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Morning Briefing: London's house price slump spreads
The house price slump in London is reportedly spreading and Birmingham City Council pledges to install sprinklers in 7,000 flats
In the news
The London property market slump appears to be getting worse, with prices falling in nearly half of the postcodes in the English capital, The Guardian reports this morning.
The newspaper reports that the figures, from data provider Hometrack, “will stoke concerns that sliding prices are far from confined to the most expensive homes in central London, with… a ripple effect spreading into suburbs.”
Although falling prices will help those trying to get onto the ladder, they may also cause concern for some associations with extensive development and regeneration plans funded by cross-subsidy. Our piece last month ‘End of the road for regeneration in London?’ looked at the economic turbulence in the market in London and whether this is one of the factors making estate regeneration more tricky.
Hometrack did, however, find strong price growth in other British cities, including Liverpool, Edinburgh and Manchester.
The Evening Standard has a report on leaseholders in Kensington and Chelsea facing huge increases in their insurance premiums following the Grenfell fire. Inside Housing covered the story last week, reporting that premiums will increase 89%.
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Birmingham City Council has pledged to install sprinklers in 7,000 flats by 2020, the Birmingham Mail newspaper reports here. The newspaper reports the council will borrow £31m to fund the work if the government doesn’t provide the money.
The Birmingham Mail is also reporting that the local Conservatives, currently in opposition, would demolish every council high rise if elected in May.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has published a briefing ahead of a House of Commons debate later this morning on council housebuilding. The briefing neatly summarises the LGA’s lobbying position, setting out its case for measures including lifting Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps and allowing councils to keep 100% of Right to Buy receipts for investment in new homes.
Shelter Cymru has called for more affordable housing investment in Wales, following figures showing more than 60,000 people are now on the waiting list. The BBC report on this is here.
House builders are struggling to meet demand for social and affordable housing, but councils are to blame “for not commissioning enough”. This is the conclusion of a survey of 431 house builders by construction agency McBains, published in The Planner magazine. You will need to register with the website to read the full article.
Scottish Housing News has a report on the latest statistics on social landlords’ financial performance from the regulator.
Leeds United Football Club has pledged to tackle homelessness, The Yorkshire Post newspaper has reported.
Political commentator Frances Ryan has written a piece for The Guardian warning that disabled people risk once again being “warehoused” in “out-of-town institutions”.
Nacro (formerly the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders) has won a £25m contract to provide housing and support for people in, or at risk of entering, the criminal justice system, website Civil Society reports.
Should landlords pay interest on tenants’ deposits? An interesting argument here from Atif Shafique, of the Royal Society of Arts, for City Metric.
On social media
CIH Futures suggests that providers “nudge” tenants to use services...
As above Mike, do we risk over proving services & stretching ourselves too thin? Can we ‘nudge’ customers to access services & engage with us in a way which makes business & involvement sense?
— CIH Futures (@CIHFutures)As above Mike, do we risk over proving services & stretching ourselves too thin? Can we ‘nudge’ customers to access services & engage with us in a way which makes business & involvement sense?
— CIH Futures (@CIHFutures) March 26, 2018
...prompting an immediate, robust response from one tenant:
Please, oh denizens of the new style #ukhousing world don’t nudge me. I’ll nudge back. It’ll get messy. Just try having conversations with the tenants whose rents fund you. It’s really easy, asking us what we want. Just like talking normally with your neighbours or your friends.
— Lizzie Spring (@ESpringW11)Please, oh denizens of the new style #ukhousing world don't nudge me. I'll nudge back. It'll get messy. Just try having conversations with the tenants whose rents fund you. It's really easy, asking us what we want. Just like talking normally with your neighbours or your friends.
— Lizzie Spring (@ESpringW11) March 26, 2018
What’s on
- A debate on council housebuilding will take place in the House of Commons after 11.30am
