Bonola .
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Comments (36)
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Comment on: Government appoints empty homes champion
Tulisa for social media guru...
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Comment on: Government appoints empty homes champion
I always new that TV personalities would one day save the world. What other reason is there for their existence?
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Comment on: Cameron launches reinvigorated right to buy
Ilimis/Steve King - please see my earlier post.
RtA differs from RtB and this announcement is in relation to RtB. Most tenants that transferred from LA to HA landlords as part of stock transfers will have a preserved RtB and this announcement will also effect them. -
Comment on: Cameron launches reinvigorated right to buy
Ilimis - RtB is a scheme made available to buy council houses (govt assets) and not HA assets. Some HA's transferred council properties through stock transfers and the majority of these would have maintained a preserved right to buy for all transferring tenants but not new tenants. These are the 500k mentioned in the article.
HA's are required to offer a similar scheme on all properties developed since 1997 that have utilised social housing grant. Because HA's business plans and borrowing are underwritten by the value of their assets (as apposed the Govt)considerations need to be a little different when taking into account size of discount and minimum purchase prices (cost floor).
If the asset base of HA's was significantly eroded it would impede their ability to borrow money in order to invest in building new homes as, any borrowing is subsequently paid off through rental income.
If HA's sold at those kind of discounts they would never be able to replace 1-4-1 as the net receipt would be unlikely to cover the anticipated lost income let alone provide the additional £25-£35k grant funding to supplement the borrowing for a new unit (govt funding currently provides around 20-25% of the cost of a new home with the rest coming from HA borrowing).
Its a tricky balancing act between providing options for home ownership whilst continuing to increase the supply of social housing. -
Comment on: Shapps warns 'time running out' for landlords
I'm unclear how Shapps' demands fit in with the proposed new regulatory framework for RPs. On the face of it they would appear to be at odds with one and other.
Light touch regulation is being put in place to reduce the beaurocratic burden and create cost savings. There is also a far greater emphasis for co-regulation and tenant scrutiny. As I understand it, it's down to RPs to decide how this should work best with their customers.
So, localism is being suggested on the one hand but the Government can't help but assert some central, top-down controls when it comes to how those decisions might effect spending. This of course isn't the first time that we've seen this Government take this approach and the truth is that they still continue to assert their controlling influence in all aspects of local decision making by retaining a contolling intrest in expenditure.
The new AR regime will see only around 20-25% public funding going into the provision of social housing and the Government will have an incredible amount of information provided to them to see exactly how money is being spent.
In future, and for many already, it will be down to tenants to assess whether their services provide value for money. This will vary from organisation to organisation dependant on local priorities. Why then the desire for central Government to demand this?
I think RPs should be wary of their motives. Mergers, stock transfers and the likes have seen RPs grow quickly and they now deliver services across swathes of inner city areas. This is the kind of 'influence' that previous right wing governmnets have looked to disrupt and control in the past.
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Posts (5)
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Posted in: Rent increase, could someone please explain, thank you!
the "push" that PSR desribes is to ensure that whether a tenant is housed in one LA or another or, by the LA of an RP, they can be sure that they're paying a comparable rent.
It depends where you live as to whether rent equalisation has been completed. Some LAs had supressed their rents for some considerable time leading to large differences between some neighbouring authorities and between RPs.
Cynics have in the past suggested that supression of rents was used a a political tool to strengthen the position of the ruling party. Others may argue that it was used to shield the worst off during a period when investment in public services was being cut back.
However, the simple asnwer is that the TSA is stating that the rent increase is 5.1% with up to a maximum of an additional £2 to be applied on top of that increase at the landlords discretion.
Most landlords look to ensure that their rents sit within the median quartile.
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Posted in: Working or HB tenants
PSR, I agree but there are only service charge associated with non-adopted services. We try to mange these out of our schemes at the design stage for exactly the reason you state. This is usually done by owrking with highways and the likes to ensure materials and designs are appropriate. Unfortunately flats have unavoidable charges associated but I can't see many of these being built under the new regime.
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Posted in: Working or HB tenants
In answer to your question Rick, no, applications via CBL can't be turned down purely on the basis of employent status unless a specific local lettings policy has been applied that restricts this, as detailed in my previous response.
In terms of shared ownership this is of course subject to the ability of the purchaser being able to secure funds from a lender to cover a % of the market value of the property.
PSR, you're right that this will mean that not everyone will be able to afford it if they don't have in income that will support the loan but this is of course the nature of buying a house.
The intention of shared ownership is that it offers a greater range of opportunities for people looking to purchase, there is no single solution.
In the North starter propoerties are roughly £90-£120k with equity stakes available as low as 35%. Let's make this easy and say a property is £100k and a couple needed £35k to borrow. Based on a sensible 3.5x income they would need to be earning £10k pa. for the mortgage. They then pay a figure of around 2% on the outstanding equity 65k x 2% = £1'300/12 = £108pm or £27 per week.
This seems remarkably affordabe to me but you can't get away from the fact the home ownership, if that is your preference, requires money and more often than not this will require an income, albeit a very small one in the example above.
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Posted in: Working or HB tenants
PSR - I think that you've confused (or I have) the original question. I'd assumed that the question was linked to the lettings process not the development programme.
Whilst things are currently in flux as the new regime is agreed, prior development programmes were dictated by each LA (priorities) and the the HCA (funding) and related directly to the individual housing requirements of each Authority.
RPs were provided funding based on their ability to achieve the strategic requirements of the LA.
PSR - Your posts are filled with vitriol and very rarely offer any constructive input. For some reason my mind conjures the image of a dog foaming at the mouth as I read you comments.
An open discussion of the issues and the inpact of current solutions would be more constructive than throwing around accusations and ill-gotten judgements.
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Posted in: Working or HB tenants
Rick, it has never been my experience that RPs discriminate against applicants on the basis of their working status after all, the 65+ age group is the fastest growing section of society. The use of CBL in most authorities now also puts an end to the kind of unfair discrimination described Harry Lime. This was once rife and is thankfully largely disappeared.
There are however a number of different products available which try to address the different needs of both applicants and communities. That's to say that we've moved on from a one size fits all approach.
The heart and soul of any RP will be it's general needs social rented stock. These properties will be let to anyone in housing need regardless of their employment status. Its now common place that financial assessments are carried out as part of the pre-tenancy work to ensure that where financial assistance is needed it is offered. Ensuring that tenants are able to sustain their tenancy is in everyone’s interest.
In poorer high density housing areas in many of our towns and cities we are trying to unpick the problems of the past which have led to concentrations of worklessness. Economic stagnation has many damaging effects on an area such as losing shops and services as well as increases in crime. When supported by a regeneration programme the HCA sometimes grants waivers to enable RPs and LAs to apply a local lettings policy to some refurbished or new properties that might only allow people who are economically active to apply. The intention is that this will stimulate local economic growth by increasing the amount disposable income in the area.
Other types of low cost home ownership (LCHO) models are also used alongside social rent to encourage a mixed community by broadening the housing offer. However, describing this as discrimination would seem strange as this is just another form of tenure that increases the option for people looking to move to an area. LCHO provides opportunities for a whole range of households on mixed incomes.