General Articles

More people are being placed in temporary and emergency accommodation as councils struggle to cope with rising numbers of people facing homelessness and a lack of affordable housing for them. The findings of a Local Government Association survey coincided with... View Article

The Right to Rent scheme which required landlords to check the passports and immigration status of prospective tenants has been found to be unlawful – as it encouraged racial discrimination against anybody with a foreign-sounding name or a foreign passport.... View Article

A Labour Government will require private landlords to offer tenancies of indefinite length, similar to the German system, in a drive to give renters more security. The plan was announced by the Shadow Housing Secretary, John Healey, who said it... View Article

Only five per cent of private sector tenants who complained to councils about the condition of t heir homes are being properly protected by their local authorities. According to Generation Rent, 99 English councils received a total of 67,026 complaints... View Article

Homelessness in Wales has climbed to its highest level since new legislation designed to tackle the problem was passed in 2015, with continuing austerity and welfare reforms being blamed for the increases. Some 2,997 households became homeless from October to... View Article

The Government is understood to have dropped its proposal to introduce league tables for social housing providers, after tenants voiced their concerns it could increase their stigma and leave them trapped in poor housing. The idea was originally included in... View Article

Influential building industry bodies have joined forces to demand that sprinklers are made mandatory in all new homes in buildings taller than 11 metres. The Royal Institute of British Architects, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Chartered Institute... View Article

Survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have reacted with anger and frustration to an announcement from the Metropolitan Police that they do not expect to bring criminal charges against anyone until the latter part of 2021 – over four years... View Article

Council leaders have demanded Government funding for installing water sprinklers in hundreds of tower blocks, warning that residents in thousands of flats do not feel safe in their own homes. Representatives of 15 councils from Bristol to Newcastle delivered a... View Article

Highly dangerous chemicals and other harmful toxins have been found in debris and soil samples close to Grenfell Tower, that could pose serious health risks to the surrounding community and survivors of the fire. Research by an expert witness to... View Article

New powers for councils to step in and remove dangerous cladding from privately-owned towers have been criticised for being “largely useless”, leaving tens of thousands of leaseholders feeling unsafe and facing huge bills. Last November, Housing Secretary James Brokenshire announced... View Article

The human rights of Grenfell Tower’s residents were breached by both their local council and the Government, according to the country’s equalities watchdog. The use of combustible cladding on the tower and allocating flats high in the building to elderly... View Article