Morning Briefing: the new homes that are ‘uninhabitable’

In the news

The BBC’s website has a report about horror stories from people who have bought a new build home, only to find serious problems with it within months.

The report covers gas leaks, damp, holes in the floor and wall cracks appearing less than a year after the owners move in.

It comes weeks after Inside Housing and others reported on the government’s plans for a new cross-sector ombudsman, which would cover social and private landlords and the “providers of new build homes”.

Elsewhere, several news publications are reporting on yesterday’s interim findings from Dame Judith Hackitt’s review of building regulations.

The BBC reports Dame Judith’s view that the regulations leave room for “shortcuts”. The New York Times and the Huffington Post also covered the story along similar lines.

Inside Housing’s latest story on the findings focuses on developers ignoring the advice of fire services in the design stage of high-rise blocks. Also worth reading is Jules Birch’s piece on the findings.

In other news, Hometrack has published its latest UK Cities House Price Index, finding that prices in urban areas have risen 6.3% year-on-year.

On social media

The Chartered Institute of Housing has tweeted a link to its review of the year:

Our policy team takes a look at the major housing announcements in 2017 and their hopes for 2018 in this review of the year #ukhousing t.co/waM2d42WIf pic.twitter.com/429we9ctOw

— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing)

Our policy team takes a look at the major housing announcements in 2017 and their hopes for 2018 in this review of the year #ukhousing https://t.co/waM2d42WIf pic.twitter.com/429we9ctOw

— Chartered Institute of Housing (@CIHhousing) December 18, 2017