Ambient lighting, USB points and a decent pint

The beauty of providing accommodation for student living is that pretty much anything goes. Whether it’s a new hi-rise apartment block, the refurbishment of existing flats or the conversion of a more historic or non-residential building, if it’s close enough... View Article

Section 21: landlord rights explained

A consultation into the use of section 21 notices to evict fixed-term tenants is currently underway – but critics have claimed that scrapping the legislation altogether may leave 960,000 fewer homes available to renters as landlords pull out of the... View Article

Government loses legal fight over bedroom tax

The Supreme Court has ruled against the Government’s attempts to force the bedroom tax on 155 partners of people with severe disabilities, in a decision that could have a wider impact on other welfare benefits. A unanimous judgement delivered by... View Article

Associations merge to form 38,000-home landlord

Social housing providers Radian and Yarlington have joined forces in a new partnership, creating an organisation with 38,000 homes and 79,000 customers across the south and south west of England. The new organisation plans to build 10,000 homes over the... View Article

Rydon secures £100m redevelopment of West London estate

Ealing Council has awarded a £100m estate regeneration project to Rydon, the contractor who were the lead company on the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower. The contract will see the demolition of the 264-home High Lane estate, in Hanwell, and its... View Article

Regulatory fees increase confirmed

England’s social housing regulator has confirmed the planned seventy-five pence increase in the per-unit fee to an estimated £5.47 per property for 2020/21. The regulator’s chief executive Fiona MacGregor has written to all registered providers notifying them of the increase,... View Article

Self-employed gas fitter jailed for illegal gas work

A fitter has been jailed for 18 months after carrying out illegal gas work which was deemed by Gas Safe Register as immediately dangerous to life and property. York Magistrates’ Court heard that between 14 and 15 November 2015 and... View Article

Scotland makes progress on affordable housing delivery

The Chartered Institute of Housing has praised the Scottish Government for progress made towards meeting its target to deliver 50,000 affordable homes over five years to 2021, but has urged it to make clear its future funding plans. As well... View Article

Scottish regulator reminds landlords of safety duties

The Scottish Housing Regulator has written to all social landlords to highlight the importance of meeting their duties to keep tenants and residents safe. The Regulator’s letter comes after it identified that some of the registered social landlords it had... View Article

Student landlords told to fix ‘awful’ problems

The Universities Minister has demanded that providers of student accommodation urgently resolve the problems at more than 20 new specialist housing schemes, where construction delays have left them uninhabitable. Chris Skidmore MP met with the companies after a series of... View Article