Inside Housing
15/12/2006
View all stories from this issue.
-
All possible steps must be taken to avoid building on flood plains
15/12/2006
Councils should shelve plans which allow homes to be built on flood plains, the government has urged in its latest planning rules
-
Bath time could be a thing of the past in council's eco-friendly push
15/12/2006
House builders in Brent are to be asked to consider consigning baths to the history books as part of a drive to make developments more eco-friendly
-
Bookkeeping row may halt advice revision
15/12/2006
A row over the bookkeeping treatment of shared ownership homes could force the latest social housing accountancy guidance to be abandoned
-
Brownfield land should be used across the board
15/12/2006
Brownfield land must be considered for wider uses than just housing, the government's regeneration agency has urged.
-
Callcutt moves to take on eco-friendly challenge
15/12/2006
John Callcutt, chief executive of regeneration agency English Partnerships, is to leave his post to head up a review of the house building industry after just six months in the job.
-
CIH buys RDHS in bid to move into consulting
15/12/2006
The Chartered Institute of Housing is to move into the consultancy business.
-
Communities department ‘lacks strategic influence'
15/12/2006
The Communities and Local Government department is one of the least capable departments in Whitehall, according to a Cabinet Office report
-
Councils to be given ability to shape places
15/12/2006
Councils are to gain a raft of new powers to help them take on the ‘place-shaping' role that local government guru Sir Michael Lyons recommended in his inquiry into local government.
-
Great expectations
15/12/2006
With Scottish stock transfer struggling to take off, what hope remains for council tenants awaiting better quality housing? Michael Lloyd looks for some answers
-
Housing officer ‘supernanny' claim dismissed
15/12/2006
Housing officers will not be expected to take on a ‘supernanny' role when they gain powers to issue parenting orders, a senior official in the government's respect task force has said
-
Landlords to be handed role in social renewal
15/12/2006
Housing associations will be given a beefed-up role in shaping social policy in plans published alongside the pre-Budget report.
-
NASS policies ‘emphasise isolation'
15/12/2006
The government agency set up to find homes for asylum seekers is operating a policy that ‘reinforces' their feelings of being in limbo, a Middlesex University study concludes.
-
New builds left empty
15/12/2006
Thousands of new homes are being deliberately left empty in England's cities as investors try to cash in on large-scale house building programmes, an exclusive Inside Housing investigation has revealed
-
New wheelchair rules for all state-funded homes
15/12/2006
Government-funded homes will have to comply with a tough set of building design rules by 2010 that ensure they can be easily adapted for disabled people
-
NI advised to consider English model
15/12/2006
Northern Ireland's social house building programme needs to be increased by a third to meet demand, according to an interim report by the Sir John Semple review into affordable housing
-
Quandary over board policy
15/12/2006
Mega housing associations managing up to 100,000 homes could have no place for tenants on their boards, an association-backed project has suggested
-
Regulator slams pathfinder for ‘failing' its communities
15/12/2006
The government's housing watchdog has criticised the market renewal pathfinders for their ‘limited' response to the needs of black and minority ethnic communities.
-
Rural Welsh councils need to buck ideas up
15/12/2006
Welsh housing minister Edwina Hart is to hold a summit with the country's rural local authorities after criticising them for doing too little to cope with housing problems in their areas
-
Santa's little helpers
15/12/2006
As Christmas approaches, many are looking forward to the break. But, as Caroline Thorpe discovers, not everyone will be putting their feet up on Christmas Day
-
Structural imbalance
15/12/2006
As housing associations edge towards the 100,000 home mark the sector must change the way it works, argues Robert Appleyard
-
Tenants must be ‘at heart' of associations' work
15/12/2006
Housing associations that refuse to draft tenants onto their boards face being put under supervision, the Housing Corporation has warned
-
Watchdog review to focus on improved tenant service
15/12/2006
Regulation of the housing sector is set for a radical overhaul after the government announced the first independent review for more than three decades.