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Short on time? Tuesday’s housing news in five minutes
A round-up of the top stories this morning from Inside Housing and elsewhere
Top story: London housing association warns leaseholders may each face £100,000 bill for fire safety works
Network Homes has warned that its leaseholders could face bills of up to £100,000 to pay for the removal of non-aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding unless the government steps in to help.
Inside Housing previously reported that Helen Evans, chief executive of the association, said it could not give “blanket assurances” to leaseholders that it could cover the cost of fire remediation work indefinitely.
The removal of non-ACM cladding has posed a huge challenge for both leaseholders and housing associations. While the government has committed £600m to replace ACM cladding in England, building owners are responsible for the removal of other types of dangerous cladding or insulation, with leaseholders in most cases liable for the costs.
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Families unable to afford food shop due to housing benefit shortfall, Crisis warns
Homeless charity Crisis is continuing its campaign to push the government to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates with the release of analysis that shows how the housing benefit shortfall in large parts of the country stops claimants from being able to afford their food shop.
LHA rates have been frozen since 2016, during which time the cost of renting privately has increased dramatically in much of the country.
While the government recently announced that LHA rates will begin rising by the rate of Consumer Price Index from April this year, Crisis argues this is not enough for people whose benefit has already fallen far behind their rental costs.
Lunchtime long read
Social landlords can be vulnerable to fraud of many kinds, including application fraud, Right to Buy fraud and subletting fraud.
Arun Chauhan, founder and director of Tenet Compliance & Litigation, breaks down the different types of fraud social landlords are most likely to be victim of and discusses how to prevent them.
Quote of the day
“I live in hope that there is a new philosophy of spreading the love across the nation, encouraging ambition and opportunity for all, while at the same time addressing the impact of years of austerity.”
Charlie Norman, chief executive of Mosscare St Vincent’s, assesses the challenges the sector is confronted with as it faces up to a new political landscape.
In the papers
Picture: Getty
Chancellor Sajid Javid has announced that the government’s first post-Brexit budget will take place on 11 March, Reuters reports.
The I newspaper reports that Britain’s efforts to hit its climate targets are being damaged by a decision to abolish the Carbon Emission Reduction Obligation (CERO), which forced large energy firms to subsidise home insulation.
Businesses in Northern Ireland are seeking £100m in compensation from the UK government due the effects of Brexit, The Guardian writes.
Local news
Picture: Getty
Hackney Council has been told to pay a mother and her teenage son over £7,000 because of the impact of living in unsuitable accommodation, the Hackney Citizen reports.
Trafford Council plans to create a housing joint venture with Trafford Housing Trust to build 150 homes in Old Trafford, according to Place North West.
Leeds Live reports that delayed plans to build 2,000 homes in east Leeds are expected to move forward after the developer agreed to the council’s affordable housing demands.
The big issues that impact the regeneration and delivery of social housingSPONSORED ARTICLE
