The Housing Associations’ Legal Alliance includes Advance, BME London, Bromford Housing, CDS Co-operatives, Christian Action Housing, Cross Keys Homes, Eastend Homes, Greatwell Homes, Habinteg, Hastoe Group, Hexagon Housing, HFL Homes, Hightown Housing, Housing for Women, Housing Solutions, ISHA, Lewisham Homes, Local Space, MHS Homes, Newlon Housing Trust, Octavia Housing, One Housing, Optivo, Origin Housing, Phoenix Community Homes, Raven Housing Trust, Saxon Weald, Settle Group, Shepherds Bush Housing Group, Soho Housing, Swan Housing Association, Wandle Housing Association, Women’s Pioneer Housing, YMCA St Paul’s Group, YMCA Thames Gateway. Between them, there is a spend of approximately £6.2M per annum on external Solicitors’ Services. The Members have come together in a shared procurement exercise and wish to appoint a panel of Solicitors upon whose advisory services the individual members can call.
The organisations appointed shall provide legal advisory services including but not limited to:
•Banking and finance including the raising of bank funding, capital markets issuance, and hedging arrangements
•Charging and security work
•Development draw down funding (including contracts with the HCA / GLA)
•Corporate governance
•New business opportunities
•Acquisitions and disposals
•Joint ventures and subsidiaries
•Amalgamations and restructuring
•Stock transfers
•Employment advice (including TUPE)
•Employment litigation, including Employment Tribunals
•Taxation advice
•Pensions
•Charity law
•Industrial and provident society law
•Constitutional reviews
•Board member powers and responsibilities
•Corporate Policies and Procedures
•Commercial contracts (including Supporting People contracts)
•Debt recovery
•Procurement law
•Commercial disputes
•Grant applications e.g. Big Lottery funding
•IT and information law including system maintenance & support agreements, defamation and the internet, and intellectual property
•Data protection and freedom of information
•Code of Governance
•Regulations
•Company Law
•Miscellaneous advice such as occasional advice on such matters as Financial inclusion/general advice to tenants, consumer credit licence issues, health & safety, defamation, fraud, insolvency judicial reviews and public law issues including Human Rights Act.
The organisations appointed shall provide legal advisory services including but not limited to:
Legal Advisory Services
•Housing litigation such as:
•Disrepair claims
•Anti-social behaviour proceedings (including injunctions, committal)
•Rent arrears possession proceedings
•Non-rent arrears possession proceedings
•Possession proceedings (all types)
•Assured shorthold accelerated possession claims
•Trespassers
•Possession succession
•Evictions
•Gas servicing and other access injunctions
•Supported housing disputes
•Terminating licence agreements and obtaining possession
•Service charge disputes
•Tenancy Fraud
•Mediation
•First Tier Tribunal advice and advocacy
•Leaseholder disputes
•Deceased leaseholders where executors not meeting their obligations or where no monies in estate
•Unlawful assignments
•Enforcement / forfeiture
•Leasehold and shared ownership sub-letting
•Managing Agent issues including those arising from Tri-Partite agreements i.e. RP, Leaseholder and Managing Agent
General housing advice such as:
•Tenancy agreement advice
•Anti-social behaviour advice
•Housing benefit advice
•Service charge advice
•Estate management board advice
•Managing agents contracts and service level agreements
•Supported and sheltered housing advice
•Advice on complaints
•Dilapidations
•Dealing with lack of mental capacity
•Judicial Review
•Welfare reform updates
•Data protection
•Energy supply agreements with residents
Housing management policy advice such as:
•Drafting and advising on new forms of tenancy & licence agreement
•Rent setting advice
•Policy drafting, approval and annual health checks
•Advice on procedures - this may include drafting all or part of a procedure
The organisations appointed shall provide legal advisory services including but not limited to:
Development
•Public private partnerships
•Site Assembly
•Options to purchase
•Acquisitions/disposals of land/buildings including new build plot sales
•Acquisitions/disposals of tenanted stock
•Stock swaps
•Statutory Agreements e.g. s.38, 278, 104
•Planning Agreements e.g. s.106 and s.111
•Development Agreements
•Development Funding (including HCA Help to Buy agreements)
•Management Agreements
•Establishing development-related management companies including joint ventures
•Construction Agreements (including collateral warranties)
•Bonds
•Parent Company Guarantees
•Contentious Construction
•Novation agreements
•Wayleaves and other utility agreements
•Building licences
•Grant agreements
•Health and safety
•Overage
•Planning advice
•Property taxation advice
•Procurement advice
•Development disputes (including litigation)
•Environmental issues
•ESCo/MUSCo leases and concession agreements.
•Energy supply agreements with residents
•Consultant appointment letters
•Contract amendments
•Frameworks for consultants and contractors
•Fire safety, asbestos water and other H&S law
•Advice in relation to sustainability, regulations and compliance
•Compulsory Purchase Orders
•Advice in relation to fire remediation and boundary disputes
Shared Ownership
•Setting up shared ownership schemes including drafting lease incorporating requirements of planning agreements
•Staircasing (not final and final)
•Resale/Assignment to new owner
•Easements
•Lifting of restrictive covenants
•Surrenders
•Repossessions
•New Build Plot sales
•Managing Agent issues including those arising from Tripartite Agreements i.e. RP, Leaseholder and Managing Agent.
•Lease management e.g. licences to assign, licences for alterations, deeds of variations, lease extensions
The organisations appointed shall provide legal advisory services including but not limited to:
Commercial Property
•Property rationalisation including purchases, disposals, stock swaps, TUPE (employment issues)
•Purchases/disposals of real estate (general)
•Auction acquisitions and disposals
•Easements
•Title investigations
•Agreements for lease/licences
•Granting and taking leases
•Management Agreements
•Lease management e.g. licences to assign, licences for alterations, deeds of variation, lease extensions, rent review memoranda etc.
•Advice relating to existing leases and management agreements
•Commercial Lease renewals and surrenders
•Tenanted sales initiatives
•Tenanted transfers including overage agreements
•Dilapidations
•Adverse possession including traveller issues
•Establishing property joint ventures
•Plot sales (commercial)
•Consent issues relating to restrictions on title, including lifting of restrictive covenants
•Ground rent issues
•Property litigation
•Construction contracts (including professional services contracts)
•Serving section 25 and s26 notices and responding to the same when served
•Re-possession of premises
•Novation agreements
•Wayleaves and other utility agreements
•Overage
•Property taxation advice
•Boundary dispute advice
Residential Property
•Purchases and sales of individual residential units (freehold/ leasehold)
•New build plot sales (freehold/ leasehold)
•Easements
•Lifting of restrictive covenants
•Auctions
•Sales under Right To Buy, Right To Acquire /Social HomeBuy
•Independent Supported Living purchases
•Service charge issues (including sinking fund disputes)
•Leasehold Valuation Tribunal advice and advocacy
•Leasehold enfranchisement
•Absent landlords (overseas etc.)
•Boundary dispute advice
Shared Ownership
•Setting up shared ownership schemes including drafting lease incorporating requirements of planning agreements
•Staircasing (not final and final)
•Resale/Assignment to new owner
•Easements
•Lifting of restrictive covenants
•Surrenders
•Repossessions
•New Build Plot sales
•Managing Agent issues including those arising from Tripartite Agreements i.e. RP, Leaseholder and Managing Agent.
•Lease management e.g. licences to assign, licences for alterations, deeds of variations, lease extensions