Repairs revolution or DIY disaster?

Insurance concerns threaten cashback scheme

Questions over liability for injury or damage are threatening to derail a government scheme to reward social tenants who carry out their own repairs.

Can we fix it?

One thorny issue that seems certain to generate a few headlines in 2012 is the introduction of the government’s ‘cashback’ scheme for tenants in England who carry out their own repairs.

Union claims cashback scheme is danger to tenants

A government scheme to encourage tenants to carry out their own repairs has been branded ‘dangerously flawed’ by trade union Ucatt.

Cashback scheme should help tenants find work

Housing minister Grant Shapps has said that plans to allow social housing tenants to carry out their own repairs are like apprenticeships in the home.

Out of the woodwork

The home MOT test

A Dutch landlord is reducing maintenance costs by giving its homes regular check-ups. Chloë Stothart finds out how it works

Some food for thought

Landlords should assess their level of risk as the Bribery Act comes into force, says Kirsty Thompson, solicitor at Devonshires

We mean business

Landlords can boost revenues and put something back into the community by setting up a social enterprise, as Anita Pati finds out

Not a sticking plaster

Efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour can seem like fire fighting. It’s expensive to take a more comprehensive and long-term approach by working with a single family to get to the root of their problems. But, as Tony Powell, executive director of neighbourhoods at New Charter Housing Trust, explains, the effect can be transformative.

It pays to recycle

A London council is rewarding tenants for recycling. Poppy McPherson finds out whether the celebrity-backed scheme is persuading people to be greener