The Week in Housing: bailiff evictions rise, inquest of baby’s death concludes and Homes England reveals pilot

Another policy area where the government has introduced reforms is the Right to Buy. The latest data revealed that the number of council-owned homes sold in England under the scheme rose by 7% last year, as tenants rushed to apply for discounts before they were reduced.

In a case that could have taught significant lessons to the sector, a coroner’s court heard that the death of a baby who lived with his family at a Notting Hill Genesis property in Camden, north London, found no evidence that living with damp and mould contributed to his passing.

In development and funding news, Homes England has chosen a major city council to pilot the delivery of homes after receiving cash from the Affordable Homes Programme.

The government’s housing and regeneration agency also revealed a partnership with Network Rail and local authorities to provide a £120m funding package for the last major brownfield site in Newcastle.

Financial accounts from the sector showed mixed results, as one North East landlord posted a 30% rise in pre-tax profits driven by an increase in rental income and shared ownership sales.

Paradigm reported a bump in annual profit after strong sales of shared ownership homes, but the association built fewer new homes than last year.

Midland Heart had a 60% rise in profit, following a large one-off transfer of retirement housing to a specialist provider.

Moat recorded a 40% drop in its annual surplus after net interest costs continued to soar, but it completed more homes than last year.

Legal & General’s affordable homes division reported total profits of £17.7m last year. Its property fund also expanded to £4.7bn following a merger with a US-based asset manager.

In an exclusive interview, John Goodey, chief financial officer at Sage Homes, talked about building affordable homes at high volume, profitability and trimming its portfolio.

A London landlord revealed details of an interesting acquisition after it took on a specialist residential investment management business, as it looks to attract more capital and accelerate institutional partnerships.

Attracting more capital to boost delivery comes at a time when London’s biggest landlords suggested that the mayor could support the capital’s flagging affordable housing delivery with additional grants for live projects where costs overrun.

Despite the concern over costs, there was a lot of development news this week. In Bristol, plans were unveiled for a student accommodation tower and co-living block that could deliver 650 homes.

A Welsh landlord has begun the redevelopment of a village in north-west Wales which became home to Polish soldiers displaced after World War II.

Plus, Liverpool City Council has selected two firms to lead a joint venture as part of its plans to kick-start a delayed development site.

On building safety, students have been blocked from moving into newly built accommodation in Staffordshire while the Building Safety Regulator investigates safety concerns.

Inside Housing obtained a redacted incident report by a fire service which indicated that a fire in a low-rise SNG building in Andover spread through “gaps or voids in construction”.

Bristol City Council is facing growing pressure to stop housing tenants in a converted office block due to ongoing concerns over “very poor” living conditions.

In Scotland, a council is reinvestigating its entire housing stock for potentially dangerous ‘crumbly’ concrete after the material was discovered on more buildings the authority was not aware of.

A Scottish landlord judged non-compliant by the regulator for two-and-a-half years is seeking a strategic partner, as it needs more funding to fix major problems at its properties.

Figures published last week by the National Child Mortality Database revealed that nine children under the age of 11 died after falling from windows or balconies in social rented homes in the past six years. This week we republished our article from last year on how social landlords are responding to high-rise window danger.

Have a great weekend.

Stephen Delahunty, news editor, Inside Housing

Say hello: stephen.delahunty@oceanmedia.co.uk

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