Stand firm

Stoke-on-Thames

Pickles reiterates benefits of scrapping Audit Commission

The abolition of the Audit Commission will save almost three times more than expected, the communities secretary said today.

Affordable rent to drive up benefit bill

Research has found affordable rent will make homes unaffordable for more than half of households in some parts of London and drive up the housing benefit bill.

New energy secretary urged to resolve FIT row

Friends of the Earth has called on the newly installed energy secretary to step up and sort out ‘the mess’ over solar subsidies.

Judgement to force changes to benefit rules

Housing benefit rules for private rented tenants discriminate against disabled people and will have to be changed, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Wrong move

Re-housing tenants hundreds of miles from their home area can be damaging and it may also be illegal, says Nnenna Morah

Casting the net for a home

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

The mental health maze

Landlords seeking to evict tenants with mental disabilities must tread carefully, says Robert Wassall, head of the social housing sector group at Blake Lapthorn

The order of importance

The Localism Act allows councils to decide who they allocate homes to, but beware of discrimination, warns Samantha Hall, senior associate at Trowers & Hamlins

Cutting tenancies short

The judgement in a starter tenancy possession case is good news for landlords, says Josephine Sharrock, solicitor, Brabners Chaffe Street