ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

Morning Briefing: undercover investigation into short-term letting

An investigation into short-term letting, questions over rough sleeping statistics, and the rest of the morning’s housing news

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines

Morning Briefing: undercover investigation into short-term letting #ukhousing

In the news

The BBC runs an undercover investigation into companies which are allegedly pushing landlords to ignore legal limits on the amount of short-term letting in London. But BBC journalists filmed property agents promising to circumvent the restriction by posting a new listing online – making it impossible to track whether or not the property has been let out for longer than the short-term limit.

London councils have previously called for more powers to limit the use of shot-term letting websites such as AirBnB.

Research by The Guardian throws doubt on recent figures which showed a marginal drop in rough sleeping. The figures are compiled through a combination of “estimates” and snapshot counts, with the counts more vulnerable to volatility. The paper notes that in this year’s figures, 30 councils switched from an estimate to a street count – some of which resulted in drops of up to 85%. Brighton and Hove City Council, for example, carried out a count on a night in November when it was snowing in the city which may have meant more people than usual found a way to bed down inside.

In response, the government called The Guardian’s criticism “an insult” to the volunteers who carry out the work.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports a government source saying that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ministers are increasingly concerned by house builder Persimmon’s use of the Help to Buy scheme. The report followed a similar story in The Times.

In local news, The Reading Chronicle reports on a family with five children stuck in a two-bedroom home being told there is “nowhere else to go”.

Birmingham Live reports on plans by the councils to buy up empty street properties, some of which have been unoccupied for 20 years.

Manchester Evening News reports on the stories of residents who will be forced to leave blocks of flats which are scheduled for demolition.

Police and fire officers are investigating an apparent gas explosion in Bristol over the weekend. It is not clear from the reports as yet whether or not the homes are in the social housing sector.

And in South Tyneside, the council is calling for the suspension of the Right to Buy scheme.

On social media

Discussion over the governance model for charities and how it could impact the housing sector:

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.