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Study from Zeroignition finds architects’ fire protection knowledge lacking

Thursday, 16th May 2019

Zeroignition, the fire retardant technology firm, today announced findings from its latest study of architects and specifiers. Architects were asked about their understanding of four common terms relating to buildings and fire. Only 8% were able to correctly define these... View Article

Further landlords likely to leave market, and asking prices for sales get more realistic

Wednesday, 15th May 2019

The April 2019 RICS UK Residential Survey results see little change from recent months, however, new instructions have seen a further drop with the poorest reading going back to June 2016. The lack of new houses coming on to the... View Article

Rents on the rise with one month to go until Tenant Fees Act introduction

Wednesday, 15th May 2019

HOMELET’s Rental Index figures for April 2019 have been released. The headlines from this month’s report are: The average rent in the UK is now £936, up by 2.0% on the same time last year When London is excluded, the average rent in... View Article

Enough is enough say private landlords, but the environment demands more

Monday, 13th May 2019

Patrick Mooney looks at the pressures building on the private landlord sector and asks for more carrots After the latest in a series of Government announcements affecting private sector tenancies, landlords are expressing both their frustration and a growing willingness... View Article

Response to Government announcement of a £200m fund to replace unsafe Grenfell Tower-style cladding on private high-rise residential buildings

Monday, 13th May 2019

Lesley McLeod, CEO, The Association for Project Safety commented on the Government’s announcement of a £200m fund to replace unsafe Grenfell Tower-style cladding on private high-rise residential buildings: “Safety needs to be built in so, while the government’s commitment to... View Article

Study from Zeroignition finds building projects still not taking a system-led approach to fire protection

Thursday, 9th May 2019

Zeroignition, the fire retardant technology firm, today announced findings from its latest study of architects and specifiers. These professionals were asked about construction projects they have worked on in the past years, and the fire-protection. While almost one in two... View Article

Onward Homes wins Neighbourhood Transformation Award at UK Housing Awards

Tuesday, 7th May 2019

Social housing provider Onward Homes has been honoured for its part in regenerating the Hattersley and Mottram Estate. The social landlord received the Neighbourhood Transformation Award at the UK Housing Awards in recognition of its ongoing strategy to make the... View Article

CIEH calls for better regulation for letting agents

Tuesday, 7th May 2019

Responding to the new investigation by Which? into unfair practices from Letting Agents, the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has called for better regulation for letting agents. The Which? Investigation found that some lettings agents are using unfair practices... View Article

Kirona acquired by advanced, a market-leading business software provider

Tuesday, 7th May 2019

Kirona has announced that it has been acquired by Advanced, the market-leading business software provider which specialises in delivering enterprise and market-focused solutions that allow customers to reimagine what is possible, innovate in their sectors and improve the lives of millions of... View Article

ideal flatmate’s Room Rental Index – Leeds is leading room rental growth, but London remains the most unaffordable

Wednesday, 1st May 2019

Leading flat sharing platform, ideal flatmate, has released its Room Rental Index for Q1 looking at the cost of renting a room across the UK’s major cities. ideal flatmate analysed the cost of thousands of spare rooms listed on its platform looking at the... View Article

Two Welsh HAs get extra scrutiny

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

The Welsh Government has increased its scrutiny of two social landlords amid concerns over their governance and financial viability. One of the housing associations is in the process of merging with another landlord, but the extra regulation is not expected... View Article

‘Rogue’ private landlords must stop exploiting students

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

A Government minister has warned landlords who fail to meet standards for student accommodation that they will face justice under new regulations designed to protect all private rental tenants. Universities Minister Chris Skidmore hit out at private landlords who do... View Article

Right to Buy homes re-sold since 2000 made owners £6.4bn

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

In one of the widest ranging investigations into the Right to Buy policy, the BBC has found former council tenants who bought and then re-sold their homes have made a collective profit of £6.4 billion since 2000. BBC’s Shared Data... View Article

Government confirms five-year rent settlement for social housing sector

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

The Government has confirmed that social housing rents charged by councils and housing associations can rise by inflation plus one per cent for five years from 2020. The announcement follows a formal consultation on the new rent standard. It also... View Article

Chancellor offers £3bn boost for new affordable homes

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

The Government is making £3bn available to housing associations to fund the building of an extra 30,000 affordable homes, as it struggles to meet its target of 300,000 new homes a year. The Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond used... View Article

Regulator to undertake more in depth assessments of HAs

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

In a shake up to how it assesses and oversees the work of housing associations, the Regulator of Social Housing is to carry out more frequent in depth assessments for larger and more complex HAs. Updating its Regulating the Standards... View Article

Harrogate to pilot changes to Universal Credit

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

Amber Rudd has revealed the Yorkshire town of Harrogate will be the first area where existing welfare benefit claimants will be transferred onto Universal Credit, after telling Parliament she is committed to making the system fairer. This will involve piloting... View Article

Fixed-term tenancies have had their day

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

A growing number of housing associations are scrapping their use of fixed term tenancies in a rejection of the policy, first brought in by the Coalition Government as David Cameron sought to change the role and purpose of social housing.... View Article

L&Q set to build 20,000 new homes in the North West

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

Giant social landlord L&Q has announced ambitious plans to invest £4bn to create 20,000 new homes and neighbourhoods in the North West of England through the takeover of Manchester based Trafford Housing Trust. L&Q sees THT as a gateway to... View Article

Councils in the capital pay landlords £14m in ‘incentives’ to house homeless people

Tuesday, 30th April 2019

London councils paid private landlords more than £14m last year in “incentives” to persuade them to house homeless people, in addition to rents and other fees. The payouts were branded as “ludicrous” by housing campaigners and “intolerable” by councils. The... View Article