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Morning Briefing: Ikea gets green light for flatpack homes from council
Ikea gets green light for flatpack homes, reaction to Theresa May’s speech at the Housing 2019 conference, and all your other main housing news stories
Ikea could be installing ‘flatpack’ homes across the UK after its company BoKlok received its first order for modular homes from a West Sussex council, a number of papers reported yesterday.
The BBC, among many other national newspapers and websites, have written about Worthing Council’s decision to give the green light to Boklok, a joint venture between Ikea and contractor Skanska, to build 162 homes in the seaside town.
Councillors have agreed to work with BoKlok on the plan that will see 30% of the social housing properties to be in areas with a shortage of homes. The homes are also understood to include an Ikea kitchen.
A number of websites have reported on Ms May’s surprise appearance at the Chartered Institute of Housing’s Housing 2019 conference yesterday. The Big Issue said that Ms May’s speech made a number of housing promises, including a date for ending Section 21 evictions, ending the postcode lottery on space standards, and a call for more investment in social housing.
The Daily Express chose a different angle, focusing on what it called Ms May’s “hilarious joke”, when she referenced the last time she was in the Manchester Hall and was handed a P45 letter while delivering her keynote at the Conservative Party conference in 2017.
“And just incase anyone is planning to run on stage with a P45, you’re a little bit late,” the outgoing prime minister said.
You can get the full video of Ms May’s speech here, while the rest of Inside Housing’s coverage of the conference can be found here.
The Guardian reports this morning on a survey carried out by Citizens Advice which has found that hundreds of thousands living in the private rented sector are living in mouldy and dangerous conditions.
The survey of English landlords and tenants by the charity found that half of the landlords did not know their legal obligations, while renters didn’t know their rights or how to enforce them.
This has resulted in many tenants living in homes with health-affecting hazards or dangerous problems, such as missing smoke or carbon monoxide alarms.
Citizens Advice on Wednesday called for a national housing body that would set standards for private renting.
The BBC has a story on 12 people who have been arrested in Blackburn amid concerns that unscrupulous landlords have stolen welfare benefits from homeless people.
Lancashire Police suspect vulnerable tenants have been forced to hand over their Universal Credit and bank cards in return for accommodation.
The police were involved in dawn raid with 50 officers at seven locations in Blackburn, as part of ‘Operation Cactus’. They arrested eight men and four women, aged between 20 and 59.
There are more concerns about the state of the country’s social care system in The Guardian, with the paper writing about the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services annual survey which says the escalating financial crisis in the sector is leaving thousands of older people at risk of being denied basic support.
In Scotland, the number of homelessness applications is on the rise, according to the BBC. In 2018/19, 36,465 people registered themselves as homeless and asked for help from their council, which was a rise of 3% on the previous year. It is the second time since 2005/06 that has seen a rise in applications for two consecutive years.
On social media
The reaction to Ms May’s speech:
Interesting to see @theresa_may suggest "social housing has become a victim of the single-minded drive for home ownership". Sneak peak at the annual @insidehousing development survey (out this week) reveals it’s still near the back of the queue when it comes to what’s being built
— Martin Hilditch (@martinhilditch)Interesting to see @theresa_may suggest "social housing has become a victim of the single-minded drive for home ownership". Sneak peak at the annual @insidehousing development survey (out this week) reveals it's still near the back of the queue when it comes to what's being built
— Martin Hilditch (@martinhilditch) June 26, 2019
Desperate to secure a legacy, Theresa May pretends to care about home sizes. So why is her government forging ahead with extending planning loopholes that allow offices to be converted into micro-flats just 10m2? My reaction to her @CIHhousing speech today t.co/a3Y1mAjLkz
— Tom Copley (@tomcopley)Desperate to secure a legacy, Theresa May pretends to care about home sizes. So why is her government forging ahead with extending planning loopholes that allow offices to be converted into micro-flats just 10m2? My reaction to her @CIHhousing speech today https://t.co/a3Y1mAjLkz
— Tom Copley (@tomcopley) June 26, 2019