Legislation Update

After successfully completing its passage through the House of Commons, the Housing Bill was introduced into the House of Lords on 13 May and had its second reading on 7 June. The Bill is currently subject to detailed scrutiny of the Committee of the House of Lords. Subject to the Bill's passage through Parliament, it is expected to achieve Royal Assent by the end of 2004.
The Tenements (Scotland) Act became law, updating existing legislation to ensure that work can be carried out if the majority of property owners in a shared tenement are in agreement to it. The position prior to the Act was that the decision to carry out maintenance work must be unanimous, which meant that one objector could prevent works going ahead. The new legislation is due to come into effect in November 2004.

Reporting on July-Sept. 2004