Thursday, 24 May 2012

Inside Housing
Editorial

Stories with this category.

  • Dromey: Labour government would keep housing grant

    12/04/2012

    Jack Dromey has hinted that a Labour administration would increase or maintain central government grant levels for new homes.

  • Housing market failing older people

    12/04/2012

    Britain’s housing market is failing to meet the needs of older people despite a rapidly ageing population and a growing demand for retirement housing, a charity has warned.

  • Future Dale Farms 'lurking', group warns

    12/04/2012

    A support group for Gypsies and Travellers has said a recent government progress report does not properly address the problem of a lack of authorised Traveller sites in the UK, meaning incidents like Dale Farm are ‘lurking in the future’.

  • Action plan to cut carbon in built environment announced

    22/06/2011

    The government has unveiled an action plan to work with industry bodies to cut carbon across the construction sector and built environment by 2050.

  • TSA to overhaul satisfaction data

    16/04/2010

    The Tenant Services Authority is planning a radical shake-up of the way tenant satisfaction data is collected, because residents are so unhappy with the present system.

  • Union campaigns for council pay rise

    14/04/2010

    The UK’s biggest trade union has launched a campaign to overturn an alleged pay freeze for local government employees.

  • Lumley supports Thames Reach campaign

    01/04/2010

    Actress Joanna Lumley has sailed up in a cherry picker crane to hand paint a billboard in support of charity Thames Reach.

  • United House faces buy-out

    11/03/2010

    United House, one of the largest social housing contractors in southern England, is on the verge of a management buy-out.

  • HCA launches fund for traveller sites

    12/02/2010

    The government’s housing agency has launched a £32m fund for gypsy and traveller sites

  • Prince William sleeps rough for Centrepoint anniversary

    23/12/2009

    Prince William swapped Buckingham Palace for the streets of London for a night by bedding down to experience life as a rough sleeper.

  • Social tenants doubt benefits of eco-measures

    20/11/2009

    People who seriously doubt the benefits of green community infrastructure are likely to be social renters, research by the UK Green Building Council has revealed.

  • Supported housing associations join forces

    08/10/2009

    Rooftop Housing Group has merged with housing association G3.

  • Tories rail at government inaction on repossessions

    06/04/2009

    The Conservatives have criticized the government for the slow progress of a scheme to help people struggling with mortgage payments.

  • Wright backs £50 billion rescue package

    08/10/2008

    The government’s £50 billion rescue package for the UK’s beleaguered banks has ‘huge implications’ for the housing market, the junior housing minister has said.

  • Housing profession calls for end to tenancy for life

    08/10/2008

    The right to a social housing tenancy for life should be axed for all new tenants, the housing professionals’ body has urged.

  • Beckett becomes eighth Labour housing minister

    03/10/2008

    Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett has replaced Caroline Flint as housing minister in today’s prime ministerial reshuffle, Downing Street has confirmed.

  • Industry reacts to PM's reshuffle with unease

    03/10/2008

    Housing industry leaders welcome Beckett’s appointment but voice concern at high ministerial churn at time of market uncertainty

  • The hands of experience

    03/10/2008

    Well, who’d have thought it? A politician who’s said more about caravanning than affordable housing lands the housing job.

  • Brown creates housing advice council

    03/10/2008

    Prime minister Gordon Brown has established an ‘economic council’ to help the country through the global financial crisis.

  • ‘Spend rents on tenants’

    03/10/2008

    Tenant activists have written to the housing minister calling for an extra £216 million to be spent on management and maintenance of council housing in the next financial year.

  • ‘Worse to come’ as landlords shed jobs

    03/10/2008

    Two major players in social housing are set to shed up to 300 jobs.

  • Breaking up is hard

    03/10/2008

    By linking new social housing to private housing, the government has made its targets a hostage to cruel fortune, argues Tim Leunig

  • Chain reaction

    03/10/2008

    A changing housing market makes vulnerable people victims of circumstance

  • Chief in the spotlight

    03/10/2008

    Inside Housing is to host a ‘Question Time’ session to give housing professionals the opportunity to quiz those involved in shaping the new social housing landscape.

  • Critics query gaps in Scottish Government’s market rescue package

    03/10/2008

    The Scottish Government has come under sustained fire because of concerns about its housing market rescue package.

  • Direct payment debate is overdue

    03/10/2008

    The news the government is again thinking about paying housing benefit direct to social tenants is welcome (Inside Housing, 26 September).

  • Faces on the frontline

    03/10/2008

    From community tensions to high demand and low affordability, Simon Ellery hears from councillors in areas with acute housing problems.

  • Fears aid will bypass rural areas

    03/10/2008

    The government has been warned that its mortgage rescue package must be targeted at rural communities as well as urban areas.

  • Fill the gaps

    03/10/2008

    Demand for workers is strong across Scotland and most disciplines have enjoyed steady salary increases over the past 12 months.

  • Gypsy sites lag despite funding

    03/10/2008

    Gypsies and Travellers are keen to see a little less conversation and a little more action.

  • Housing boost for north west

    03/10/2008

    A new regional strategy for the north west of England has set out a plan to build more than 400,000 houses by 2021.

  • Housing role for poll guru

    03/10/2008

    The mayor of London has appointed his former campaign advisor Richard Blakeway as his new director of housing.

  • Is a home a castle?

    03/10/2008

    Right to respect for the home can not be relied upon as a successful defence, says Steven Wood of Coffin Mew

  • Keep one eye on the future

    03/10/2008

    There’s no such thing as a job for life any more. But those in social housing have traditionally felt their jobs were a bit more secure than their counterparts in the private sector. Not any more.

  • Repossessions query blanked

    03/10/2008

    The Ministry of Justice has refused to expose the mortgage lenders and landlords repossessing the most homes because it could harm their businesses.

  • Rough sleeper head counts to be reviewed

    03/10/2008

    The government is to look at how it carries out rough sleeping counts, following pressure from shadow housing minister Grant Shapps.

  • Scrutiny plan to calm banks’ nerves

    03/10/2008

    The Scottish Housing Regulator will beef up its scrutiny of social landlords’ financial health in response to jittery lenders’ rising expectations.

  • Shame on this inflexible landlord

    03/10/2008

    I felt I had to write in response to Simon Devitt’s letter (‘Nature of job makes tenant risky’, Inside Housing, 26 September).

  • Standards ‘not high enough’

    03/10/2008

    An expert signed up by the government to advise its eco-town programme has said its standards are not tough enough – and published her own advice.

  • Stargazers

    03/10/2008

    No one wants to be a member of the zero-star club. But, as Simon Brandon explains, there is help available for poorly performing providers

  • Tenants set to gain power to ditch firms

    03/10/2008

    Maintenance providers could be dumped from their contracts if social tenants are unhappy with the standard of their work under plans being considered by the new regulator.

  • The time is now

    03/10/2008

    Housing associations need to build a new relationship with their residents based on real customer focus

  • The Tory revolution

    03/10/2008

    Conservative leader David Cameron has pledged to embark on a mission to ‘save the lives’ of social tenants on deprived estates.

  • To the rescue

    03/10/2008

    Why did Deborah Upton take on the challenge of a zero-star council? Caroline Thorpe finds out.

  • Vulnerable missing out due to ‘comfort zone’ commissioning

    03/10/2008

    Vulnerable people are neglected because councils are too cautious when commissioning housing support services, the head of Supporting People inspections has claimed.

  • Watchdog’s GB-wide gas safety warning

    03/10/2008

    Developers, landlords and residents across Britain have been warned to check the safety of their homes, following the death of a woman from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

  • We’re taking a lead on fuel poverty

    03/10/2008

    I read with interest National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr’s comments on fuel poverty (Inside Housing, 19 September).

  • Kerslake handed Olympic advisory role

    02/10/2008

    The chief executive of the soon-to-be launched Homes and Communities Agency is to advise the London mayor on the future of the east London Olympic site.

  • Gentoo court case begins

    02/10/2008

    A man accused of posting cruel website comments which defamed staff at Gentoo Housing Group has appeared in the High Court ahead of his trial.

  • HSE issues gas safety alert

    02/10/2008

    The government’s safety watchdog has issued an alert about a potential carbon monoxide poisoning risk from gas central heating systems.

  • Short notice will keep landlords on their toes

    02/10/2008

    Response to snap inspections is positive but some fear they are too focused on weakness

  • Test run reveals importance of good preperation

    02/10/2008

    Staff should be briefed and paperwork fit for purpose

  • Cutting red tape

    02/10/2008

    The idea for short notice inspections came from the Elton review - a study commissioned by the Housing Corporation to investigate the burden of housing association regulation in 2006.Sir Les Elton suggested that the introduction of short-notice inspections would prevent associations from spending too much cash and staff resources on preparations.The report also suggested that the Audit Commission target those associations that provided no more than an adequate service.

  • Perry: corporation lost its regulation focus

    02/10/2008

    Ujima shows importance of swift action, says former chief executive

  • Bad behaviour tsar makes Home Office comeback

    02/10/2008

    The former head of the government’s anti-social behaviour task force has returned to the Home Office to help ministers’ efforts to tackle neighbourhood crime.Louise Casey was moved to the Cabinet Office when the respect task force, set up by Tony Blair, was disbanded shortly after Gordon Brown took over as prime minister last year. In her new role as the Home Office’s neighbourhood crime and justice advisor she will work alongside home secretary Jacqui Smith and justice secretary ...

  • Destination unknown

    02/10/2008

    It doesn’t take long to spot them. Slumped on the cold concrete floor that leads into Heathrow’s Terminal 1, their occasional somnolent grunts interrupt the monotonous hum of a travelator. It is 12.40am on a cold mid-week night, and these are just two of Heathrow’s homeless who have checked into perhaps the most comfortable and secure place they’ve stayed for a while. For rough sleepers, the airport offers shelter and warmth, hot showers and leftover food, as well as security. And, ...

  • Testing times

    02/10/2008

    A score of housing associations put their hands up to take part in the snap inspections pilot programme. A dozen of all sizes and types acrossthe country were chosen to take part in the trial run, which took place between October 2007 and March this year. Although offering just five days’ warning, fewer documents were requested than with a standard inspection. The scope of the inspections was narrower and they were carried out in a tighter time frame. The resulting reports were ...

  • Equality for shared owners sought

    02/10/2008

    A high street bank that lends money to shared owners has called for its counterparts to improve the way they assess risk on the government’s low-cost homeownership products.John Barker, head of mortgages at the Co-operative Bank, told delegates at the Liberal Democrats’ annual conference last week that other mortgage providers were ‘finding it very hard to price [shared ownership mortgages] for risk’.’We offer our shared ownership customers the same rates that we’d charge ...

  • New lending under threat from merger

    02/10/2008

    Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS could dampen bank’s loan appetite

  • Risky business

    02/10/2008

    For housing associations heavily dependent on shared ownership and market sales the stakes How much trouble are they in? sales the stakes have gone stratospheric.

  • Board shake-up aims to right wrongs

    02/10/2008

    Servite Houses has completed a major boardroom shake-up to get itself back on track.The housing association was stripped of its ability to bid for social housing grant and given amber lights for governance and viability in a Housing Corporation assessment earlier this year.Its 14-strong board has been slimmed down to 10 members.Eight board members listed in its last annual report have stepped down and four new members, including West Kent Housing Association chief ...

  • Cross purposes

    02/10/2008

    Wendy Wilks and Francesca Flood, of Maclay, Murray & Spens, tackle Crossrail

  • Positive reactions

    02/10/2008

    Social landlords around London are responding to the problems of guns, knives and gangs on their estates in various ways.Last month four housing associations - lead partner Servite Houses, London & Quadrant Group, Peabody Trust and Wandle Housing Association - organised an event at the Ministry of Sound nightclub, with the co-operation of Southwark police.More than 250 young people attended the ‘Put it down’ event (pictured). ‘Put it down, like many of the youth projects ...

  • Added value

    02/10/2008

    Landlords are at risk from a potential rash of equal pay claims, explains Tim Woodward of Bevan Brittan

  • Hostile territory

    02/10/2008

    Simon Brandon investigates why gangs have become a way of life for many young social tenants and asks how landlords are responding

  • Direct payment back to bite you?

    02/10/2008

    Just when you thought it was safe, an idea that seemed dead and buried can rise up and bite you. Two years ago, the government announced it would not go ahead with plans to pay housing benefit directly to social housing tenants.Their landlords - 98 per cent of whom were against the idea according to an Inside Housing poll back in 2004 - breathed a sigh of relief. Now, though, it seems welfare reform minister Stephen Timms is getting keen on the idea again. You can see why: it ...

  • Government revisits unpopular direct payment plan

    02/10/2008

    Direct pay proposals could significantly damage borrowing power

  • Show a little love

    02/10/2008

    Many older tenants are afraid to be openly gay. Daniel Martin finds a landlord helping residents

  • Part of the solution

    02/10/2008

    American architect and urban planner Denise Scott Brown tells Simon Brandon that understanding communities is vital to building homes they can be proud of

  • Slowdown to stick around for next three years, Wales warned

    02/10/2008

    Advisor predicts prolonged dip as rescue package is launched

  • The invisible man

    02/10/2008

    A new national strategy on homelessness should open the door for rough sleepers to step back into society

  • Nature of job makes tenant risky

    02/10/2008

    I was disappointed to find that your report, Landlord bars tenant for seeking work (Inside Housing, 19 September), omitted a key issue with regards to this case.Our concern was not that the nominee was seeking employment. Nor was it do to with the fact that he would be on less than full housing benefit. It was actually due to the nature of his proposed employment - a self-employed taxi driver - which would result in fluctuating income. This would have been likely to make the readjustment ...

  • Pound stretcher

    02/10/2008

    Promoting commissioning and competition could save £700 million a year

  • Tenants fighting a losing battle

    02/10/2008

    Your article, Landlord bars tenant for seeking work (Inside Housing, 19 September), reflects the growing ambiguity within the housing field.The government encourages housing suppliers to be independent from local authority supply, yet still retains control over funding, policy and performance review. Housing associations seek to house those in need, yet here they discriminate because the applicant is actually working. The housing minister encourages landlords to promote a work ...

  • You can’t have one without the other

    02/10/2008

    We can’t improve tenants’ life chances through decent homes alone, says Jon Cruddas

  • Capital Moves left a base for growth

    02/10/2008

    Your article on Capital Moves (Inside Housing, 12 September) correctly reported the decision that London Councils will not pursue the Capital Moves scheme. There is, of course, more to be said than you were able to address in your short piece.As chair of the programme board over the past 18 months, I witnessed the willingness and capacity of partners in London to work through the many practical, policy and legal issues that need to be addressed if councils and housing associations ...

  • Debate hopes to spark solutions

    02/10/2008

    Emily Rogers’ article reported that’communities secretary Hazel Blearsis facing a tussle with her own officials over the survival of the Supporting People programme’(Inside Housing, 12 September).What the article failed to report isthat Carol Bailey, head of the Supporting People programmes and project management team at the Communities and Local Government department, was speaking at the first of Sitra’s personalisation events aimed at looking at personalisation in all its guises ...

  • SFHA impartial on landlord size issue

    02/10/2008

    I would like to bring to your attention some concerns the Scottish Federation of Housing Associationsh as about the misleading nature of the article Personal touch (InsideHousing, 12 September), which deals with the debate in Scotland’s housing sector on the most efficient size of affordable housing landlords. We would like to clarify the SFHA’s position for readers.The article leaves the reader with the strong impression that there is a raging conflict about community versus ...

  • Better by far

    02/10/2008

    Nurses on the line can help bring high absentee levels under control

  • Chief executives’ salaries a disgrace

    02/10/2008

    I find it obscene and incongruous that chief executives in social housing are paid such ridiculously inflated salaries (Inside Housing, 19 September) while many staff employed in housing associations do not earn enough to support themselves and/or their families and often have to supplement their incomes by various benefits.Why does a chief executive want to earn up to 20 times more than the lowest paid staff member? What about an investigation into how many employees in housing ...

  • Rough sleeper work stalls

    02/10/2008

    Homelessness charities have urged the government to reinvigorate its efforts to tackle rough sleeping because their numbers have not budged in six years.

  • In the eye of the storm

    02/10/2008

    We did fix the roof while the sun was shining, Gordon Brown told the Labour conference this week.His words weren’t meant literally, of course. They were a riposte to shadow chancellor George Osborne, who had himself pinched the line from JFK. But it was an interesting phrase to use at a time when the credit crunch threatens to derail the government’s housing ambitions.Quite a few roofs have indeed been fixed since Labour came to power. Ministers have ploughed significant ...

  • Builders urge Flint to delay development tax

    01/10/2008

    The House Builders’ Association is pressing for an urgent review of the costs faced by small and medium-sized developers.

  • Call for allocations revamp

    01/10/2008

    Social housing should be reserved for people with jobs, the deputy mayor of London has urged his party.

  • Liverpool residents fail to save their homes

    01/10/2008

    Residents battling a compulsory purchase order on their Liverpool homes have lost a bid to save them from demolition.

  • Regulator is ‘stagnating’

    01/10/2008

    Housing Corporation accused of being ‘caught up’ in HCA transfer

  • Conflict brews over leaseholder billing

    01/10/2008

    The Scottish Housing Regulator is under mounting political pressure to investigate Glasgow Housing Association’s handling of leaseholder billing.Several of Glasgow’s MSPs have now backed calls for a probe into allegations that GHA overcharged leaseholders for cladding and reroofing their properties.All but one of the city’s Scottish National Party MSPs have called for a full investigation. Only deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon has refused to support the campaign.

  • Housing goals will be ditched

    01/10/2008

    The Conservative’s would scrap house building targets, decimate the government’s collection of regional quangos and make those left more accountable to town halls, the party’s shadow communities secretary has warned.

  • Market uncertainty halts land sell-offs

    01/10/2008

    Birmingham ends sales programme intended to plug hole in decent homes budget

  • Genesis and Notting Hill in merger talks

    01/10/2008

    Genesis Housing Group is exploring a merger with Notting Hill Housing, Inside Housing has learned. The merger is being considered as Genesis continues a major development drive that the Housing Corporation has said will weaken its financial position.Genesis subsidiary Paddington Churches Housing Association expects to boost income from new and existing stock sell-offs from £66 million to £633 million over the next few years, its annual accounts show.A Genesis spokesperson said the figure ...

  • Conservatives pledge to make private and social homes equal

    30/09/2008

    Conservatives promise social and private developers will meet same criteria.

  • North west unveils plans for 400,000 new homes

    30/09/2008

    Regional strategy lays down house building proposals

  • Overcrowding damages health of 100,000 people every year

    30/09/2008

    New report finds cramped housing a big health and safety threat

  • Jump in Scottish temporary accommodation figures

    30/09/2008

    Numbers rise by 11 per cent in a year

  • Student threat to neighbourhood mix

    30/09/2008

    Report proposes limits on number of houses in multiple occupation.

  • Rent gap widens for social tenants

    29/09/2008

    The gap between housing association and private rents widened dramatically in the first four years of the government’s ‘rent restructuring’ drive, according to detailed new Housing Corporation research.

  • Places for People to slash staff numbers

    26/09/2008

    Housing association Places for People has announced that 100 staff could lose their jobs in a planned restructuring

  • Eleventh hour pledge avoids legal aid clash

    26/09/2008

    Vote on independent review called off after last-minute talks

  • Fears over tolerated trespasser status

    25/09/2008

    The government fears there could be ‘significant numbers’ of tenants who will not be protected by a new law intended to restore the rights of ‘tolerated trespassers’.

  • Too little, too late?

    25/09/2008

    So there is little evidence of competition problems in the house building industry? Thoughts of horses and stable doors sprang instantly to mind when I read that - except that in this case the horse has collapsed in its stall rather than escaped.

  • Party backs new era for authorities

    25/09/2008

    Compromise allowing authorities to bid for grant is passed

  • Watchdog clears builders of anti-competition charge

    25/09/2008

    The Office of Fair Trading has given developers a ‘largely’ clean bill of health after investigating concerns about anti-competitive practice within the industry.

  • Housing award shortlist announced

    24/09/2008

    Inspiring projects from across the UK have been shortlisted for this year’s UK Housing Awards.

  • Raynsford's warning to HCA

    24/09/2008

    The Homes and Communities agency should ‘look again’ at housing associations’ business model because of their over-dependence on the tanking property market, former housing minister Nick Raynsford has warned.

  • More than hot air?

    22/09/2008

    Labour Party conferences in recent years have become more about promoting a positive image of Labour – all grinning Blair and supposedly trendy music – than about policy.

  • Space: the final frontier

    04/07/2008

    Unlike the rest of Europe, England lacks national minimum space standards for homes. Unsurprisingly, we build the smallest dwellings in Europe.

  • Capital Moves to be reinvented

    04/07/2008

    London’s council leaders are to vote on plans for a drastically reduced version of the controversial Capital Moves programme.

  • No listed status for ‘failed’ estate

    04/07/2008

    Culture minister Margaret Hodge sounded the death knell for Robin Hood Gardens in Blackwall, London, this week when she refused to protect the 1970s development.

  • Rescue bid a ‘token effort’

    04/07/2008

    Housing minister Caroline Flint this week unveiled a package of measures to prop up the ailing housing market – but major house builders warned it was nowhere near enough.

  • The credit crunch

    24/06/2008

    How dodgy US mortgages are affecting our social housing.

  • Housing market packages

    20/06/2008

    Could housing associations cash in on the crumbling property market?

  • A new orbit

    20/06/2008

    Sue Coulson has been appointed managing director of OGL Housing, a new internal division of the Orbit Group.  She previously worked as group corporate support director at Orbit.

  • A win-win situation

    20/06/2008

    A London borough is forging ahead with one of the first major builds by a local housing company. Simon Brandon talks to Ken Jones, the man running the show.

  • A word in your ear

    20/06/2008

    Lobbying can have a significant impact on the shape of housing legislation. Simon Ellery takes a look at the art of persuasion.

  • Agency team takes shape

    20/06/2008

    The senior management team responsible for the future of housing in England has become clearer with the appointment of two senior posts.

  • Ambitious Affinity Sutton bags top developing spot

    20/06/2008

    A housing association that declared its ambition to become a 100,000 home mega-association within four years has been crowned the most prolific producer of new homes.

  • Back in the fray

    20/06/2008

    He was a popular housing minister, but moved on less than a year into the job. Now he’s back, with a mission to help a troubled housing association. Philippa Ward reports

  • Bubble burst is for the best

    20/06/2008

    I’ve been confidently predicting an imminent housing crash for about seven years – during which time house prices doubled.

  • Call for new private focus

    20/06/2008

    The government has placed too much emphasis on homeownership and should turn instead to upping the delivery of private rented homes, according to charities, research groups and developers.

  • Chairs told to beware of the crunch

    20/06/2008

    The chair of the Housing Corporation has warned all housing association chairs to be aware of the dangers the credit crunch poses to their organisations.

  • Chiefs make rescue plans

    20/06/2008

    Government agencies are drafting rescue plans to entice investors into the house building market and release more public sector land, following a cry for help from housing minister Caroline Flint.

  • Councils must take flooding rules seriously

    20/06/2008

    The government has threatened to step in when councils give the goahead to housing developments on flood plains against the advice of the Environment Agency.

  • Defence minefield

    20/06/2008

    Whose responsibility are watercourses on or adjacent to a development site? 

  • Disquiet over homelessness

    20/06/2008

    Only just over half of councils think housing associations do enough to help them tackle homelessness, the Housing Corporation has found.

  • Duncan Smith laments rise of ghetto tenure

    20/06/2008

    The failure of successive governments to deal with tenants’ dependency on the welfare state has created a damaging social apartheid, a former leader of the Conservative Party has warned.

  • Falconer seeks cutting edge

    20/06/2008

    Former housing minister Lord Falconer of Thoroton has outlined his plans for completely turning around the troubled housing association AmicusHorizon Group.

  • Homebuy criticised as too expensive and complicated

    20/06/2008

    A government scheme to allow tenants to become homeowners has proved expensive, unpopular and has helped just 10 per cent of the people for which it was funded.

  • Joining the club

    20/06/2008

    Long denied access to affordable homes grant, MHS Homes has finally won a slice of the cake. Kate Murray finds out how it’s spending the cash.

  • Joint tenancy unlocked

    20/06/2008

    It has been settled in law for some time that where one joint tenant serves notice to quit on another joint tenant, that terminates the joint tenancy.

  • Journey south

    20/06/2008

    As the Housing and Regeneration Bill moves through Parliament, Simon Brandon finds out how legislation filters down to the frontline.

  • Law review launched

    20/06/2008

    The Law Commission will seek to safeguard vulnerable people by ending years of confusion over the boundaries between residential care and housing support.

  • Legacy of Prescott’s demolition agenda

    20/06/2008

    There has been lots of talk about empty homes in the last two issues of Inside Housing (30 May and 6 June).

  • Less talk, more action

    20/06/2008

    Homes for Scotland has called for the Scottish Government’s housing supply task force to act more quickly to tackle the country’s housing problems.

  • Lessons from the street

    20/06/2008

    Kath Grant looks at a schools scheme that’s helping to curb low level anti-social behaviour

  • Let's reflect on real Ujima impact

    20/06/2008

    Inside Housing’s article on Ujima Housing Association (6 June) was a shocking expose of what went on and a very good piece of investigative journalism.

  • Missing the wood for the trees

    20/06/2008

    Home design can only do so much - it’s neighbourhood design that will really affect how we’ll live in the future.

  • Mixed tenure grounded by credit crunch turbulence

    20/06/2008

    Housing associations were warned last week that they are facing a tsunami- sized financial challenge.

  • Must we pay our board members?

    20/06/2008

    Simon Brandon raises an important issue on board payment (Inside Housing, 13 June), but as a solution to poor governance, I do not think paying a notional few pounds is likely to attract board members of sufficient motivation or skill.

  • Now it's our turn

    20/06/2008

    Are 3 million homes deliverable by 2020? It will be tough but it’s still achievable, though it won’t be done using the existing model.

  • Plea for laws to see off rogue landlords

    20/06/2008

    Councils should be able to apply to the courts to ban rogue landlords from operating, according to an arm of the Local Government Association.

  • Poole project was unfairly sniped at

    20/06/2008

    I was amazed to read the news story ‘Seaside social homes spat’ (Inside Housing, 13 June) and to see that this attitude is still prevalent among some involved in the housing market.

  • Press stereotypes were unwarranted

    20/06/2008

    It was good to read your supportive editorial comment (Inside Housing, 13 June) after the attempt last week by some newspapers to generate controversy over the construction of section 106 housing at Hamworthy in Poole.

  • Pride of place

    20/06/2008

    By planning to regulate neighbourhood services the government is making a terrible error. Here’s the proof, says National Housing Federation chief executive David Orr

  • Private finance can be better invested

    20/06/2008

    Local authorities should make better use of private cash to fund extra care schemes, a new report has claimed.

  • Pursuit of happiness

    20/06/2008

    Landlords are keeping a closer eye on the well-being of their staff, in a bid to reduce stress. Anita Pati reports

  • Raid on rescue cash

    20/06/2008

    A consortium of housing associations from across England is set to bid for up to half of the £200 million rescue package launched by the government last month, Inside Housing has learned.

  • Regulator’s priority to shift from landlords’ needs to tenants’ rights

    20/06/2008

    The new housing regulator will shift from protecting housing associations’ positions to championing tenants’ rights, according to the deputy chief executive of the Housing Corporation.

  • Some assembly required

    20/06/2008

    Can offsite construction solve house builders’ problems? Simon Brandon examines the pros and cons of modern methods of construction.

  • Spot checks signal way ahead for regulation

    20/06/2008

    The Audit Commission is to lay the groundwork for the new social housing regulator by introducing spot check inspections for housing associations, arm’s-length management organisations and local authorities.

  • Support cash blown on football and holidays

    20/06/2008

    Residents are splashing money set aside for housing support on perks such as football season tickets and painting holidays.

  • Taking things to Hart

    20/06/2008

    Campaigner and journalist David Hart is unstoppable in his fight to improve tenants’ quality of life. Emily Rogers meets him.

  • Temporary homes target off course

    20/06/2008

    The government will miss its target to slash the number of people in temporary accommodation, according to a new indicator devised by Inside Housing to track progress.

  • Top marks for mediocre LA

    20/06/2008

    A London borough given a lacklustre tenant satisfaction score by the Audit Commission has been given top marks in a sophisticated study by Ipsos Mori.

  • Tread carefully

    20/06/2008

    Landlords will need government help to kep building through tough economic times. But there are opportunities as well as risks, says Circle Anglia’s Mark Rogers

  • Trevor a Tyneside investment

    20/06/2008

    Trevor Robertson has joined North Tyneside Council as head of investment and regeneration.  He previously worked as head of the regeneration business sector at Lend Lease Projects.

  • Trouble at the top

    20/06/2008

    Inside Housing’s annual look at the top 50 developing housing associations reveals a dark shadow looming over them all: the credit crunch. Chris Bazlinton reports.

  • Welfare trap requires real action

    20/06/2008

    Thinking the unthinkable can be dangerous for a politician. Just ask Frank Field, who lost his ministerial post after being tasked with doing just that on welfare reform.

  • A house is more than just a home

    13/06/2008

    Look beyond putting roofs over people’s heads, and see the people instead

  • A refuge from hardship

    13/06/2008

    Name: Florence YalumaAge: 49Job title:Project officerOrganisation: Lorna Lodge, Manchester Methodist Housing Association

  • All change please

    13/06/2008

    His message is one of radical reform, but are housing associations ready to hear it? Kate Murray speaks to Genesis chief Anu Vedi

  • Associations better geared for tenants

    13/06/2008

    Housing associations respond better to the needs of tenants than councils, housing minister Caroline Flint has suggested. Talking exclusively to Inside Housing,

  • Associations forced to scale back build plans

    13/06/2008

    One of the top five developing housing associations has seen a quarter of its 1,000-unit a year programme stall because of the credit crunch.

  • Boris to revise Ken’s target within weeks

    13/06/2008

    London mayor Boris Johnson’s team will issue new planning guidance in the ‘next couple of weeks’ in the first move away from his predecessor Ken Livingstone’s 50 per cent affordable target for all new housing.

  • Brand change can deliver for tenants

    13/06/2008

    As chair of a housing organisation about to launch its new brand, I would like to respond to Simon Brandon’s article ‘Sense of identity’ (Inside Housing, 23 May).

  • Climates change

    13/06/2008

    A tiny toy arm is barely visible in the avalanche of dirt. A man balances a brick on his head as he passes a ragged wall, the former resplendence of its bright red paint faded into a filthy, flaky mess.

  • Collective departure

    13/06/2008

    When West Kent Housing Association’s Barbara Thorndick decided to write to a few of her fellow chief executives last year outlining her stand against the ‘urge to merge’, she was astonished by the response.

  • Come together

    13/06/2008

    What is the true picture behind the apparent frenzy of merger activity among housing associations? Hal Pawson reports.

  • Concern over TSA slow progress

    13/06/2008

    A consultant who helped draft the Cave review of regulation has spoken about his ‘anxiety’ over how long it is taking to set up the new regulator.

  • Corporation plans rental package as crisis deepens

    13/06/2008

    The Housing Corporation is drawing up a new package of measures to help social housing providers take the lead in the delivery of the government’s housing targets.

  • Court backs transfer revamp

    13/06/2008

    A campaigning tenant has lost a High Court battle that could have forced stock transfer associations up and down the country to redraw their restructuring plans.

  • Ellis is Daventry’s latest asset

    13/06/2008

    Frank Ellis has joined Daventry & District Housing as head of asset management. He previously worked as repairs manager for Metropolitan Housing Trust.

  • Flint ‘snubbed’ Commons

    13/06/2008

    Housing minister Caroline Flint has been criticised for failing to appear in House of Commons debates this year to face questioning on her housing policies.

  • Have a care

    13/06/2008

    Treating residents with respect is set to become a statutory requirement

  • Home Group’s rating warning

    13/06/2008

    Cost overruns and the absence of stable leadership at one of England’s biggest housing associations could see its credit rating lowered, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has warned.

  • Homelessness sidelining fear

    13/06/2008

    Vulnerable people could suffer because homelessness has been virtually overlooked as the government presses ahead with setting up the Homes and Communities Agency.

  • Involvement avoids unwelcome estates

    13/06/2008

    Tenants need to be more heavily involved in the way that estates are planned and designed or developments are likely to fail, according to new research.

  • Just rewards

    13/06/2008

    Retaining staff in high-cost areas is challenging but, as Ciara Leeming finds out, some landlords are finding a solution.

  • Laing snapped up by Gateshead

    13/06/2008

    Michael Laing has been appointed as director of adult care and housing at Gateshead Council. He joins from Wear Valley Council where he was director of community services and acting chief executive.

  • Last man standing

    13/06/2008

    With the credit crunch biting, many lenders are bowing out of social housing. Steve Amos isn’t one of them.

  • Leaders need to hold their nerve

    13/06/2008

    To borrow a line from Housing Corporation boss Steve Douglas, who in turn borrowed it from Donald Rumsfeld, we’re facing a known unknown.

  • Learn best practice from Scotland

    13/06/2008

    I noted in the article ‘Safety net for repossession victims’ (Inside Housing, 30 May) that the National Housing Federation has set up a working group to look at the scope for housing associations to buy out homeowners with severe debt problems.

  • Loss of providers spells gloom for support sector

    13/06/2008

    When cash-rich L&Q Group confirmed last week that it was pulling out of the market for Supporting People grant it was a shock, but not a surprise.

  • Makeover hits the spot

    13/06/2008

    Congratulations on the new design, look and feel.

  • Matthews' Longhurst promotion

    13/06/2008

    Longhurst Group has promoted marketing manager Janet Matthews to head of marketing.

  • Mayer: landlords threatened by market ‘tsunami’

    13/06/2008

    Housing associations face a tsunamisized financial challenge which the new housing regulator must tackle as one of its top priorities, its newly appointed chair has warned.

  • Minister’s wish: an end to the credit crunch

    13/06/2008

    Housing minister Caroline Flint has named escaping the devastating impact of the credit crunch as her most pressing challenge as she plots the government’s home building drive.

  • On the margins

    13/06/2008

    Muslim communities are often marginalised and deprived. John Perry and Azim El Hassan look at how housing organisations are reaching out to help.

  • One in three associations and ALMOs pay board members

    13/06/2008

    Nearly a third of housing associations and arm’s-length management organisations pay their board members, a report by consultancy Insight has indicated.

  • Pathfinders seek answers on demolition

    13/06/2008

    The organisations created to fix failing housing markets in the north of England are part-funding research to help them make the legal case for demolition projects.

  • Preparation is all

    13/06/2008

    Alison Mathias suggests ways to get fit for a greener future.

  • Professional players

    13/06/2008

    To any housing association that finds itself stumbling in the sector’s fast-changing landscape, the Housing Corporation has made it clear where it will look to pin the blame if things go wrong.

  • Proposed changes will hurt charities

    13/06/2008

    A government drive to rationalise benefit payments could force some homelessness charities to turn away people with chaotic and debt-laden lifestyles.

  • Regulator defends GHA

    13/06/2008

    The Scottish Housing Regulator has defended the process used by Glasgow Housing Association to value homes for transfer.

  • Rescue package gives with one hand and takes with the other

    13/06/2008

    Money pledged by the government for advice services to help struggling homeowners stay in their properties was in fact just a reduction in an already planned cut.

  • Risk factors key for new regulator

    13/06/2008

    It was interesting to see the juxtaposition of Inside Housing’s article questioning whether the Housing Corporation had been proactive enough in intervening at Ujima with the report on the National Housing Federation having amendments to the Housing and Regeneration Bill calling for the regulator to ‘minimise interference’ in associations’ aff airs (Inside Housing, 6 June).

  • Role play route to getting a roof over your head

    13/06/2008

    Two years ago, Susan Greenwood sat scratching her head.

  • Seaside social homes spat

    13/06/2008

    A housing association lambasted for renting homes with a harbour view to social housing tenants has been forced to defend its decision.

  • Steep descent

    13/06/2008

    No one wants to talk numbers. Where once the big developers were keen to trumpet their house building records from the rooftops, now they are reluctant to talk about how many homes they will build by the end of 2008.

  • The F word

    13/06/2008

    Caroline Flint has been  housing minister for fewer than five months, during which efforts to tackle a serious housing supply problem have been overtaken by a housing market crisis of gloom-ridden proportions. ‘My feet haven’t really touched the ground,’ she says.

  • The new leaders

    13/06/2008

    Social housing is changing fast and there are fresh faces to lead the way. Below Simon Brandon talks to Sir Bob Kerslake about his can-do attitude at the Homes and Communities Agency, while Anthony Mayer is hailed as a sensible choice for the Tenant Services Authority and Simon Milton says City Hall will be listening.

  • Tough talk to end supply crisis

    13/06/2008

    Councils should get £2 billion to bail out homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages, a think tank has argued.

  • Trainor steps up

    13/06/2008

    LHA-ASRA has appointed Paul Trainor as group head of performance management. He joins from Heart of England Housing Group where he was head of policy and performance.

  • Waterloo hires legal eagle Turner

    13/06/2008

    Waterloo Housing Association has appointed Graham Turner as a legal specialist. He worked as a solicitor in the social housing field for more than 32 years, most recently as a partner at Trowers & Hamlins until his retirement in 2007.

  • Williams joins Genesis line-up

    13/06/2008

    Tracy Williams has joined Genesis Housing Group as deputy director of development. She previously worked as director of development and new business at Aldwyck Housing Group.

  • Willis' dual Cumbrian role

    13/06/2008

    Copeland Council and Allerdale Council have appointed Ruth Willis as director to oversee the delivery of public services in partnership across west Cumbria. Ms Willis joins from Hillingdon Council where she was corporate director of environmental services.

  • A quarter of seats on scrutiny board to be held by tenants

    06/06/2008

    Tenants will take a quarter of the seats on the board of the new social housing scrutineer to give them a much greater say in the policing of their landlords.

  • Action plans not in place

    06/06/2008

    Housing associations have been criticised for letting their disabled tenants down by failing to draw up appropriate action plans.

  • Affordability crisis hurting rural Wales

    06/06/2008

    Rural areas in Wales need to build much more affordable housing because homelessness has shot up at more than twice the rate of the country’s urban areas.

  • Brown set to fall well short of build targets

    06/06/2008

    The prime minister is set to miss his first major home building target by three years, according to a new indicator devised by Inside Housing to keep track of the government’s performance.

  • Buy-to-let specialist suffers losses

    06/06/2008

    A bank that pulled out of social housing finance to concentrate on the more profitable specialist mortgage market has announced pre-tax losses of £8 million in the first for months of 2008.

  • Conversions halted over budget fears

    06/06/2008

    Schemes to convert temporary accommodation into permanent homes are stalling because of uncertainty over future funding.

  • Corporation should have stopped this nonsense

    06/06/2008

    Rob Wilson, Conservative MP for Reading EastThe collapse of Ujima Housing Association is a stark warning to the government and the entire sector.

  • Council snubs landlord over poor repairs

    06/06/2008

    A London council has severed ties with Amicushorizon Group, and its contractor Axis, after complaints that £200,000 of repairs were not up to scratch.

  • Empty homes a private problem as social demand remains strong

    06/06/2008

    When the latest empty homes figures were released last week, one town was cast firmly into the spotlight.

  • Former Gateway chief lands new job

    06/06/2008

    The former chief executive of the troubled Thames Gateway project will be taking over the reins of the Ashford growth area later this month.

  • Former Gateway chief lands new job

    06/06/2008

    The former chief executive of the troubled Thames Gateway project will be taking over the reins of the Ashford growth area later this month.

  • Homes at risk of being unsaleable as more are built in flood zones

    06/06/2008

    One in every 10 homes is being built in areas of high flood risk, with some regions reaching record highs.

  • Landlord cuts support losses

    06/06/2008

    One of the biggest housing associations in the UK is to pull out of the Supporting People grant market because it has been losing money on the business for years.

  • Landlord cuts support losses

    06/06/2008

    One of the biggest housing associations in the UK is to pull out of the Supporting People grant market because it has been losing money on the business for years.

  • 'Name and shame' for lenders

    06/06/2008

    A spike in repossessions in Northern Ireland could see small mortgage lenders ‘named and shamed’ if they do not work with officials to reverse the trend.

  • New evidence questions watchdog’s Ujima dealings

    06/06/2008

    Serious questions about the Housing Corporation’s handling of the first ever housing association insolvency have been raised this week by an Inside Housing investigation into its demise.

  • Ofsted homes role mooted

    06/06/2008

    Ofsted should take over responsibility for policing the type and quality of housing used by young people leaving care, MPs were told this week.

  • Perceived ideas

    06/06/2008

    What does the public really think about social housing and its tenants? And who has the best policies to tackle the housing crisis? Ipsos Mori’s exclusive poll for Inside Housing has some answers.

  • Pregnancy sacking leads to payout

    06/06/2008

    A supported housing manager who claims she was forced out of her job by a Christian charity because she fell pregnant has won her case for unfair dismissal.

  • Private rented sector boosted by mortage pain

    06/06/2008

    The government may want to see more of it but new research has revealed that homeownership is hitting people right where it hurts.

  • Red alert

    06/06/2008

    Richardson v Midland Heart confirmed that, in a shared ownership lease, a landlord is entitled to possession for rent arrears because the leaseholder is an assured tenant with no right to a share of the original capital paid.

  • Red tape a major block to ending worklessness

    06/06/2008

    Whitehall must transform the way it works with landlords to help them prise long-term unemployed people away from benefit dependency, the head of a new government review has stated.

  • Residents cut themselves off

    06/06/2008

    A study of residents who use pre-paid gas and electricity has revealed 14 per cent of households have cut themselves off for at least a day over the last year to save money.

  • Rocket man

    06/06/2008

    Lembit Opik frantically tidies the box files and carrier bags from the window seat of his Westminster office to provide a more serene backdrop for the photographer.

  • Rural housing agenda 'stifled by officials'

    06/06/2008

    A ‘policy of restraint’ is still hampering the delivery of rural housing, a progress report has found.

  • Scots revamp grant rules despite protests

    06/06/2008

    The Scottish Government has been accused of placing impossible demands on housing associations, following its announcement of a £1.5 billion affordable housing pot offering less grant per home.

  • Social sector’s greatest downfall still its image problem, poll shows

    06/06/2008

    Most people want more done to improve the image of social housing, our exclusive Ipsos Mori poll has revealed.

  • Supply task force will tackle stalled developments

    06/06/2008

    Scotland’s housing supply task force will place four stalled housing schemes under scrutiny to work out what is holding them up.

  • Ujima: why didn't anyone step in?

    06/06/2008

    The charismatic chief executive of Ujima Housing Association made no secret of his ambition for the thriving organisation he took control of in January 2006.