Cutting red tape

Top of the hill

Tales of the inspected

In his speech in June last year to the Chartered Institute of Housing’s annual conference, the housing minister pledged to ‘cut out unnecessary inspection’ and instead promote ‘tenant empowerment’ through tenant scrutiny panels.

Steering group appointment first step to cutting home building red tape

The appointment of former Environment Agency chairman Sir John Harman to a group tackling the complexity of home building standards is the first step to cutting red tape, Grant Shapps has said.

Deadly dust

The death of John Shiers from asbestos-related cancer raises worrying questions for housing providers. Martin Hilditch kicks off our refurbishment and retrofit special by investigating what landlords should do to protect their tenants from a similar fate

Time to grow up

What’s in a name?

The housing strategy for England has finally arrived, but what does it mean for the sector?

Rule change

Landlords must prepare for big changes in the way they are regulated, says Ruth McNaught

The repairs rule book

Contractor Forrest launched a code of conduct for its repairs and maintenance workers last summer, improving customer satisfaction as a result. Here Sally-Ann Smith explains how it works

Tips from the top

A mentoring scheme is helping talented housing professionals break through the glass ceiling. Lydia Stockdale finds out who is benefiting from this process

Wind of change

A host of new laws are set to change the landscape for Welsh social landlords. Michael Northcott reports