Forget the year of the rooster; for those affected by property law, 2005 is the year of greater efficiency.
Take the Housing Act 2004. Section 220 inserts a new provision into the Housing Act 1996 that will enable the Housing Corporation to award social housing grants to parties other than registered social landlords. The Corporation will first exercise its new powers next month, when it launches a £200m pilot investment programme aimed at attracting new revenue to meet social and affordable housing priorities. Both registered and non-registered bodies will be eligible to bid, in a move that will increase competition and efficiency.
Likewise, the Planning & Compulsory Purchase Act received royal assent last May, and promised a revolution in speed and efficiency. Almost a year on and many of the enabling regulations are still awaited.
Even when it does take full effect, will it go far enough? Publication of the Law Commission’s Final report on procedure, with its 26 recommendations for reform of compulsory purchase law, suggests there will be more legislation in this area for 2005.
A new prescribed format for registrable leases is also a 2005 possibility. If entering certain information at the front of a lease does become obligatory, Land Registry will not only meet its aim of speeding up registration, but also make it easier for surveyors to interpret and compare key lease terms.
With the e-conveyancing pilot due in 2006, we’ll be hearing a lot more from Land Registry in the next 12 months. Other government departments will also be working hard this year to substantiate proposals, not least the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, which must decide whether to legislate on upwards-only rent reviews.
So, after the frenetic pace of the past few years, the legal outlook for 2005 is one of consolidation and consultation as we work toward ever-greater efficiency.
