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Morning Briefing: thousands of pensioners could be made homeless in the next decade
Research from Shelter reveals thousands face homelessness in retirement, Thanet Council plans to sever ties with one of the country’s largest ALMOs, and all the other housing stories today
In the news
The Daily Mirror reports on new research from Shelter, which revealed that 25% of renters over 65 worry about becoming homeless.
In a survey of 3,995 private renters, released today on World Homeless Day, 67% of people aged between 55 and 64 told the homeless charity they will not be able to rent a suitable home when they retire unless they receive housing benefit.
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said in the next decade we could see a “generation of older renters at risk of homelessness”.
In other news, cabinet members from Thanet Council are expected to approve plans to bring its social housing back under local authority control, following revelations that hundreds of council property tenants had been awaiting gas safety certificates.
The Isle of Thanet News reports on the story, which is the latest development in the saga surrounding East Kent Housing, which manages around 17,000 homes on behalf of Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe councils.
If cabinet members approve the move, plans will go out to council property residents for consultation next month with a report coming back to the council early next year.
Meanwhile the BBC reports that powers to bring empty homes into use are not being utilised by Welsh councils due to the costs and risk involved.
A Welsh government inquiry heard that only four councils have applied for empty dwelling management orders to bring the country’s 30,000 empty homes back into use, while only three used compulsory purchase orders.
Councils said there was “significant financial risk” for them when work is required to an empty property with no guarantee of a positive outcome.
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Staying in Wales, opposition councillors in Wrexham have accused the council of being pressured by house builders, after the number of affordable homes in the council’s local development plan was reduced from 1,283 to 505, the BBC reports.
The plan, which reflects housing need until 2028, was altered following an assessment by district valuers of the viability of two schemes where more than 3,000 homes could be built.
Also in the BBC is the news that new “high-quality” homes are to be built on the site of a fatal explosion in Oxfordshire.
The council passed plans, submitted by A2Dominion, to build 140 flats on Gibbs Crescent, after a block on the site was destroyed following a blast in 2017.
One man died in the explosion, which was found likely to have been an accident at the inquest.
The Birmingham Mail has met with the council’s anti-fraud team, following revelations that the council had recovered 64 homes in one year due to fraud.
The council said it has developed a “pioneering” anti-fraud data warehouse, which captures all the data across the council to “get a picture of a person”, including council tax records, benefits records, licensing records and library card forms.
Finally, Sanctuary has been granted planning permission for a 120-home site in Essex, the Basildon Echo reports.
The properties are due to be completed by the Autumn of 2021 and will include homes for sale, rent and shared ownership.
On social media
Callum Chomczuk, national director at the Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland, recording himself outside the Scottish parliament after giving evidence on the government’s post-2021 affordable housing plans:
Great to give evidence to @SP_LocalGovt this morning on the need to provide financial assurances to social landlords for their building programme post March 2021. Otherwise we run the risk of missing the 50000 homes target. pic.twitter.com/biXxLhfneW
— Callum Chomczuk (@chomczuk)Great to give evidence to @SP_LocalGovt this morning on the need to provide financial assurances to social landlords for their building programme post March 2021. Otherwise we run the risk of missing the 50000 homes target. pic.twitter.com/biXxLhfneW
— Callum Chomczuk (@chomczuk) October 9, 2019
