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Supermarket in talks to register as housing association

A major supermarket chain is in talks to move into the sector and is in the process of registering as a housing association, it has been claimed.

Naked truth

Shining stars

We reveal details of the winners of the 2011 UK Housing Awards

Master of the universal

Lord David Freud is behind the biggest shake-up of the welfare system since World War Two. Here, in his first in-depth interview, he reveals the motives behind his radical reforms to Carl Brown

Appy days

A fortnight ago you met them. Now it’s time to discover what they can do. We challenged the five finalists in the Rising Stars contest - Inside Housing and the Chartered Institute of Housing’s bid to find housing’s top talent - to design a phone app which would improve life for them, their employer, their residents - or all three. Here’s what they came up with.

Bright ideas

Elderly and disabled people don’t have to live with ugly adaptations to their homes. Katie Puckett finds out about a contest shining a light on good design

Along for the ride

Contractor Kier offers customers the chance to shadow a maintenance worker for a day. Here, Sheffield Homes tenant Yvonne Collins, 71, explains how the scheme is improving tenants’ understanding of repairs and their satisfaction with the service

Teaming up with the Met

What happened when a housing association joined its local police force to improve the response to anti-social behaviour? Simon Brandon finds out

Casting the net for a home

A website aimed solely at local housing allowance claimants is helping people find homes. Lydia Stockdale logs on

Avoid a brush with the law

Should social landlords be responsible for keeping disabled tenants’ homes in good decorative order?