Inside Housing
20/11/2009
View all stories from this issue.
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£15m eco-scheme is not enough
20/11/2009
I was pleased to hear Alex Neil, housing and communities minister in Scotland, announce the launch of a £15 million Scottish home insulation scheme managed by the Energy Saving Trust earlier this month.
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A bone to pick
20/11/2009
Councils must take action to stop estates being blighted by dangerous dogs, argues Bill Randall
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A mad, mad world
20/11/2009
Two weeks ago I asked Grant Shapps to reveal his plans for the regulation of the housing sector under a Conservative administration. He has yet to respond.
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Action squad to back tough ASB standard
23/11/2009
The Tenant Services Authority is to set up an action squad early next year to work with social landlords in tackling anti-social behaviour.
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Armed and ready
20/11/2009
In the third part of our series on the decent homes legacy, Neil Merrick assesses three more tools of the trade used to meet the standard
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Associations join forces on maintenance work
03/12/2009
Two rural housing associations in Scotland have joined forces to provide management and maintenance, in a first for the country.
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Authorities leave £1.3m in benefits cash unspent
20/11/2009
Councils failed to spend nearly 7 per cent of a fund designed to plug shortfalls in the housing benefits system.
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Benefit regulations ‘discriminatory’
20/11/2009
Regulations controlling the local housing allowance discriminate against severely disabled people, a benefits tribunal has found.
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Bids from public bodies fall 3 per cent
20/11/2009
Applications from public sector bodies to build homes have fallen 3 per cent in the last year.
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Building industry must halve carbon emissions by 2020
24/11/2009
The UK building industry must halve carbon emissions by 2020, the head of an industry environmental body will say today.
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Computer error puts TSA data at risk
20/11/2009
A glitch in computer systems at the Tenant Services Authority has left the regulator open to data leaks.
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Co-operative housing wins political support
26/11/2009
A report calling for everyone in England to be given access to co-operative housing has received widespread political support.
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Council uses Facebook to catch subletting tenant
24/11/2009
A London council has used social networking site Facebook to catch a tenant who was illegally subletting her property.
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Councils to foot £250m free personal care bill
20/11/2009
Local authorities will have to contribute £250 million a year towards new proposals for free personal care for people with the greatest needs.
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Court date for warden cases
20/11/2009
At least 40 court cases linked to the removal of wardens from sheltered housing schemes can go ahead following a Supreme Court decision to block an appeal against a ruling that housing associations are public bodies for some purposes.
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Curing conflict
24/11/2009
Could tougher regulation reduce legal disputes between housing associations and tenants?
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Darling to rule on new council funding scheme
20/11/2009
The government will deliver its verdict on the viability of a tax increment financing system in next month’s pre-Budget report, with many local authorities having already submitted ideas for pilot schemes.
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Don’t blink
20/11/2009
Communities minister John Denham looks Lydia Stockdale straight in the eye and tells her his party won’t ignore communities or shy away from their immigration fears.
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Durkan seals deal with Brent ALMO
20/11/2009
Community contractor Durkan has won a framework agreement worth £100 million to work with Brent Housing Partnership and bid in tandem for housing development opportunities.
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Elderly waiting too long for home improvements
30/11/2009
Older people are waiting too long for adaptations to their homes, according to politicians in Wales.
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Empty homes reach five-year high
23/11/2009
The number of private homes standing empty has risen above 300,000 for the first time in five years.
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Family breakdown to blame for youth homelessness
25/11/2009
Family breakdown is the root cause of youth homelessness and is likely to increase as unemployment rises, according to research by Centrepoint
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First chief construction adviser appointed
24/11/2009
The former deputy head of architecture quango CABE has become the chief construction adviser.
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Flight of freedom
20/11/2009
The Tenant Services Authority’s new regulatory framework seems to set social housing providers free but are landlords having their wings clipped? Isabel Hardman finds out
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FSA to regulate buy-to-let market
26/11/2009
The Financial Services Authority is to take responsibility for regulating buy-to-let mortgages for the first time, the government has announced.
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Future of ALMOs in limbo amid subsidy reform confusion
20/11/2009
Councils are putting decisions about the future of their arm’s-length management organisations on hold because of uncertainty over the housing subsidy system.
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Going Dutch
20/11/2009
Housing professionals from Holland are following a south London association’s lead in tenant involvement
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Half of executives expect 2010 pay freeze
26/11/2009
Nearly half of executive staff in housing associations expect their pay to be frozen next year.
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In pictures: Keswick clear up
24/11/2009
Staff and tenants from Impact Housing Association assess the damage to homes in Keswick, after the town was hit by floods
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Kier appoints new chief executive
19/11/2009
Repairs and construction group Kier has announced the appointment of Paul Sheffield to succeed John Dodds as group chief executive.
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Lambeth to sue TMO chair
20/11/2009
Lambeth Council is to take legal action against the former chair of its tenant management organisation, who was convicted of benefit fraud last week.
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Land rush
20/11/2009
Releasing public land more quickly is the best way to attract private investors to the housing sector
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Landlords to join Tesco in Tory green home scheme
26/11/2009
Social landlords could fund £6,500 of energy efficiency improvements to homes under Conservative plans.
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Market pressures lead to poor quality homes
25/11/2009
The professional body for architects has warned steps should be taken to improve the quality of new build housing.
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Mitie agrees £38.5m price for EPS
23/11/2009
Property management company Mitie has agreed to buy social housing repairs and maintenance firm Environmental Property Services.
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Mortgage lending rate slows
24/11/2009
The number of mortgages approved for house purchase edged up in October, but has not shown the strong growth of previous months.
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Movers & shakers
20/11/2009
Guinness Partnership has appointed Margaret Dodwell as managing director of Guinness Trust in south east England as it merges with Guinness Midsummer.
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MPs’ support for campaign
20/11/2009
A high-profile MP has launched a parliamentary motion in support of Inside Housing’s Safe as Houses campaign. Karen Buck, Labour MP for Regent’s Park & Kensington North and a well-known campaigner on housing issues, has called for the government to work with housing associations and builders to achieve the campaign’s aims.
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New evidence from TSA consultation
20/11/2009
I agree with the view of Yvonne Atkinson, director of the Board Development Agency, (Inside Housing, 30 October) that the Tenant Services Authority national conversation was an important exercise.
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NI association secures £48m to build homes
23/11/2009
A Northern Ireland housing association has agreed a funding deal for affordable homes worth £48 million.
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No through road
20/11/2009
Landlords should not panic about the decision in L&Q v Weaver
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Officers warned over decent homes
20/11/2009
Sheffield Council has disciplined a number of its officers after tenants were left in the dark about changes to its decent homes programme.
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Overdraft ruling risks homelessness
26/11/2009
A ruling in the Supreme Court could mean vulnerable people are at risk of becoming homeless, a charity has warned.
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Pathfinders told to explain regeneration delays
24/11/2009
Housing market renewal pathfinders need to improve the way they explain delays in regeneration projects to residents, the Audit Commission has said.
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Peckham fire drives 200 from their homes
26/11/2009
Around 200 people have been evacuated after a fire in two blocks of flats in south London.
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Pilot compares eco-measures
20/11/2009
A west midlands-based housing group has unveiled a pilot project in which the performance of two green homes will be judged side-by-side with an everyday counterpart.
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Plymouth council transfers stock
25/11/2009
Plymouth City Council has transferred its 15,500 homes to a housing association.
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PM speaks against care home closure
20/11/2009
The prime minister has urged Wolverhampton Council not to close a care home lived in by a 106-year-old woman.
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Public bodies fight could go to Supreme Court
26/11/2009
Housing associations could challenge a court ruling that they are public bodies following a clarification from the judges involved in the case.
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Rising house starts fall short of demand
23/11/2009
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has warned total housing starts for the year will struggle to come in much above 90,000, despite improved figures.
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Roll up, roll up for council’s £1 land sale
20/11/2009
Leicester Council is to sell four plots of land to housing associations for £1 each.
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Salary blame lies with boards
20/11/2009
I was wrong to castigate John Belcher, former chief executive of Anchort Trust, during the recent chief executive salary furore.
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Scottish agency could rent out unsold homes
24/11/2009
The Scottish Government is considering setting up an agency with millions of pounds to buy unsold homes for council housing, reports suggest.
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Sector rallies for regulator
20/11/2009
The Conservative Party is considering a plan that would see local authorities handed power to regulate housing associations and the Tenant Services Authority disbanded.
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Senior Home Group staff face redundancy
19/11/2009
Twenty-eight of Home Group’s senior management team face redundancy in restructuring plans.
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Shapps slams TSA for 'offensive' waste of money
24/11/2009
Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps has accused the social housing regulator of wasting money, after it emerged it paid a firm to lobby politicians.
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Shared equity scheme to unlock private homes
30/11/2009
The Scottish Government is to pilot a shared equity scheme to bring unsold or partially built private stock into use.
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Slave to a higher cause
20/11/2009
The anonymous disabled resident in the case involving Walsall Council is simply the latest victim of the lumbering housing benefit system.
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Tenant council applicants oppose government policy
25/11/2009
More than three quarters of people who applied to be on a body to give tenants more of a voice in housing want to change government policy.
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TSA: sector will be buoyant
20/11/2009
There will be more private finance available to housing associations than is needed over the next five years, the social housing regulator has predicted.
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UK Housing Awards 2009
20/11/2009
Profiles of all the winners and finalists from this year’s UK Housing Awards
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UK Housing Awards 2009 - Event page
21/09/2010
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UKHA 2009: Contributing to housing and education
20/11/2009
Winner : Bournemouth Churches HA - Learning 744
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UKHA 2009: Contributing to housing and health
20/11/2009
Winner : The Extra Care Charitable Trust - Well-being project
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UKHA 2009: Creating better places to live by regenerating communities
20/11/2009
Winner : Fabrick - Trinity Development, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough
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UKHA 2009: Creating integrated and safer places to live
20/11/2009
Winner : Liverpool Housing Trust - Learning lessons from the past: a JIGSAW youth squad project
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UKHA 2009: Delivering better accountability and resident involvement
20/11/2009
Winner : Bron Afon Community Housing
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UKHA 2009: Encouraging innovation and efficiency
20/11/2009
Winner : Sovereign Housing Group (on behalf of Sovereign Development Consortium) - Innovation, delivery, efficiency
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UKHA 2009: Inspirational colleague award
20/11/2009
Winner : Darren Wilkinson - Maintenance technician, Guinness Northern Counties
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UKHA 2009: Meeting housing needs and aspirations in a changing market
20/11/2009
Winner : East Thames Group - Grand Union Place
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UKHA 2009: Meeting the needs of vulnerable people
20/11/2009
Winner : Birmingham Council - Supporting People - lay assessors
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UKHA 2009: Outstanding achievement in housing in England
20/11/2009
Winner : Fabrick - Trinity Development, Middlesbrough
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UKHA 2009: Outstanding achievement in housing in England/the UK
20/11/2009
Overall winner : Clanmil Housing Association - A shared future at Causeway Meadows
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UKHA 2009: Outstanding achievement in housing in Northern Ireland
20/11/2009
Winner : Clanmil Housing Association - A shared future at Causeway Meadows
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UKHA 2009: Outstanding achievement in housing in Scotland
20/11/2009
Winner : Link Group - Older persons’ advice project
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UKHA 2009: Outstanding achievement in housing in Wales
20/11/2009
Winner : Rhondda Housing Association - Together we can
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UKHA 2009: Party people
20/11/2009
Inside Housing’s snappers capture the 2009 UK Housing Awards as they unfold
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UKHA 2009: Raising the standards of customer services
20/11/2009
Winner : Birmingham Council - South Lozells housing regeneration consultation project
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Video: telling the story of Stanwell
26/11/2009
How an art project has helped A2Dominion ease tensions over a £50 million regeneration scheme in Surrey
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Weigh up social rents cut debate
20/11/2009
There has been much lobbying by the National Housing Federation and others to ensure that housing association rents do not decrease in line with September’s drop in the retail price index.
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Welsh given powers to enforce energy efficiency
25/11/2009
The Welsh Assembly Government is to be given powers to make homes built in the country more energy efficient after 2011.
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Work begins on Hanham Hall zero-carbon site
23/11/2009
Work has commenced on England’s first large-scale zero carbon development, at Hanham Hall near Bristol.
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Zero carbon rules to double insulation
25/11/2009
Homes built from 2016 will require twice as much insulation as those built today, under tough new efficiency rules.