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Stockport committed to a greener future

Monday, 14th March 2022

The opening of two environmentally friendly properties for social rent in Cheadle last week signalled Stockport Council and Stockport Homes’ continued commitment to social development alongside its green energy targets. In a first for the council, the two developments were... View Article

Over 80% of tenants satisfied with renting, new research shows

Monday, 14th March 2022

Most people renting their home in the private rented sector are happy with their property and landlord, new research reveals today. The Social Market Foundation found that – contrary to some narratives suggest renting is an inherently unhappy experience –... View Article

Councils respond to Homes for Ukraine scheme

Monday, 14th March 2022

Cllr James Jamieson, chairman of the Local Government Association, which represents 350 councils across England and Wales, said: “The humanitarian crisis caused by the Ukraine invasion is heart-breaking. Councils are ready to help new arrivals from Ukraine settle in the... View Article

Orbit Homes enters into contract on two deals for 58 affordable homes in the Midlands

Tuesday, 8th March 2022

Orbit Homes has successfully entered into contract on two brand-new sites in the Midlands. The affordable house builder will deliver 58 homes at the sites, with completions during the period of 2022 and 2025. The developments will offer a mixed... View Article

UK-first partnership to deliver affordable energy to those most in need

Monday, 7th March 2022

A ground-breaking new partnership between a renewable technology company and an energy supplier has been launched to deliver lower bills for social and affordable housing tenants. AceOn and Rebel Energy have teamed up in an exclusive partnership to offer local authorities and housing associations a green deal... View Article

‘The importance of healthy homes’ – the latest white paper from Housing Management & Maintenance is now live

Monday, 7th March 2022

Housing Management & Maintenance has recently published ‘The importance of healthy homes’ – a white paper that explores landlords’ and housing professionals’ perceptions of what makes up a healthy home. Old and poor quality housing, with common issues such as... View Article

Members inspired by Grenfell give tenants more say in landlord’s future

Monday, 7th March 2022

A North-West landlord has appointed ten tenants to a new Customer Committee to help shape how services are delivered across the communities they live in. ForHousing has recruited tenants from a variety of backgrounds, including a local councillor, an NHS volunteer and... View Article

New tenancy regulations in Wales to become effective from July

Friday, 25th February 2022

Julie James the Welsh Minister for Climate Change has announced that a raft of changes to housing and tenancy law in the country will come into effect from 15 July 2022. Under the new law (The Renting Homes (Wales) Act... View Article

Another council refers itself to regulator over H&S failings

Friday, 25th February 2022

A unitary council on the south coast of England has referred itself to the Regulator of Social Housing over shortcomings in its electrical and fire safety work to tenants’ homes, leading to a probable breach of the Home Standard. Bournemouth,... View Article

Government announces drive to improve service standards in social housing

Friday, 25th February 2022

The Government has announced a package of measures to ensure social housing residents are listened to and better protected in the future, with their new rights enshrined in law. Among the measures announced by the Minister for Rough Sleeping and... View Article

Levelling Up funds should be made available for HAs’ regeneration work

Friday, 25th February 2022

The PlaceShapers group of housing associations is calling on the Government to make funds available for its members’ work on regenerating housing estates and decarbonisation work on existing stock. Backed up by published research in a new report ‘Stay local,... View Article

How do we fund all of the post Grenfell safety works?

Friday, 25th February 2022

Among the many questions left unanswered by Michael Gove’s commitment to make developers pay for resolving the cladding crisis on Britain’s block of flats, perhaps the most important one is how all of the other necessary safety works are to... View Article

Increase in empty homes hidden by holiday lets ‘flipping’ ruse

Friday, 25th February 2022

Empty homes being recorded as holiday lets by owners who want to avoid paying council tax on them is to blame for an apparent drop in the numbers of vacant properties recorded across the country. The group Action on Empty... View Article

Developers told to stump up for building safety measures, but uncertainty remains over responsibility for landlords’ costs

Friday, 25th February 2022

Michael Gove broke the stalemate over who has responsibility for cladding removal costs by demanding that developers pay up, but his solution may only provide a partial relief for individual leaseholders. Developers have been given until early March to agree... View Article

Poor social housing has been a problem for decades

Friday, 25th February 2022

Poor social housing conditions have been a problem for 30 or 40 years and the Government, together with social landlords, face an uphill battle to solve the issue according to the Archbishop of Canterbury. During an interview with ITV News,... View Article

Millions of families in England face biggest social housing rent rise in a decade

Friday, 25th February 2022

Nearly five million families living in social housing in England are facing rent rises of up to 4.1 per cent from April – their biggest increase in a decade, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank. The organisation has forecast a... View Article

Skills and data holding back social landlords’ from digital transformation of services

Friday, 25th February 2022

The lack of both skills and quality data is holding back social housing landlords who are attempting to digitally transform their organisations and better serve residents. A new survey, commissioned by conversation-as-a-service leader Futr, has found that social landlords see... View Article

Homelessness is disproportionately affecting women

Friday, 25th February 2022

Sixty per cent of all homeless adults living in temporary accommodation in England are women, despite only making up 51 per cent of the general population analysis by the housing charity Shelter has found. The charity’s new report, Fobbed Off, used... View Article

West London council slated by Ombudsman over roof leak lasting six years

Friday, 25th February 2022

A series of complaint handling failures by the London Borough of Ealing led to a lengthy and frustrating delay for a resident in getting a leaking roof replaced, causing damp in her flat and impacting on her health. The leaseholder complained in... View Article

Consultation on new tenant satisfaction measures underway

Friday, 25th February 2022

The Regulator of Social Housing is consulting on a new set of tenant satisfaction measures, as proposed in the Government’s Social Housing White Paper, but the closing date for responses is imminent. The Social Housing White Paper was published over a year ago... View Article