Thursday, 09 February 2012

Inside Housing
12/02/2010

View all stories from this issue.

  • £2.5bn investment call for Wales

    12/02/2010

    The Welsh housing sector may need £2.5 billion of capital investment for mixed use social housing and stock transfers over the next five years, according to the first ever review of housing in the country.

  • £200m Nottingham PFI opens for bids

    12/02/2010

    Nottingham City Council has become the first local authority to unveil its plans in the latest round of the £1.7 billion social housing private finance initiative.

  • A second bite at the cherry

    12/02/2010

    Social landlords are used to appeals but how do you know when a judgement is worth challenging?

  • A stitch in time

    12/02/2010

    ‘You know you’re getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you’re down there,’ quipped the American comedian George Burns.

  • Affordability has fallen for 10 years

    15/02/2010

    Homeownership has become steadily less affordable over the past decade, while renting remains stable, according to a study by the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit.

  • ALMO petition secures 500 backers

    17/02/2010

    A petition to reverse the government’s raid on funding for arm’s-length management organisations has reached its target number of signatures.

  • ALMO to help 10 families

    12/02/2010

    An arm’s-length management organisation has become the first in the country to offer the government’s mortgage rescue scheme.

  • An ill wind

    16/02/2010

    Could rising inflation be the headwind that triggers a double dip recession? Justin Sumner hopes not

  • Back on track

    12/02/2010

    Railway Housing Association began life 91 years ago with the specific aim of housing the north east’s railway workers. Amy Taylor finds out how it is expanding long after the demise the industry that spawned it

  • Capital solution

    12/02/2010

    Devolving of powers and budgets to London councils would improve services and save money

  • Cash carrot for green heat

    12/02/2010

    Social landlords will be subsidised if they install renewable heating in their homes instead of upgrading traditional systems.

  • CIH launches financial inclusion network

    17/02/2010

    The Chartered Institute of Housing has launched a financial inclusion network to help housing professionals prevent their tenants falling into debt.

  • Council to buy out Lakanal leaseholders

    16/02/2010

    Southwark council has authorised the buy back of leaseholder homes in its tower block where six people died in a fire last year.

  • Do your bit

    12/02/2010

    As the election looms, it’s down to us to persuade politicians and voters that housing affects all aspects of society, argues Bill Randall

  • Dog attack tenant goes on the run

    17/02/2010

    A housing association tenant whose dog attacked a housing officer has gone on the run after being sentenced to 14 days in prison.

  • Energy company tests zero carbon homes

    18/02/2010

    Utility company Scottish and Southern Energy is to build its own development of zero carbon homes to assess what they are like to live in.

  • Family homes need our protection

    12/02/2010

    We welcome the announcement from the housing minister John Healey to increase local powers to protect communities and improve standards in the private rented housing sector.

  • First sites chosen for public land scheme

    17/02/2010

    The first sites have been identified for a scheme that will see public land handed over to developers to cut the cost of house building.

  • Forget me not

    12/02/2010

    The number of people with dementia is set to rise 150 per cent in the next 40 years and social landlords will have a crucial role to play in their care. Lydia Stockdale finds out about a scheme in Manchester which has caring for dementia sufferers very much in mind

  • General election hits construction work

    15/02/2010

    The impending general election is stalling new construction projects, according to a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

  • GHA postpones rent restructure

    17/02/2010

    Glasgow Housing Association is to review a proposed rent restructure after residents complained they would struggle with increased costs.

  • Government backs down over CIL

    12/02/2010

    Housing associations will save millions of pounds after the government announced they would not have to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy.

  • Government chews over HRA sweetener

    12/02/2010

    Councils could get a much bigger pay-out for major repair work as part of a deal to free them from the current housing finance system.

  • Government records 2.9% house price rise

    16/02/2010

    House prices rose 2.9 per cent during 2009, according to the Communities and Local Government department’s index.

  • HCA launches fund for traveller sites

    12/02/2010

    The government’s housing agency has launched a £32m fund for gypsy and traveller sites

  • Healey defends repossession views

    16/02/2010

    John Healey has defended his view that repossession can be the ‘best thing’ for some struggling families, and hit out at his critics.

  • Healey slammed for repossession views

    15/02/2010

    Opposition politicians have accused John Healey of losing touch with reality, after he suggested repossession could be the ‘best thing’ for struggling families.

  • Howard Farrand's tie is irrelevant

    12/02/2010

    I understand that Inside Housing has received some criticism that Howard Farrand, president of the Chartered Institute of Housing, was ‘disrespectful’ to the students who interviewed him recently because he was not wearing a tie. (Inside Housing, 29 January). Get a grip!

  • Lack of property boosts asking prices

    15/02/2010

    Asking prices leapt 3.2 per cent in the last month due to the small number of houses coming on to the market, according to a property website.

  • Mental health scheme hailed

    12/02/2010

    Tenants with mental illnesses used a £27,000 support budget to pay for art lessons, visits to grandchildren and tennis equipment as part of a radical plan to improve their mental health.

  • Minister moots funding overhaul

    12/02/2010

    The amount of local housing allowance paid to private tenants could become dependant solely on the council area in which they live, the housing benefit minister has indicated.

  • Mortgage rescue scheme helps 276 households

    11/02/2010

    Two hundred and seventy six households accepted an offer through the government’s £285 million mortgage rescue scheme last year.

  • MPs to investigate repossessions

    17/02/2010

    The Treasury Select Committee has launched a second inquiry into homeowners struggling with arrears and facing repossession.

  • New human rights guidance

    12/02/2010

    The human rights watchdog will write guidance for housing associations about how to uphold the rights of their residents, following a ruling they are public bodies in some circumstances.

  • NIHE rents could rise to help plug £200m gap

    12/02/2010

    Tenants of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive could see their rents hiked to the same level as housing association tenants to help plug a £200 million gap in the agency’s budget.

  • No hope on the horizon

    12/02/2010

    The National Housing Federation this week showed that the current financial year will see the lowest number of homes built in England and Wales since 1923.

  • North

    12/02/2010

    Regional special looking at some of the challenges faced by social landlords in the north of England, and how they are addressing them

  • North east faces more job losses

    12/02/2010

    The work that social landlords can do is put into stark context, when an area is hit by the impending closure of one of its longest-established and largest employers.

  • Northern rock

    12/02/2010

    She’s taken on Barratt and won, has Sir Bob Kerslake on speed dial and flies the flag for women in housing. Is there anything Joanne Roney can’t do, asks Lydia Stockdale?

  • Olympic homes must meet local needs

    16/02/2010

    Homes built on the Olympic sites must meet the needs of local people rather than affluent incomers, the London Assembly has warned.

  • Plans submitted for £137m regen scheme

    15/02/2010

    Developers have submitted plans for a £137 million regeneration of the Green Man Lane estate in West Ealing.

  • Quick guide: Public Land Initiative

    17/02/2010

    Baffled by the government’s range of house building schemes? Our quick guide explains the latest initiative to get off the ground

  • Row as Worcestershire landlord refuses disability adaptations

    12/02/2010

    A housing association refused to allow a disabled tenant to adapt his home as it judged he would be better served by moving to another property.

  • Satisfaction up in regeneration areas

    12/02/2010

    People living in areas being regenerated by a government scheme are more satisfied with their locality that they were 8 years ago

  • Scottish councils given £25m to build homes

    16/02/2010

    The Scottish Government has announced it is to hand out £25 million to councils to build homes.

  • Social landlords unprepared for TSA

    15/02/2010

    Many housing organisations are unprepared for the Tenant Services Authority’s new regulatory regime, a survey has warned.

  • South east launches 20-year strategy debate

    11/02/2010

    The South East England Partnership Board has agreed its project plan and consultation programme for developing the region.

  • Stock sales fall to pitiful lows

    12/02/2010

    The amount of social housing stock sold at auction fell dramatically last month, with just 10 properties going under the hammer, according to the latest monthly figures from Essential Information Group.

  • Taking the flak

    12/02/2010

    Tenant complaints are on the rise but staff training can help to nip angst in the bud

  • This is the north

    12/02/2010

    As the region emerges from the recession, we present the definitive guide to what lies ahead for housing in the north.

  • Ties don't make you a better boss

    12/02/2010

    Jennifer Simpson’s letter criticises Howard Farrand for not wearing a tie (Inside Housing, 29 January).

  • Tories devise tariffs to make planning easier

    12/02/2010

    Plans drawn up by the Conservative Party would see house builders paying local tariffs and reaching compensation agreements with residents in an effort to try to speed up the planning process.

  • Tories to crack down on Traveller sites

    16/02/2010

    Conservative Party proposals to stop Gypsies and Travellers applying for planning permission retrospectively have sparked anger.

  • Under pressure

    12/02/2010

    Politicians’ attitudes to the TSA are counter-intuitive - and at odds with voters

  • Wardens are key to sheltered housing

    12/02/2010

    I was amazed to read Imogen Parry’s apparent defence of the undermining of the sheltered housing warden service (Inside Housing, 5 February), especially in view of the overwhelming support for it among tenants as shown in your news item Sheltered residents: ‘bring wardens back’ (Inside Housing, 5 February).

  • What went wrong?

    12/02/2010

    From the beginning, Three Valleys Housing has seen chief executives come and go and has twice been placed under supervision. Its chief executive and finance director are currently suspended. Jamie Obertelli answers the question on everybody’s mind…