Giving tenants control: Right to transfer and right to manage Regulations. Summary of responses to consultation

Posted on: 23 July 2013
By: mackene
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The Communities and Local Government department yesterday published its ‘right to transfer’ regulations, which will come before parliament in the autumn. The regulations will bring into force section 34a of the Housing Act 1985, which forces councils to co-operate with tenants’ stock transfer requests. The new right lets social tenants who want to see their homes owned, managed and maintained by a housing association rather than a council request for a change of ownership, with councils required to consider the merits of every request. As part of the deal, housing associations will need to clearly show how it will offer value for money for taxpayers, as well as how it will lead to the building of new affordable homes and the improvement of existing stock.

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Housing Britain’s future: Some home truths

Posted on: 22 July 2013
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This new paper from the National Housing Federation argues that not enough is being done to tackle our severe lack of affordable housing and further suggests that in the future young people will face a greater challenge in obtaining affordable accommodation.

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The private rented sector

Posted on: 18 July 2013
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The House of Commons Communities and Local Government Select Committee has published the findings of its inquiry into the private rented sector. It was against the backdrop of steady growth of the sector that the Committee decided to conduct its inquiry. The growth has put the spotlight on four key issues, and these have been central to developing a thriving market and to the inquiry. First, there is a common view that more should be done to raise standards of property and management in some parts of the sector. Second, concerns have been raised about the lack of regulation of letting agents and the extent of sharp practice by some agents, in particular the fees they charge to tenants and landlords. Third, especially with the increase in the number of families living in the sector, there have been calls by some for much greater security of tenure. Finally, there is widespread lack of awareness amongst both tenants and landlords about their respective rights and responsibilities and about the law covering the private rented sector.

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Keeping work: Longitudinal qualitative research on homeless people’s experiences of starting and staying in work.

Posted on: 16 July 2013
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This research shows that work can be a central part of the journey away from homelessness: building self-esteem, enabling financial independence and bringing a sense of meaning and possibility to people’s lives. However, only around two to 14% of people living in homelessness accommodation work. This research aimed to explore how more homeless people can be supported to move into and stay in work, through in-depth interviews with 50 homeless people over up to their first year after starting a new job.

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Home truths: How affordable is housing for Britain’s working families?

Posted on: 15 July 2013
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This report from the Resolution Foundation is described as the first to give a comprehensive assessment of where less affluent families can reasonably afford to live, revealing that even a very modest rented home is beyond the reach of low income households in 33 per cent of all local authority areas.

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Ten principles for owning your housing number: finding your objectively assessed needs

Posted on: 11 July 2013
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The Planning Advisory Service has produced a document outlining what it believes are the ten key principles necessary for owning your housing numbers and finding your objectively assessed needs.

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English Housing Survey

Posted on: 11 July 2013
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Two 2011-12 English Housing Survey (EHS) Annual Reports, one on Homes and the other on Households, plus accompanying live tables, have been published on the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) website. These reports expand on statistics first released in the 2011-12 EHS Headline Report in February 2013 and cover a wide range of topics relating to both the physical condition of homes and the circumstances of the people that live in them.

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Bad weather, good habits: encouraging social housing tenants to save more

Posted on: 10 July 2013
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With the impact of welfare reform and Universal Credit looming, there is a pressing business case for social landlords to encourage their tenants to get into the habit of saving regularly, however little, to guard against the threat of rainy days ahead. Based on in-depth interviews with over 220 residents and a thorough understanding of their worries, interests, aspirations, and attitudes towards money, as well as insights from behavioural economics, a new  report  from Lemos & Crane sets out innovative ways for landlords to achieve this objective – including a new ‘RentPlus’ product, where tenants opt-in to save as part of their rental payment.

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Mapping the number of extra housing units for young people

Posted on: 8 July 2013
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This report looks at the requirements for supported and sub-market independent accommodation (social housing and private rented accommodation with housing benefit) for young people (aged 16-24). It examines the current situation and projections for the future until 2021.

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UK Housing Review 2013 Briefing Paper

Posted on: 4 July 2013
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This briefing paper complements the UK Housing Review published at the beginning of 2013.  It assesses the implications of policy and market changes.

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