Friday, 25 May 2012

Inside Housing
Subject

Stories with this category.

  • Livingstone plans pension fund investment for London homes

    13/04/2012

    Ken Livingstone has pledged to use pension funds to build more social housing in London if he wins his bid to be elected as mayor of London.

  • House starts up 13 per cent

    20/08/2010

    House starts in England are up 13 per cent in the last quarter to 28,590.

  • Landlords seek answers

    20/08/2010

    Social landlords are appealing to the government for clarity on the future of housing inspection after the Audit Commission’s closure.

  • HCA map to pinpoint location of England’s 652,000 empty homes

    20/08/2010

    The Homes and Communities Agency will map every empty home in England in a bid to dramatically reduce their number - an estimated 652,000.The map will be used to pinpoint empty homes ‘hotspots’ and provide information on their surroundings.

  • 2011 launch for £1bn loan fund

    20/08/2010

    An innovative £1 billion vehicle to encourage pension funds to make loans to housing associations is expected to start lending in January.

  • Affinity Sutton posts £44m surplus

    20/08/2010

    Affinity Sutton has used its annual report to argue that housing associations need a ‘stronger financial base’ than ever before to cope with forthcoming spending cuts.

  • Clegg: benefit cuts are hard to justify

    20/08/2010

    Nick Clegg has waded into the row over housing benefit reform by suggesting proposed cuts make it difficult to justify replacing the Trident nuclear weapon.

  • Council faces court over ‘contaminated’ estate

    20/08/2010

    North Lanarkshire Council is facing possible court action after being accused of allowing homes to be built on contaminated land.

  • Sector plans as Connaught struggles

    20/08/2010

    Housing associations that hold contracts with beleaguered contractor Connaught are drawing up contingency plans in case the firm collapses.

  • Surveyors report fall in construction work

    19/08/2010

    Construction workloads on social housing projects have dropped sharply in the second quarter of the year, according to a survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

  • National Tenant Voice to wind down company structure

    19/08/2010

    The National Tenant Voice is to wind down its formal company structure as it seeks a way to carry on independently.

  • Boris outlines minimum space standards

    18/08/2010

    The mayor of London has published a draft version of a new design guide for homes in the capital.

  • Clegg attacks Labour welfare spending

    18/08/2010

    Nick Clegg has attacked Labour’s welfare record for spending ‘huge sums of money’ which did not alter people’s life chances.

  • Pensioner faces eviction from his family home

    18/08/2010

    An 83-year-old pensioner has been asked to leave the council house he has lived in for 74 years in order to make way for a family.

  • Highlands to get 400 homes with £40million deal

    18/08/2010

    Albyn Housing Society has agreed a £40m loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland and half the loan will be used to fund 400 homes for shared equity sale or for rent.

  • Children on housing estates 'more likely to be road casualties'

    18/08/2010

    Children living on housing estates in suburbs are most at risk of being road casualties, research has found.

  • Black Country joins retrofit research project

    18/08/2010

    Black Country Housing Group is to take part in a major Europe-wide research project into the cost of retrofit work to existing homes.

  • Rok's profits tumble amid 'suicide-bid' claims

    17/08/2010

    Rok has denied suicide bidding as it announces a halving of its operating profit in a year.

  • Shetland Council has 'serious problems'

    17/08/2010

    Auditors have slapped down the Shetland Islands Council over ‘serious problems’ with the way the authority is run.

  • Clegg: housing 'is UK's biggest problem'

    17/08/2010

    Access to affordable housing is one of the biggest problems faced by the UK, Nick Clegg said yesterday.

  • Housing officer sacked for preaching faith loses tribunal

    16/08/2010

    A housing official sacked after telling a terminally ill woman to ‘put her faith in God’ has lost a legal challenge against his former employer.

  • Former Labour minister to become social mobility tsar

    16/08/2010

    A former Labour cabinet minister was confirmed as an independent reviewer on social mobility for the coalition Government over the weekend.

  • Welsh sustainable homes requirement to kick in

    16/08/2010

    The Welsh Assembly Government has reminded builders all homes must meet level 3 of the code for sustainable homes in Wales from 1 September.

  • Tories exposed for mis-selling security

    13/08/2010

    The Conservative Party held pre-election meetings with key housing figures about its plans to remove security of tenure from future social housing tenants.

  • Scotland to blitz on empty homes

    13/08/2010

    Shelter Scotland has secured £55,000 every year for the next two years to tackle the problem of empty homes in the country.

  • CLG spent thousands on public art and catering

    13/08/2010

    The Homes and Communities Agency splashed out £85,000 on art while the Tenant Services Authority spent £860 on flowers and £47,000 on a ‘business psychologist’ last year.

  • ALMO battles gagging order

    13/08/2010

    An arm’s-length management organisation has demanded a contractor stop gagging tenants to whom it has paid compensation following complaints about work.

  • Bradford’s white estates feel ignored

    13/08/2010

    Residents on Bradford’s traditionally white estates feel like the ‘lowest of the low’, according to new research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

  • Circle Anglia bids to run ‘freedom pass'

    13/08/2010

    One of England’s largest housing associations is set to bid to run the government’s new ‘freedom pass’ database for tenants who want to move.

  • EU retrofit cash triumph

    13/08/2010

    Social landlords have won a battle with the London Development Agency to access European cash for energy efficiency improvements.

  • Lib Dem deputy to create benefit reform plan

    13/08/2010

    The deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats is drawing up alternatives to the government’s plans to reform housing benefit because of his concern about their impact in London.

  • Plan for investors to ‘buy’ landlords

    13/08/2010

    Housing associations could be sold to pension funds or to life insurance companies to raise finance for the provision of affordable homes, a report has suggested.

  • Sector’s pension fund reduces deficit

    13/08/2010

    The deficit in the Social Housing Pension Scheme has reduced by £44 million, showing signs that the fund is recovering from the financial crisis.

  • Landlords to decide on devolved funding plan

    12/08/2010

    Councils in London have a month to decide whether to enter into agreements which would allow them a share of the Homes and Communities Agency’s £5 billion budget.

  • Paying the rent

    12/08/2010

    What does it say about the prospects for real institutional involvement in UK private renting when the biggest quoted landlord says its business is based on trading rather than renting property?

  • Residents to move from Southwark block

    12/08/2010

    Councillors have decided tenants and leaseholders in a Southwark tower block must be moved immediately.

  • Mortgage lending increases, says CML

    12/08/2010

    Mortgage lending increased significantly in June compared to the previous year, according to statistics released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Hammersmith and Fulham plans to close ALMO

    11/08/2010

    Hammersmith and Fulham council has announced plans to take its arm’s-length management organisation back in-house.

  • Scottish construction firms forced into liquidation

    11/08/2010

    The number of Scottish construction firms forced into liquidation has more than trebled in the last year, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.

  • House prices fall for first time in a year

    10/08/2010

    House prices have fallen for the first time in more than a year, say the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

  • Government launches benefit fraud crackdown

    10/08/2010

    The government will draft in credit ratings agencies to hunt down benefit frauds, the prime minister announced today.

  • Housebuilder in legal bid against government

    10/08/2010

    A leading housebuilder has launched a legal challenge against the government’s decision to scrap regional spatial strategies.

  • Calls for better planning training

    10/08/2010

    Planning and housing bodies are backing calls for better training for planning officials and councillors to enable quicker delivery of homes.

  • Scotland considers tenancy deposit scheme

    10/08/2010

    The Scottish Government has launched a consultation into whether a compulsory tenancy deposit scheme should be set up.

  • Morgan Sindall profits decrease

    10/08/2010

    Morgan Sindall has reported pre-tax profits of £23.1m for the six months to 30 June.

  • Foster son loses tenancy fight

    09/08/2010

    A foster son has lost his fight to take over the home he was brought up in from his late foster mother.

  • Birmingham care workers win equal pay case

    29/04/2010

    Care workers at Birmingham Council were among the nearly 5,000 women who learnt they had won their claims for equal pay to men this week.

  • Red Road flats to be demolished

    29/04/2010

    Two blocks on the estate in Glasgow, where three Russians died after throwing themselves from a balcony, are to be demolished simultaneously.

  • Umbrella group makes the case for planning

    16/04/2010

    The Royal Town Planning Institute, the professional body that represents 22,000 town and country planners, has launched a manifesto for planning ahead of the general election in May.

  • Gateshead aims to branch out

    16/04/2010

    Gateshead’s arm’s-length management organisation is examining plans that would see it become the first ALMO to manage homes outside its home town or city.

  • Election panel: readers say it is possible to deliver more for less

    16/04/2010

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced last week that a future Labour government would expect more homes to be delivered with less funding.

  • Essex joins eco-town list

    16/04/2010

    A partnership of three councils in Essex will receive £200,000 to help develop proposals for new eco-town communities.

  • Landlords must improve end-of-life care

    16/04/2010

    Housing providers must be better educated about caring for people at the end of their lives, a new report has said.

  • Leeds Council to face ALMO employee race discrimination case

    16/04/2010

    Leeds Council must defend itself against an accusation of workplace racial discrimination brought by an employee of its arm’s-length management organisation, the Court of Appeal has found.

  • NTV names its leaders

    16/04/2010

    The chief executive and chair of the National Tenant Voice have been announced.

  • Parties reveal vision for future of housing

    16/04/2010

    The three main political parties outlined radically different proposals for social housing in their manifestos this week.

  • 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.

  • Voodoo neighbour given suspended possession order

    15/04/2010

    A housing association has gained a suspended possession order against a tenant whose three-year long vendetta against her neighbour included the use of a voodoo doll.

  • Numbers of mortgages increased in February, say CML

    15/04/2010

    The number of residential mortgages taken out in February increased by 12 per cent on the previous month signalling a modest recovery, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Lib Dems promise to reform public sector borrowing

    14/04/2010

    Councils could be freed from current public sector borrowing requirements in order to build a new generation of council homes under a Liberal Democrat government.

  • Warrington's ALMO tenants vote for transfer

    14/04/2010

    Warrington Council’s ALMO tenants have overwhelmingly voted to transfer ownership of all 8,700 homes to Golden Gates housing association.

  • 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.

  • Plaid Cymru calls for devolution of housing powers

    14/04/2010

    Welsh political party Plaid Cymru wants primary housing legislation to be devolved back to Wales and for finance reform to allow more council-built social housing.

  • West Dunbartonshire improves performance

    14/04/2010

    The Scottish Housing Regulator has moved West Dunbartonshire Council up from a ‘poor’ to a ‘fair’ rating.

  • Tories pledge to respect social housing tenures

    13/04/2010

    The Conservative Party has pledged to ‘respect’ the tenures and rents of social housing tenants if it wins power.

  • Newham Council serves order on overcrowded flats

    13/04/2010

    Newham Council housing officers have placed two young families living in a ‘rabbit warren’ property into emergency accommodation.

  • House prices rise but at slower pace

    13/04/2010

    House sales are expected to increase and prices are likely to stabilise, according to a poll of surveyors.

  • Private landlords hit out at Labour manifesto

    13/04/2010

    The Labour Party’s election manifesto has been criticised by large private landlords for a lack of clarity on how it will fund 50,000 new affordable homes.

  • House building to rise in 2010

    13/04/2010

    House builders in the UK will produce 154,000 more homes in 2010, according to new research.

  • HCA spends £5.6billion to beat targets

    12/04/2010

    The Homes and Communities Agency has said it has met or exceeded its main targets for 2009/10.

  • Former chief of Solihull Care Housing Association dies

    12/04/2010

    The former chief executive of Solihull Care Housing Association has died following an illness.

  • Home ownership central to Labour housing manifesto

    12/04/2010

    The Labour Party will fight the General Election with pledges to extend home ownership to people on modest incomes and make savings in funding for regeneration.

  • Chief executive of LHA-ASRA Group named

    12/04/2010

    The chief executive of Solihull Community Housing is to leave his post to take over as head of the 12,000 home LHA-ASRA Group.

  • Welsh bid for increased housing powers fails

    12/04/2010

    A Welsh Assembly Government bid to gain wide-ranging powers over housing in Wales has failed.

  • Green industry calls for new funding model in Budget

    12/03/2010

    Developers and councils should be able to finance environmental improvements by borrowing against future tax revenues, industry figures have said

  • Government backs down over CIL

    12/02/2010

    Housing associations will save millions of pounds after the government announced they would not have to pay the Community Infrastructure Levy.

  • Satisfaction up in regeneration areas

    12/02/2010

    People living in areas being regenerated by a government scheme are more satisfied with their locality that they were 8 years ago

  • HCA launches fund for traveller sites

    12/02/2010

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

  • Postcards from Siena

    14/08/2009

    When Siena’s 17 districts aren’t competing against each other to win the famous Palio horse race - taking place this Sunday - they’re busy looking after their fellow residents with a fierce sense of local loyalty. Tamara Griffiths gees them on

  • £50m efficiency savings at Home

    10/04/2009

    Mega-landlord Home Group has lost three of its seven top executives in a major senior management team reshuffle.

  • Associations slam Tories’ ‘right to move’ scheme

    10/04/2009

    The Conservative Party has unveiled a raft of plans to incentivise people out of social housing estates and to embrace new housing development.

  • Banks lose out as landlords avoid fees

    10/04/2009

    Housing associations turn to institutional investors as role of banks in bond markets changes

  • Be flexible, TSA tells landlords

    10/04/2009

    Housing associations will need to draw up contingency plans to cope with the possibility of rapid inflation next year, the chair of the Tenant Services Authority has warned.

  • Ex-corporation boss starts consultancy

    10/04/2009

    The final chief executive of the Housing Corporation has claimed that the current recession is ‘the most challenging time ever for housing and regeneration’.

  • Flat sale protest hits Lambeth Council

    10/04/2009

    Lambeth Council has removed a group of protestors who occupied a council flat to oppose the authority’s sale of around 100 empty properties.

  • GHA accused of misleading watchdog over transfer scheme

    10/04/2009

    Glasgow Housing Association has been accused of misleading the Scottish Housing Regulator over the level of support for its plans to strip the management powers from local housing organisations.

  • HCA to test appetite for investment

    10/04/2009

    The Homes and Communities Agency is poised to test pension funds’ and insurance companies’ appetites for pouring cash into privately rented housing.

  • HCA willing to rip up ‘onerous’ ALMO deals

    10/04/2009

    The Homes and Communities Agency is looking to rewrite its rule book to help arm’s-length management organisations access social housing cash.

  • Hey Mr DJ, put a record on

    10/04/2009

    A music course for young homeless people has helped one student realise his dream of becoming a DJ.

  • Lenders start to relax terms

    10/04/2009

    Banks and buildings societies are starting to relax their lending terms under pressure from the government, the Chartered Institute of Housing’s south west conference has heard.

  • London mayor plans own developer to build homes

    10/04/2009

    London mayor Boris Johnson wants to set up a city-wide housing company to bring forward public land for affordable housing development.

  • Orr sets out federation’s support work

    10/04/2009

    The chief executive of the National Housing Federation has outlined the work it has done for supported housing providers, following the decision of two major players to rip up their NHF membership.

  • Permanent position

    10/04/2009

    Pinnacle has appointed Neil Euesden as managing director.

  • Rough sleeper figures down due to policing

    10/04/2009

    Zero-tolerance policing may have contributed to a fall in the number of people sleeping rough in inner London, a charity has claimed.

  • Salary squeeze hits housing association pay

    10/04/2009

    Housing association salary increases have dived by almost three-quarters this year.

  • Specialist bank plan for Dunfermline

    10/04/2009

    Defunct building society’s £700m social housing arm could become Scotland’s dedicated housing lender

  • Housing help for injured soldiers

    09/04/2009

    Seriously injured ex-service personnel will get priority for specially adapted housing, the housing minister has said.

  • Bankers ask for homeowner help

    09/04/2009

    Mortgage lenders are pressing the government to help for those struggling with mortgage payments.

  • Repairs "weak" at Birmingham landlord

    09/04/2009

    Family Housing Association in Birmingham has a ‘weak’ repairs service, according to inspectors of the Birmingham-based organisation.

  • Boris backs our empty homes campaign

    08/04/2009

    Boris Johnson has thrown his weight behind Inside Housing’s campaign to tackle empty homes.

  • English Partnerships chair heads Olympic legacy

    08/04/2009

    Former English Partnerships chair Margaret Ford has been appointed as the new Olympics legacy chief.

  • West Midlands gets £700m for new homes

    08/04/2009

    More than £700m is being injected into the West Midlands to provide new homes and help save jobs in construction.

  • Co-op designs zero carbon housing system

    08/04/2009

    Britain’s largest housing cooperative is designing a prefabricated housing system to meet the highest level of the code for sustainable homes.

  • Home buyers could sue over HIPs questionnaire

    08/04/2009

    Home sellers could avoid being sued  by buyers by not answering a new property questionnaire, a law firm says.

  • Land values halve in a year

    08/04/2009

    The value of development land across the UK plummeted by 15 per cent in the last quarter of 2008, according to new figures.

  • Manchester association takes on 5000 homes

    08/04/2009

    A housing association has tripled in size following the transfer of 5,240 homes from Manchester Council.

  • Housebuilders call for government funds

    08/04/2009

    House builders have called on the government to bring forward more public money to gap fund stalled housing schemes in this month’s budget

  • Council plumber scoops £22,000 bonus

    07/04/2009

    Councils have paid at least £60m in bonuses to staff including chief executives, carpenters and binmen.

  • Over 200 rough sleepers in central London, says charity

    07/04/2009

    The Simon Community’s April headcount found 212 people sleeping on the streets in eight inner London boroughs.

  • Eco towns could be unlawful, says barrister

    07/04/2009

    Council leaders called on the government to reconsider controversial eco town schemes after a lawyer said the process could be challenged in court.

  • Council looks at right to buy suspension

    07/04/2009

    Argyll and Bute council and several local housing associations are examining whether to suspend the right to buy for tenants for five years.

  • Tenants could demand new homes under Tory plans

    07/04/2009

    Social tenants could force their landlords buy their chosen home under proposals from the Conservative Party.

  • RDAs add £53bn to economy

    07/04/2009

    Every £1 spent by regional development agencies adds £4.50 to regional economies, a new report has found.

  • New accountancy guide for housing associations published

    07/04/2009

    The National Housing Federation has published a new guide which could help housing associations track property values in the downturn.

  • Prince wades into Chelsea Barracks design row

    07/04/2009

    Prince Charles has appealed to the Qatari government to scrap the design of the £1bn Chelsea Barracks development.

  • Devon residents to house homeless

    07/04/2009

    Homeowners in Exeter with spare rooms are being encouraged to take on lodgers from the council’s housing waiting list.

  • Beckett accused in second homes cash row

    07/04/2009

    Housing minister Margaret Beckett has become the latest politician to be accused of profiting from a parliamentary loophole on second homes expenses.

  • Housing group takes over children's charity

    07/04/2009

    BME specialist housing association Sadeh Lok has announced a merger with children’s charity Children’s Links.

  • HIPs come into force

    07/04/2009

    Home information packs are now required for all residential properties put on the market after 5 April.

  • Debtors to get breathing space from debt collectors

    06/04/2009

    Debt collectors will give struggling borrowers 30 days to sort out their finances under a new agreement.

  • 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.

  • Council sorry for cancer tenant eviction threat

    06/04/2009

    Westminster council has apologised after one of its tenants who was ‘gravely ill’ with lung cancer was threatened with eviction for being £390 in arrears.

  • Europe backs £100m upgrade to UK social housing

    06/04/2009

    The European Union has ruled that the UK government can spend cash from an €8 billion fund on improving the energy efficiency of existing housing.

  • Housebuilding targets are main worry for sector

    06/04/2009

    A conference poll says the viability of new building targets is the top priority for housing professionals

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Alarm at growth in rural waiting lists

    03/10/2008

    An average of almost 15,000 people are joining housing waiting lists in rural areas every month, the National Housing Federation has warned.

  • 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).

  • 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.

  • More temporary homes woe

    03/10/2008

    The number of Scottish households in temporary housing has jumped by 11 per cent since last year, according to government figures released this week.

  • Probe into AGM concerns

    03/10/2008

    Genesis Housing Group has been ordered by the Housing Corporation to commission an independent investigation into complaints about one of its subsidiaries.

  • 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.

  • 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).

  • Soha welcomes Galoselva

    03/10/2008

    Cécile Galoselva has been appointed to the board of Soha Housing.

  • 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.

  • 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 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.

  • 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.

  • Perry: corporation lost its regulation focus

    02/10/2008

    Ujima shows importance of swift action, says former chief executive

  • Government revisits unpopular direct payment plan

    02/10/2008

    Direct pay proposals could significantly damage borrowing power

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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’.

  • 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.

  • Builder doubles affordable housing profits

    11/09/2008

    Galliford Try more than doubled its profits from affordable housing and regeneration in the year to 30 June, it reported today.

  • 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.

  • Top 50 developers – Inside Housing, June 2008

    24/06/2008

    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.

  • 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 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

  • 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.

  • 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.