of homelessness work.

This briefing paper was commissioned by Help the Aged to inform a meeting held earlier this year. The recommendations from that meeting are summarised at the end of the briefing. The paper draws on the following sources: a short survey of national advice, housing and older people's organisations carried out in April 2002, a brief review of previous research reports on older people and housing advice, and a summary of current government and other initiatives relevant to older people and housing advice.

This article evaluates the role that social housing tenure plays in crime reduction through the work of Churchwood's Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP). It provides evidence of offender and victim populations concentrated in social housing neighbourhoods (estates), and argues for social housing providers to take a more active role within community safety in this borough. Anti‐social behaviour, it is argued, has primacy over crime in the arena of social housing.

The purpose of this paper is to offer a practitioner’s perspective to the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. Many of the new sections are now in force and three in particular have been of interest to me in the last 12-18 months.

The paper is written on the basis of the author’s own knowledge, experience and cases that the author has dealt with under the new legislation. Where cases have been published the author has included the relevant links to press coverage.

The financial limitations upon registered provides of social housing (RPs) will affect the way in which they conduct litigation and so might mean that RPs are less likely to want to take risks in court. The new grounds have not faced meaningful challenge yet, and so their use might be limited until case law is developed and settled to provide more certainty in this area.

The perspective is the author’s own and has been written solely by the author for this specific purpose. It is hoped that this will offer insight into the development of anti-social behaviour/housing law and how practitioners view the changes now that they are in force.

This paper aims to investigate the views of landlords and agents on the voluntary scheme, along with their opinions of the Welsh Government’s proposals to make accreditation compulsory for landlords and agents renting or letting in Wales. This paper is based on a conference paper given in India at the RICS COBRA 2013 Conference. Landlord Accreditation Wales (LAW) is a voluntary accreditation scheme for landlords and agents operating within the private rented sector (PRS) in Wales. When it launched in 1999, it was a pioneering accreditation scheme offering voluntary rather than legal regulation of the Welsh PRS.

A questionnaire, designed and developed in partnership with LAW, was sent out nationwide. All the landlords and agents on file were sent the questionnaire by LAW. This was followed up by reminder e-mails, along with the promotion of this national project at locally run landlord and agent events. The research provides a snapshot and coverage of the views of landlords and agents connected to LAW only.

The PRS in Wales, as with the rest of Britain, still suffers from negative imagery because of the behavior of a minority of agents and landlords that operate poor housing management practices and standards. While on the whole popular amongst landlords and agents, voluntary regulation is unlikely to tackle these issues effectually. Accordingly, the Welsh Government intends to make registration and accreditation within the PRS compulsory. The results of this empirical study show that the LAW scheme has positive effects on the standards and practices of a number of landlords and agents. The proposal to have mandatory registration and accreditation in Wales has not been met with overwhelming support from landlords and agents. Instead, there are significant pockets of uncertainty about, and resistance to, the introduction of legal regulation within the PRS.

The research contributes to the existing literature surrounding the regulation of the PRS by providing a distinctive insight into the views of landlords and agents on voluntary accreditation within the PRS in Wales as well as examining their opinions on the proposal to impose mandatory accreditation throughout the Sector.

Lipsky’s street level bureaucrat conceptual framework is employed to assist in understanding the ways in which statutory frontline homelessness practitioners are engaging with the current welfare reform agenda. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Draws the street level bureaucrat framework. A national baseline survey of homelessness practitioners was followed by targeted qualitative interviews involving 12 local authorities in England.

Homelessness practitioners are facing a twofold crisis due to an increase in service users and corresponding decrease in feasible housing options or resources to tackle this. It was reported that effective service provision for all who required it was becoming increasingly difficult, which in turn fostered an environment in which unlawful gatekeeping practices could thrive. Further, it was found that a service user’s position may be additionally weakened due to the new powers conferred in the Localism Act.

Qualitative data were limited to North East Authorities due to limited research resources.

The current austere climate is negatively impacting upon the delivery of statutory homelessness provision. Differing implementation of the Localism Act will lead to inequitable service outcomes.

Application of the street level bureaucrat implementation framework to English homelessness services, a national survey of English frontline service delivery in an austere climate.