Part 5: Housing, Estate Agents and Rentcharges: Other Changes Accommodation needs in England Section 124: Assessment of accommodation needs
Section 124 makes amendments to section 8 of the Housing Act 1985 and revokes section 225 and 226 of the Housing Act 2004 (and the secondary legislation and guidance made under them).
	Section 8 of the Housing Act 1985 requires every local housing authority to consider housing conditions in their district and the needs of the district with respect to the provision of further housing accommodation.
	Section 225 of the Housing Act 2004 requires that every local housing authority must, when carrying out a review under section 8 of the Housing Act 1985, carry out an assessment of the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers who reside in or who resort to their area. Gypsies and Travellers are defined by the Housing (Assessment of Accommodation Needs) (Meaning of Gypsies and Travellers) Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/3190).
	Section 226 of the Housing Act 2004 enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance on the carrying out of needs assessments for Gypsies and Travellers and the preparation of strategies to meet those needs and sets out the process by which guidance must be laid before Parliament. The Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment Guidance dated October 2007 was issued under section 226 of the Housing Act 2004.
	The amendments remove separate definitions in housing legislation and instead provide that when authorities are carrying out a review of housing needs they consider the needs of all the people residing in or resorting to their district.
	Subsection (1) adds two subsections to section 8. The first provides that the duty under section 8 includes considering the needs of people residing in or resorting to their district for caravan sites and places where houseboats can be moored. The second defines "caravan" and "houseboat".