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Will digital technology in planning be one of the legacies of COVID-19?

Tuesday, 21st April 2020

Planners in both the public and private sectors will find their work is massively disrupted over the next few months and the impact has been acknowledged in a letter from the Chief Planner to all English Local authorities. Delving into the impact... View Article

Urgent government stimulus required to reignite housing market

Tuesday, 21st April 2020

526,000 fewer home sales in 2020 350,000 fewer mortgage approvals £7.9bn in lost DIY and renovation spend £395 million lost spend for removals companies £4.4bn lost in stamp duty accompanied by a loss of at least £1.6bn in VAT According... View Article

Lifeline for ChildLine

Tuesday, 14th April 2020

Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor, has stepped into help leading children’s charity, ChildLine, with extra funds to help it through the Covid-19 pandemic. The charity, which supports some 800 young people each day, needed an urgent cash injection... View Article

Wheelchair accessible bathrooms – if not now…. when?

Friday, 27th March 2020

Stuart Reynolds, Head of Product and Marketing at AKW, explains how both private and social landlords can create well-designed wheelchair accessible bathrooms, cost-effectively. A sizeable survey on wheelchair users and their housing needs revealed the chronic lack of wheelchair accessible... View Article

National Housing Maintenance Forum shares briefing on best practice guidelines for social housing asset managers during Covid-19 outbreak

Thursday, 26th March 2020

The NHMF has published an online Q&A briefing designed to help asset managers, landlords and their contractors or in-house repairs teams navigate their way through repairs and maintenance programmes during the Government’s Covid-19 restrictions. The briefing will be updated in... View Article

With mass quarantine in sight, renters put off moving

Monday, 23rd March 2020

Flatsharing site SpareRoom reveals a significant drop in people looking to move due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Across the UK there has been a 20 per cent drop in people looking for rooms over the last week. Despite London being... View Article

Greater protection for tenants and landlords affected by Coronavirus in Wales

Monday, 23rd March 2020

Emergency legislation to protect renters and landlords affected by COVID-19 will apply to Wales, Minister for Housing and Local Government, Julie James has confirmed. The Welsh Government has agreed that measure being developed by the UK Government, to suspend evictions... View Article

Waterproof wall panels yield benefits

Monday, 23rd March 2020

From speedy installation times to improved long-term performance, opting for waterproof wall panels offers a true alternative to tiles for kitchen and bathroom projects. Here, Scott Beattie, Managing Director at Fibo, explains more on the benefits and why these products... View Article

Scottish landlords pledge to help tenants during Covid-19 outbreak

Thursday, 19th March 2020

Scotland’s largest and only dedicated national landlord organisation today issued a five-point plan for its members to ensure they can help tenants affected by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), today urged landlords to follow 5... View Article

Fitness for Human Habitation Act E Book released

Thursday, 19th March 2020

On Friday, the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act will come into force on all rented properties in England. According to data published by the government, there were 480,000 social housing properties that didn’t meet the Decent Homes Standard in... View Article

Social housing waiting lists grow for over half of rural councils, according to CPRE, the countryside charity

Thursday, 12th March 2020

Waiting lists for social housing in rural communities are on the rise which has led countryside campaigners to call for the Chancellor to announce a significant uplift in investment in homes that people can afford to live in. According to... View Article

2020 Budget promises new money for housebuilding

Wednesday, 11th March 2020

New Chancellor Rishi Sunak has delivered his first Budget in the House of Commons, including an extension of the Affordable Homes Programme (AHP) and a £1bn fund to remove “unsafe cladding.” £12bn will be released with the new AHP settlement,... View Article

Major Japanese finance deal shows Midland Heart means business

Monday, 9th March 2020

Midland Heart has established a reputation as an organisation to do business with globally, securing a £60m finance deal with a major Japanese bank. The loan from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) follows news that Midland Heart had retained their... View Article

Home burner focus: why tenant installations need to be taken to task

Monday, 9th March 2020

With the popularity of solid fuel burners showing no signs of slowing, tenants looking to install a touch of cosiness into their homes are often tempted to cut corners and install the appliances themselves. AGSM’s John Gregory, which is part... View Article

Half a million people in danger from unsafe buildings as resident groups and industry call for Government action on cladding

Wednesday, 4th March 2020

New industry research suggests half a million people could be living in unsafe buildings With government support limited to one specific type of cladding, these residents could be left with excessive bills to make their homes safe Resident groups form... View Article

Reversing the steady decline in the private rental market

Monday, 2nd March 2020

Patrick Mooney looks at warning signs coming from the private rented sector Of course this could just be a piece of pre-Budget hyperbole, but leading representatives of private landlords are warning the Chancellor that Government policies are driving their members... View Article

Trade body launches workshop to ensure housing associations meet new legal requirements

Friday, 28th February 2020

A national trade body has launched a training programme to meet the growing demand from housing associations across the UK looking to adhere to new legal changes. Following the introduction of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, the... View Article

LGA responds to latest rough sleeping figures

Thursday, 27th February 2020

Responding to the annual single night snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough in England, Cllr David Renard, the Local Government Association’s housing spokesman, said: “Any fall in the number of rough sleepers is good news, but while progress... View Article

How technology is driving change in access control and door entry management

Wednesday, 26th February 2020

Technology developments have brought big changes to access control and door entry provision, enabling local authorities and housing associations to manage door entry & access control in a better and more secure way that’s also more convenient for residents. James... View Article

Councils receive extra £4m to crack down on rogue landlords

Monday, 24th February 2020

More than 100 councils across England have been awarded a share of over £4 million to crack down on criminal landlords and letting agents. The new funding will be used by councils to take enforcement action against rogue landlords and... View Article