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West London council slated by Ombudsman over roof leak lasting six years

Friday, 25th February 2022

A series of complaint handling failures by the London Borough of Ealing led to a lengthy and frustrating delay for a resident in getting a leaking roof replaced, causing damp in her flat and impacting on her health. The leaseholder complained in... View Article

Consultation on new tenant satisfaction measures underway

Friday, 25th February 2022

The Regulator of Social Housing is consulting on a new set of tenant satisfaction measures, as proposed in the Government’s Social Housing White Paper, but the closing date for responses is imminent. The Social Housing White Paper was published over a year ago... View Article

£200bn worth of empty homes sitting vacant across Britain

Friday, 25th February 2022

Research by a leading lettings and estate agency has found an estimated £200bn worth of property is sitting vacant across Britain’s housing market – up 2.1 per cent on the previous year alone. Barrows and Forrester analysed Government data on... View Article

Social housing trade bodies give a guarded welcome to Gove’s building safety announcement

Friday, 25th February 2022

Representative bodies from across the housing sector have warmly welcomed the Government’s plans to sort out the cladding crisis, but they have universally asked for more details and highlighted concerns about the funding of other essential fire safety works and... View Article

Tax loophole on second homes to close

Friday, 25th February 2022

Owners of second homes who abuse a tax loophole by claiming their often-empty properties are holiday lets will be forced to pay under tough new measures announced by the Government. The changes will target people who take advantage of the... View Article

Caddick Construction start work on Pontefract Fire Station site

Wednesday, 23rd February 2022

Construction has begun on the site of the former fire station on Stuart Road in Pontefract where WDH will provide 37 high quality apartments to provide much needed affordable housing in the area. The development forms part of Wakefield Council’s... View Article

Peaks & Plains Housing Trust’s Chalk development arm delivers 67 new homes

Tuesday, 15th February 2022

Crossings – the latest residential development in Macclesfield creating 67 new homes in the heart of the town – is preparing for completion with 43% of units reserved to date. Comprising a mix of high-quality one, two- and three-bedroom apartments,... View Article

Orbit secures £1.4m Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1 funding

Wednesday, 9th February 2022

Housing provider, Orbit, has secured £1.4m of fresh funding as part of the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF) Wave 1. The successful bid will see Orbit work with the West Midlands Combined Authority and Stratford-on-Avon District Council to upgrade 136... View Article

Ofgem new price cap comment

Monday, 7th February 2022

Paul Richards, group director of Customer and Communities at Orbit, said: “The current increases in energy prices is having a widespread impact onto people’s day to day lives, especially for those in low income households. A research report we published... View Article

Quality rented homes – LGA on Levelling Up White Paper housing and planning announcements

Thursday, 3rd February 2022

Responding to the commitment in the Levelling Up White Paper to halve the number of poor quality rented homes, Cllr Darren Rodwell, housing spokesperson for the Local Government Association (LGA), said: “Councils want all tenants to be able to live... View Article

Building Research Establishment responds to Levelling Up White Paper

Thursday, 3rd February 2022

Gillian Charlesworth, CEO of BRE, comments: “We welcome the White Paper’s intention to improve people’s wellbeing and standards of living by enhancing the quality of the UK’s housing stock. We are pleased to see recognition of the links between the economy, health,... View Article

EY response to the UK Government’s white paper on levelling-up

Thursday, 3rd February 2022

Rohan Malik, UK Managing Partner for Markets & Accounts at EY, says: “For welcome ambitions around broadband infrastructure, public transport and housing, burning questions remain around how they will be funded and how results will be demonstrated. Clear metrics will... View Article

SearchFlow wins £30m contract from Communities & Housing Investment Consortium

Friday, 28th January 2022

SearchFlow – one of the UK’s largest providers of legal due diligence data for residential and commercial property transactions – is delighted to announce it has been awarded a contract worth £30 million by the Communities & Housing Investment Consortium... View Article

Large swathe of councils still failing to meet housing needs

Tuesday, 25th January 2022

Nearly a third of England’s local authorities failed to meet their housing delivery targets last year, according to government figures. Out of 321 local councils, 93 failed to hit their targets – 29 per cent – a modest improvement on 2020 figures... View Article

Landlords anticipate £10,400 cost per property to meet proposed 2025 EPC standards

Tuesday, 25th January 2022

New research from BDRC BVA, on behalf of Aldermore bank, surveying 800 active landlords, shows the extent of cost that landlords will need to spend to get properties up to the proposed EPC standards. At present, domestic private rental properties must... View Article

Essex-based housing association delivers new affordable apartments

Wednesday, 12th January 2022

Essex-based housing association CHP has delivered a block of 30 shared ownership apartments at the new Chelmer Waterside development in Chelmsford. Looking over the River Chelmer, these waterside properties offer a collection of one, two, three and four bedroom apartments... View Article

Social landlords challenged to ‘up their game’ and take a proactive approach to resolving damp and mould problems within their housing stock

Tuesday, 11th January 2022

The Housing Ombudsman is calling on all housing landlords to take a completely fresh, zero tolerance approach to resolving the twin problems of damp and mould that blight the lives of so many tenants across the country. After undertaking a... View Article

Report highlights the impact of retrofit programmes on social housing customers

Tuesday, 11th January 2022

A new report launched by housing provider, Orbit, details how the decarbonisation retrofit programme will impact Orbit’s customers, both during the retrofit works and post-works, with a particular focus on fuel poverty, thermal comfort, and mental and physical wellbeing. Conducted as part... View Article

Aico’s festive fundraising in support of Save The Children

Friday, 17th December 2021

The Christmas festivities for Aico continued on Friday 10th December with colleagues taking part in the annual Christmas Jumper Day. From glittery and glamourous to gaudy and garish, Aico donned their favourite festive jumper to raise over £335 for Save... View Article

Next generation facade inspection

Tuesday, 14th December 2021

Paul McDevitt, Managing Director of TÜV SÜD Building Advisory Service, a data management and analytics business, which ensures that building owners, managers and occupiers can access the information they need to make fully informed decisions. Authorities across the world are... View Article