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Hightown named the fastest growing Housing Association in England

Tuesday, 12th July 2022

Hightown (based in Hertfordshire) is the fastest growing Housing Association in England, according to the top 50 biggest builders list by Inside Housing magazine (the social housing sector’s trade publication). In the last financial year (April 2021 – March 2022),... View Article

Passivhaus Bill proposed for Scottish Parliament

Monday, 11th July 2022

A proposed private member’s bill addressing the energy bill and climate crises is being put forward to the Scottish Parliament. The Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill is out for consultation until 27 July 2022. Alex Rowley, MSP for the Mid Scotland and... View Article

Rental sector reform: the end of ‘no-fault’ evictions?

Monday, 4th July 2022

A government white paper has confirmed a radical re-shaping of the rental sector in England, after statistics from the English Housing Survey 2019 to 2020 revealed that 22 percent of tenancies are being ended forcefully. The Renters Reform Bill (the... View Article

Manchester region pledges to scale up new net-zero homes

Monday, 4th July 2022

Greater Manchester has announced ambitious plans to build 30,000 net-zero homes over the next 16 years through a partnership with the government’s housing accelerator Homes England. The homes are part of a broader social, environmental, and economic vision for the area... View Article

LGA responds to building safety measures coming into force

Tuesday, 28th June 2022

Responding to measures in the Building Safety Act coming into force today where many leaseholders will be legally protected from unfair bills to make their homes safe, Cllr Darren Rodwell, Local Government Association housing spokesperson, said: “The LGA has long... View Article

Over half of social housing residents have turned to credit or buy-now-pay-later services for essential expenses, survey reveals

Tuesday, 28th June 2022

Latest Resident Voice Index™ finding also shows that close to seven in 10 worry about being able to afford fundamental living costs Over half (53%) of social housing residents surveyed say they have used credit or a buy-now-pay-later service to cover an essential... View Article

FIREFLY™ APOLLO LITE creating half hour fire barriers in new research building

Friday, 24th June 2022

LISTEN HERE 🔊 A specialist contractor undertaking all of the fireproofing within a new medical research building in Surrey has been making use of two well proven, flexible fire barrier products from the TBA’s FIREFLYTMrange, to provide 30 minutes protection... View Article

Boost for council housing programme

Monday, 20th June 2022

A £1.644m funding boost is set to accelerate three significant developments in Sunderland, providing much-needed homes for vulnerable residents. Sunderland City Council has secured support from Homes England that will enable the development of 43 bungalows and properties for supported... View Article

Zoopla comment on Renters Reforms

Friday, 17th June 2022

Richard Donnell, Executive Director of Research & Insight at Zoopla comments: “With the backdrop of the cost of living crisis putting pressure on renters, these reforms are welcome and timely, particularly as they’re largely focused on boosting the quality of... View Article

Strong criticism of plans to revive RTB for HA tenants

Friday, 17th June 2022

Government plans to introduce the legal right for housing association tenants in England to be able to buy their existing homes at discounted prices have been met with strong objections from across the sector. Since its introduction in 1980 the... View Article

Council brings housing management in-house after wrongful use of HRA money

Friday, 17th June 2022

Nottingham City Council will bring its housing service back in-house after discovering that millions of pounds intended for tenants’ homes and services were spent on other council run activities and services. Council leader David Mellen has written to council tenants... View Article

New quality standard being introduced for all social homes in Wales

Friday, 17th June 2022

The Welsh Government has launched a consultation on updating the social housing quality standard, with a specific aim of delivering on improving energy efficiency and helping to achieve net zero carbon emission targets. Climate Change Minister Julie James said the... View Article

London is leading the decline in Houses of Multiple Occupation

Friday, 17th June 2022

Market analysis from specialist property lending experts, Octane Capital, has revealed that the number of HMOs in England has declined in the past year, adding to the pressures in the private rented sector. The latest data shows that, on an annual... View Article

New Social Housing Regulation Bill aims to tackle poor conditions across the sector

Friday, 17th June 2022

Nearly five years after the Grenfell Tower fire, the Government is promising to deliver a beefed up regulatory framework for social housing which puts tenants’ voices and interests at the heart of it. Ongoing reports of poor housing conditions, disrepair... View Article

No fault evictions to be outlawed at last

Friday, 17th June 2022

The long-term promise to remove Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions from the country’s private rented sector is finally to become a reality after it was included within the Government’s new legislative programme. The procedure allows landlords to evict tenants without giving... View Article

Over 18,000 affordable houses lost in office-to-residential conversions

Friday, 17th June 2022

The representative body of 350 councils in England and Wales is lobbying for permitted development rights to be removed to ensure all conversions and new developments contribute to the delivery of affordable homes across the country. The LGA claims more... View Article

London council self refers itself to regulator over safety breaches

Friday, 17th June 2022

A west London Council has been found to be in breach of the regulator’s Home Standard after referring itself over a failure to provide assurance it was delivering the full range of safety measures to tenants and their homes. During... View Article

Plight of older tenants forced to cut back on spending revealed

Friday, 17th June 2022

Research by the charity Independent Age has highlighted the struggles of older tenants who are reliant on benefits to pay their housing and living costs, with campaigners demanding a rent freeze to prevent an upsurge in evictions. There are 382,000... View Article

Family of seven left to live in a one bedroom flat by Bromley council

Friday, 17th June 2022

Bromley Council in south east London has agreed to pay a family £6,000 after it did not do enough to help them when they were threatened with homelessness, following a Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigation. The family of... View Article

Moving benefit claimants onto Universal Credit restarts amid warnings about impact from charities

Friday, 17th June 2022

Following a pause during the pandemic the Department of Work and Pensions has restarted its programme to move all existing benefits claimants onto Universal Credit. The DWP plans to migrate approximately 2.6 million households (many of them tenants) from legacy... View Article