Thursday, 09 February 2012

Inside Housing
30/07/2010

View all stories from this issue.

  • ‘The government won’t give a damn about us'

    30/07/2010

    Pensioners like Patricia Wright fear housing benefit reforms will push them below the breadline. How can that be right, asks Isabel Hardman.

  • Anti-social behaviour reform threatens ASBOs

    29/07/2010

    Home secretary Theresa May has announced plans to radically reform the way anti-social behaviour is managed.

  • Battle is not over yet

    30/07/2010

    The response to Inside Housing’s What’s the Benefit? campaign has been phenomenal.

  • Be the best

    30/07/2010

    When it comes to cutbacks, middle managers are often first in the firing line. Helen Giles advises on how to ensure you keep your job

  • Bellway on course for 10% target

    05/08/2010

    Bellway has said it is on track to achieve its goal of seeing 10 per cent growth in 2010/11.

  • Bolton tenants vote for stock transfer

    02/08/2010

    Bolton council tenants have voted to transfer their homes to a housing association.

  • Brownfield land holds 80% of new homes

    03/08/2010

    The proportion of new dwellings built on previously developed land has remained constant at around 80 per cent, the latest figures show.

  • Call for ballots to save ALMOs

    30/07/2010

    The government is under pressure to stop councils swallowing up their arm’s-length management organisations without comprehensively balloting their tenants.

  • Calls for better planning training

    10/08/2010

    Planning and housing bodies are backing calls for better training for planning officials and councillors to enable quicker delivery of homes.

  • Cameron threatens lifetime tenancies

    03/08/2010

    David Cameron has suggested the Conservative-led government could do away with lifetime tenancies, contradicting promises made before the election.

  • Cashing in on localism

    30/07/2010

    The prime minister has launched his ‘big society’ to give power to the man and woman in the street, but Bill Randall questions the motives behind the big idea

  • Cestria probes staff grievances

    30/07/2010

    Staff at a north east housing association have contacted the housing regulator about alleged bullying at the organisation.

  • Charity demands help for young runaways

    05/08/2010

    A charity for runaway children has called for better protection for vulnerable young people after details emerged of the abuse of a 14-year-old girl in Manchester.

  • Charity launches health scheme

    23/08/2010

    Kent-based homelessness charity Porchlight has set up a programme in Thanet to encourage people with mental health needs to lead healthier lives.

  • Clarification

    30/07/2010

    In an interview with MP Clive Betts in last week’s magazine we reported that The Times newspaper had evidence that Mr Betts had ‘flipped’ his designated second home.

  • CLG misses HRA reform deadline

    03/08/2010

    The Communities and Local Government department has delayed the publication of responses to a consultation on reform of council housing finance.

  • Coalition faces rift over secure tenancies

    05/08/2010

    David Cameron’s suggestion that new social tenants should not receive lifetime tenancies has threatened to divide the coalition government.

  • Common sense approach

    30/07/2010

    Landlords are in limbo as the government fails to clarify ISA registration rules, says James Lynas

  • Consortium appoints new chief executive

    12/08/2010

    The Northern Housing Consortium has appointed Jo Boaden as its new chief executive.

  • Contractor secures funds after cash plea

    30/07/2010

    Troubled maintenance firm Connaught has agreed a £15 million overdraft with its lenders.

  • Council fears over MoD plan

    30/07/2010

    The Ministry of Defence has announced plans for a 1,650-home development in Oxfordshire, despite council opposition.

  • Councils' cash incentive for allowing housebuilding

    09/08/2010

    Councils will receive bonuses for every new home built in their area with Government plans announced today.

  • Councils want mayor's planning powers

    04/08/2010

    London Councils has requested that planning decisions should be in their hands, rather than mayor Boris Johnson’s.

  • Cuts will hurt less if we weed out waste

    30/07/2010

    There can be no doubt that there are difficult times ahead for everyone in the public sector. And for every story of a housing cutback there will be countless small stories of hopes thwarted and livelihoods challenged.

  • Daughter loses succession case

    04/08/2010

    The Court of Appeal has told a woman that she cannot take over her late mother’s council property because her father lost his secure tenancy by leaving the family home.

  • Domestic violence scheme proves a success

    14/09/2010

    A multi-agency scheme to help domestic violence victims stay in their home was successful but not always treated as a ‘package of measures’, a government report suggests.

  • Double success for What’s the Benefit? campaign

    30/07/2010

    MPs have backed one of the key demands of Inside Housing’s What’s the Benefit? campaign by agreeing to hold an inquiry into controversial housing benefit reforms.

  • Duncan Smith unveils radical benefit reforms

    30/07/2010

    Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith has unveiled radical reforms to the benefits system.

  • Edinburgh to cash in on homes scheme

    05/08/2010

    Edinburgh council looks set to be the first to take advantage of the Scottish Government’s scheme to back £130 million of investment in affordable housing.

  • Edinburgh to spur tenants into smaller properties

    09/08/2010

    Edinburgh council is considering paying tenants up to £1,000 to help them move to smaller properties.

  • Feed-in-tariff scheme will exclude those who use capital grants

    30/07/2010

    Housing associations which use capital grants to install renewable energy technology will not be able to benefit from the feed-in-tariff scheme.

  • Feed-in-tariffs should be scrapped

    06/08/2010

    The government should replace its system of incentives for renewable energy with a carbon tax, according to a think tank.

  • Foundations laid for 1,600 home site

    02/08/2010

    The foundations have been laid for a £500 million development of 1,600 homes in Southampton.

  • Going local

    30/07/2010

    The co-regulatory settlement for landlords and tenants vindicates the rise of local standards

  • Guidance targets eastern European rough sleepers

    02/08/2010

    Guidance has been published for organisations helping central and eastern European rough sleepers return home.

  • Halifax reports house price rise

    04/08/2010

    Halifax has reported house prices rose 0.6 per cent in July, putting the average value of a UK home at £167,425.

  • HCA and councils redirect £30 million northern pot

    30/07/2010

    A pot of money for new homes in the north west of England could be diverted to fund projects left high and dry due to Homes and Communities Agency cutbacks.

  • HCA delivers 120,000 homes to hit targets

    30/07/2010

    The Homes and Communities Agency hit all its targets last year, spending £5.2 billion in the process.

  • Hollow promise

    30/07/2010

    London mayor is all talk and no action when it comes to his support for community land trusts

  • Home swap scheme to help tenants move

    04/08/2010

    Social tenants in England will be able to swap their homes with tenants in other parts of the country, under plans announced today.

  • House prices fall for first time in a year

    10/08/2010

    House prices have fallen for the first time in more than a year, say the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

  • Housing benefit is costing too much

    30/07/2010

    When, in the early nineties, I was assured that housing benefit ‘would take the strain’ of ever-increasing social housing rents, I thought it would for a while, but not for long. I did not dream that it would be 2010 before a government would realise that the crazy system had become far too expensive.

  • How prepared are you?

    30/07/2010

    New research shows that early planning by executives is crucial to surviving financial turmoil in good shape. Jonathan Magee offers advice on three different scenarios

  • Humble Helen

    30/07/2010

    Conservative MP Helen Grant has been described as political gold dust. But will the woman who grew up in a council house prove a useful ally to social landlords? Caroline Thorpe finds out.

  • In the limelight

    30/07/2010

    High profile leaders benefit from lofty connections, more dynamic organisations and, ultimately, better employment prospects. Neil Merrick drafts in the experts to assess the pros and cons of some of the best ways to boost your housing profile

  • Landlord employs charity to clean homes

    03/08/2010

    A Plymouth housing association has given the contract for cleaning its empty properties to a local charity.

  • Landlords under pressure to sell ‘try before you buy’ homes

    30/07/2010

    Housing associations are under pressure to sell the thousands of hard to shift shared ownership homes they converted to rental properties during the credit crunch.

  • Landlords warned over renting out roof space

    30/07/2010

    The National Housing Federation has warned landlords to think twice before allowing companies to rent their roof space for microgeneration.

  • Leadership

    30/07/2010

    Our leadership supplement is packed full of ideas for seizing the opportunity for change presented by the tough times ahead.

  • LHA-ASRA chair to stand down

    02/08/2010

    Shaukat Moledina is to leave his post as chair of the 11,000-home LHA-ASRA Group.

  • Liverpool housing groups merge

    02/08/2010

    Three subsidiaries of the 15,000-home Plus Dane Housing Group in Liverpool are to merge to form Plus Dane Merseyside.

  • London building schemes saved from cuts

    03/08/2010

    The London board of the Homes and Communities Agency and mayor Boris Johnson have approved funding for 16 building schemes threatened by government cuts.

  • London shows how localism can work

    30/07/2010

    Neil Hadden’s resistance to housing localism sounds hackneyed and outmoded (‘Housing boss claims localism is a ruse to stop investment’, www.insidehousing.co.uk, 5 July).

  • Looking for trouble

    30/07/2010

    Residents on a west London estate are taking direct action to stop anti-social behaviour. Martin Hilditch spent an evening with the resident patrol to find out why the Home Office is sitting up and paying attention.

  • Making the case for housing

    03/08/2010

    David Miliband on what the government is doing wrong, how a mansion tax would help, and what he would do if elected leader of the Labour Party.

  • Miliband mansion tax to meet benefit bill

    03/08/2010

    Labour Party leadership candidate David Miliband has suggested a ‘mansion tax’ on homes worth more than £2 million should be introduced to fund housing benefit costs.

  • Mortgage lending increases, says CML

    12/08/2010

    Mortgage lending increased significantly in June compared to the previous year, according to statistics released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • MPs to investigate localism and house building

    29/07/2010

    An influential group of MPs is to conduct formal inquiries into localism and the impact scrapping regional spatial strategies will have on house building.

  • New rule in the crown

    30/07/2010

    As the Chartered Institute of Housing overhauls how it is governed, its new president Paddy Gray addresses members’ concerns.

  • Off the streets

    04/08/2010

    Why a Suffolk housing association has invested in a youth centre to stem anti-social behaviour

  • Put cash into empty homes, say BPF

    09/08/2010

    The government should divert grants for new build into bringing thousands of empty homes back into use as social housing, an umbrella-group has demanded.

  • Rise in building on 'gardens'

    09/08/2010

    ‘Garden grabbing’ now accounts for around a quarter of all new homes built, according to government figures.

  • Rise in complaints is good news for us

    30/07/2010

    ‘Complaints soar 42 per cent’ was the dramatic headline on the front of Inside Housing (16 July 2010) and I for one was certainly drawn in.

  • Rise in have-a-go managers

    30/07/2010

    A new breed of ‘have-a-go’ leaseholder managers are cropping up across the country, the Association of Residential Managing Agents has warned.

  • Risen from the ashes

    30/07/2010

    A supported housing project destroyed by fire has been rebuilt and now offers residents independent living in an idyllic setting, says Rhiannon Bury

  • Rok suspends finance director

    11/08/2010

    Construction and maintenance firm Rok announced it has suspended its finance director with immediate effect from today.

  • Rough figures

    30/07/2010

    It is heartening to see a politician keeping a promise, particularly one made in opposition.

  • Rough sleeping advisors axed

    30/07/2010

    The government is to axe all of its rough sleeping and homelessness prevention advisors.

  • Sanctuary takes over care home group

    06/08/2010

    Sanctuary Group has acquired Heart of England Housing and Care from Orbit Group, taking over nine Worcestershire care homes.

  • Scotland considers tenancy deposit scheme

    10/08/2010

    The Scottish Government has launched a consultation into whether a compulsory tenancy deposit scheme should be set up.

  • Scottish affordable house building hits new high

    03/09/2010

    The number of affordable homes built in Scotland last year increased by 30 per cent, but the number is expected to drop next year. 

  • Scottish construction firms forced into liquidation

    11/08/2010

    The number of Scottish construction firms forced into liquidation has more than trebled in the last year, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.

  • Scottish council commissions contamination tests

    11/08/2010

    A Scottish council will do more tests on land under a housing estate, which residents believe could be contaminated.

  • Scrapping TSA could cost government £47m

    30/07/2010

    The government could be slapped with a bill of more than £45 million to wind up the Tenant Services Authority, the regulator’s financial accounts have indicated.

  • Shapps misses carbon definition deadline

    30/07/2010

    The government has failed to deliver on its promise to define the environmental standards that all new homes must meet from 2016 before the parliamentary recess.

  • Stretching the pennies

    30/07/2010

    As the sector awaits the falling axe, Inside Housing convened a round table debate to discuss how leaders are getting to grips with efficiency savings. Lydia Stockdale reports. Photography by Simon Brandon.

  • Sub-prime lending dominated bail out

    30/07/2010

    Homeowners who borrowed from sub-prime lenders were the main group bailed out by the mortgage rescue scheme, the first major evaluation of the programme has revealed.

  • Take it from the top

    30/07/2010

    As the cash taps run dry, creative innovation may be housing leaders’ best hope of tackling the sector’s woes. Caroline Thorpe reports.

  • Taylor Wimpey records first half profit

    03/08/2010

    Taylor Wimpey made a small profit in the first six months of 2010, after recording a massive loss in the same period last year.

  • The arm of the law

    30/07/2010

    The housing ombudsman looks set to take on some of the Tenant Services Authority’s responsibilities. Lydia Stockdale gets the lowdown on the new lawman in town

  • The bare essentials

    30/07/2010

    What do housing’s top leaders rely on to achieve peak performance? Inside Housing asked some of the bosses whose organisations made this year’s Best Companies to Work For list what they can’t do without. Anita Pati reports

  • The pensions minefield

    30/07/2010

    Close a final salary scheme with a deficit and you may trigger an almighty fall-out, says Doug Mullen, associate at Anthony Collins Solicitors

  • Think tank issues Gypsy warning

    09/08/2010

    Councils should not ignore the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites just because national targets have been scrapped, a think tank has warned.

  • TSA warns Cambridge landlord over viability

    04/08/2010

    The Tenant Services Authority has warned that Cambridge Housing Society is vulnerable to deterioration.

  • Unions condemn housing benefit cuts

    05/08/2010

    The Trades Union Congress has condemned the government’s decision to cut housing benefit payments.

  • Warning after Connaught cash crisis

    30/07/2010

    A housing consultancy is warning its clients to put contingency plans in place should their contractors get into trouble, following a cash crisis at a major maintenance firm.