Funding housing and local growth: how a British investment bank can help

Posted on: 6 June 2014
By: mackene
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The Smith Institute has published a report calling for a bank jointly owned by central and local government to support urban extensions. The think tank researched state investment in banks across western Europe, and concluded that a similar system could help combat the shortage of housing in the UK.

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Safe development of housing on contaminated land

Posted on: 5 June 2014
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The government has published guidance on the development of housing on land affected by contamination. This guidance has been published to promote the adoption of good practice in the identification, investigation, assessment and remedial treatment of land affected by contamination so that development for housing can be undertaken safely and with confidence that no unacceptable risks remain. It reflects the new regulatory regime for contaminated land set out in Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act. It is aimed at house builders and developers, planning advisers, designers, financiers, and insurers and planning and regulatory authorities which must consider contamination in the context of their own statutory responsibilities.

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Home Truths 2013/2014: The housing market in London

Posted on: 30 May 2014
By: mackene
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The housing shortage in London is reaching critical levels as housebuilding fails to keep pace with population growth and wages lag behind housing costs, according to a new report from the National Housing Federation.

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Evaluation of the Empty Homes Community Grants Programme: Midlands

Posted on: 30 May 2014
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This case studies report has been produced by the Housing and Communities Research Group at the University of Birmingham. It presents a programme of research to evaluate the impact of the Empty Homes Community Grants Programme (EHCGP) in the English Midlands.  The aim of the research was also to build on existing knowledge about the self-help housing sector and its expansion.  This baseline study identifies the scale and nature of existing self-help housing projects in the Midlands.  It explores the barriers and enablers to expansion of the sector, the wider community benefits and the direct outputs of the EHCG programme in terms of empty homes brought into use. The report also begins to assess the impact of the EHCGP on the national map of the sector and on the sustainability of individual projects.

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UK housing policy and practice

Posted on: 30 May 2014
By: mackene
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This resource is intended for any member of a community who wants to be more involved in (or informed about) planning for their local area. It contains links to information about some of the areas anyone getting involved in community planning should know about. Many of the materials may also be useful to housing practitioners and local authorities looking to engage with their local communities in delivering new development.

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London Rental Standard

Posted on: 29 May 2014
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The London Mayor has launched a rental standard for private sector landlords in London, in a bid to ensure tenants can rent confidently and help landlords understand the law. The London rental standard badge will be awarded to all landlords and letting agents who meet a set of core commitments, including transparent fees, better property conditions, protected deposits and fast response times for repairs. The scheme is voluntary.

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Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee Scheme

Posted on: 29 May 2014
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This statistical release presents official statistics on the government’s Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. It presents statistics on the number of mortgage completions, types and values of properties, borrower incomes and breakdowns by various geographical areas. It is the first Official Statistics release concerning the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme and covers the period from its launch on 8 October 2013 to 31 March 2014.

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CIH response to: Review of the local authority role in housing supply

Posted on: 28 May 2014
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This is the response from the Chartered Institute of Housing to the government’s consultation document which reviews the local authority role in housing supply.

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London Residential Quarterly: 1st quarter 2014

Posted on: 28 May 2014
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The residential rental landscape in London is changing fast with buy to let investors no longer necessarily chasing high yields but also looking for capital growth alone, according to the latest quarterly report from Strutt and Parker.

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Consultation on changes to the regulatory framework

Posted on: 28 May 2014
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In April 2013 the Social Housing Regulator (the Regulator) launched a discussion document on ‘Protecting social housing assets in a more diverse sector’. The document explored whether the current Regulatory Framework needed strengthening for a sector experiencing significant changes in its core business model and diversifying into new areas, whilst at the same time new types of profit making registered provider were emerging. This statutory consultation, the first under the auspices of the Homes and Communities Agency Regulation Committee, sets out the Regulator’s formal proposals in the light of the responses to the discussion document. This consultation gives landlords, tenants, lenders and others who have an interest in the social housing sector, an opportunity to influence how the social housing regulator will amend the Regulatory Framework. Comments are requested by 19 August 2014.

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