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The Week in Housing: Rent caps and renters’ rights on the agenda as local elections loom
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The Week in Housing: Rent caps and renters’ rights on the agenda as local elections loom #UKhousingGood afternoon.
This week brought the news that the government will push ahead with its Right to Buy reforms, meaning renters will have to wait three times as long to purchase their homes as ministers hope to slow the loss of social housing stock.
With talk of rent controls in the private rented sector causing a stir as the government wrestles with how to address housing affordability, the Renters’ Rights Act comes into effect today, and should protect more than 2,000 households a month from eviction.
Elsewhere, housing minister Matthew Pennycook fired a warning over proposed service charge caps, which he says could have a “detrimental impact” on leaseholders.
Proposed reforms to planning committees have also come under scrutiny, with councils and house builders warning that the changes could create risk and uncertainty in the system.
However, we also heard how the government’s English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act, which was granted royal assent, could reinvigorate planning processes and offer mayors and strategic authorities potential to boost development.
With some legislation passing that will have a positive impact on residents and development plans, the government’s latest homelessness figures have revealed a drop in rough sleeping, but the number of children in temporary accommodation has reached another record high.
The figures show that the government still has a long way to go to address the housing crisis. With that in mind, a new white paper set out how housing associations could get the funding needed to build 18,500 affordable homes per year by selling homes into a new joint venture model with institutional investors.
MPs called for a new standalone body for improving military homes, and set out why the government should set deadlines for when it will widen eligibility so non-married families are no longer left “in limbo”.
The sector’s ability to tackle damp and mould hazards was once again in the spotlight. Onward Homes has overhauled how it handles hazard reporting after a Housing Ombudsman report found that a family had been living with multiple hazards for nearly two years.
Tenant safety was also raised by the Regulator of Social Housing as an issue in its assessment of housing stock at two councils, despite it upgrading its consumer standards grading for both.
April’s building safety round-up further underlined the continued focus on standards, process and accountability across the sector.
Ahead of the local elections next week, Inside Housing looked at what the main parties are offering in Scotland and in Wales, and how the plans may differ from the Westminster government’s ambitions.
We also spoke to Community Housing Cymru’s boss to find out about what a change in leadership might mean for housing in Wales.
At the same time, Welsh Chartered Institute of Housing leaders called for the country’s own version of England’s competency standard.
On sustainability, we heard how switching social housing heat networks to “renewable gas” could protect residents from rising costs.
However, the boss of a heat pump firm warned that the UK government’s efforts to reduce the ratio of gas to electricity costs is happening too slowly to keep up with climate change.
There were signs of the ongoing strain in the housing market. One major house builder – Taylor Wimpey – said it is not currently seeing opportunities to build new flats in London, pointing to viability challenges in the capital.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest developing social landlords, Clarion, reported a rise in surplus for the year, but falls in turnover and sales income, reflecting what it described as “difficult market conditions”.
In other financial news, The Housing Finance Corporation unveiled a £550m funding package to support affordable housing across Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. And Peabody has reorganised its debt structure in a move it hopes will help bring down costs.
Peabody also provided Inside Housing’s big interview this week, with deputy chief executive Elly Hoult telling Martin Hilditch why organisations like hers need to do more to bring new talent into the sector and close the skills gap.
Data shared exclusively with Inside Housing revealed that 485 arrests were made under the 200-year-old Vagrancy Act since the Labour government came to power, despite the government deciding to scrap the act earlier this year.
In Northern Ireland, proposed changes to homelessness policy were welcomed by the charity Homeless Connect.
And finally, the deadline for entries for Inside Housing Management’s search for 30 employees making waves in the sector is fast approaching. If you have a colleague who deserves recognition, you have until 5 May to enter.
Gavriel Hollander, deputy news editor (maternity cover), Inside Housing
Say hello: gavriel.hollander@insidehousing.co.uk
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