Housing | LocalGov

Number of families in temporary accommodation hits record high

03/10/2024

The number of households living in temporary accommodation has hit a record high, new figures reveal.

Value of rental arrears jumps 70%

02/10/2024

The value of rental arrears owed to local authorities has increased by more than 70% in the last five years, new research has revealed.

Council ‘alarmed’ by local plan rejection

02/10/2024

The leader of Oxford City Council has said she is ‘alarmed’ after planning inspectors recommended the council withdraw its draft local plan.

Bath housing targets ‘unrealistic’, Rayner told

02/10/2024

The housing target set for Bath & North East Somerset Council is ‘unrealistic’, the council leader has told the deputy prime minister.

Building costs may exceed house prices in 60 council areas

01/10/2024

The cost of building a home may be higher than house prices in up to 60 UK local authority areas, according to new research.

LGA calls for devolution of retrofit funding

30/09/2024

The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the Government to use the Autumn Budget to devolve all funding for retrofitting social and fuel poor homes to councils.

Staffordshire leaders kick off devolution conversation

30/09/2024

Council leaders across Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have written to the Government to begin a conversation about devolution.

Councils warn over ‘excessive’ housing targets

27/09/2024

Councils in county and rural areas have raised fears that ‘excessive’ new housing targets could leave them at the mercy of speculative development.

Awaab’s Law: the path to improving indoor air quality

26/09/2024

Alan Siggins, Airflow MD, looks at what councils need to do to improve air quality in social housing in light of Awaab’s Law.

A new outlook for strategic planning

26/09/2024

Mike Best at Turley looks at the future of strategic planning under a Labour Government.

Chief ombudsman for new housing appointed

25/09/2024

The New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS) has appointed Nigel Cates as the new chief ombudsman to lead the service from the end of September.

Council criticised for fire risk assessment failings

25/09/2024

Harlow Council has been criticised by the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) for failing to carry out thousands of fire risk assessments.

Further devolution needed to drive energy efficiency measures

25/09/2024

Devolution of funding is needed so that mayoral combined authorities can take the lead in delivering energy efficiency upgrades to homes, a new report says.

Starmer issues veterans housing pledge

24/09/2024

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to ‘house all veterans in housing need' in his first speech to the Labour Party Conference as Prime Minster today.

Labour sets new council house energy efficiency target

24/09/2024

The Government has announced plans to raise energy efficiency rules for council and social housing.

Rayner hints at 'fairer' Right to Buy

23/09/2024

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has hinted at incoming curbs on Right to Buy at the Labour Party Conference.

Addressing the temporary housing crisis

23/09/2024

Leo Stevens and Jonathan Jarvis Partners at Devonshires discuss street acquisitions and optimising the process.

Supported housing ‘on a knife edge’

20/09/2024

The Local Government Association (LGA) has urged the Government to boost spending on supported housing and consider a ring-fenced fund in next month’s Budget.

Pennycook meets sector after £644m cash call

19/09/2024

Minister Matthew Pennycook has met sector leaders and large council landlords after local authorities called for a one-off £644m cash injection into housing.

Islington wins back £260,000 in fraud case

18/09/2024

Islington Council has won back more than a quarter of a million pounds from a resident who fraudulently took on a council tenancy.

Lambeth warns of ‘drastic savings’ without help

18/09/2024

Lambeth Council has called for urgent help in the Government’s Budget next month, at a time it said ‘could not be more critical’ for local authorities.

'Larger projects slowing down housebuilding rate'

18/09/2024

The speed of approving large developments is slowing down the rate of housebuilding in the UK rather than refusals, research from Warwick University has found.

Regulator criticizes councils for health and safety failings

13/09/2024

Three local authorities have been criticized after the social housing regulator discovered serious failings.

Planning reforms ‘not sufficient’ for homes target

12/09/2024

The Government will not meet its target of building 1.5 million homes over the parliament without investing in affordable housing, according to a new report.

Several London councils ‘edging closer towards effective bankruptcy’

12/09/2024

Boroughs in the capital are set to overspend by more than £600m this year as housing and homelessness pressures ‘wreak havoc’ on their finances, according to London Councils.

Manchester adopts Finnish housing scheme in UK first

12/09/2024

A housing scheme said to have significantly reduced homelessness in Finland is set to become a ‘guiding philosophy’ in Greater Manchester after a successful pilot.

Asylum hotel use may increase as small boat crossings continue

11/09/2024

Asylum hotels are expected to remain open for months, with the Home Office privately suggesting they will be required for longer than originally planned, The MJ understands.

No-fault evictions ban returns to Commons

11/09/2024

A ban on landlords evicting tenants without a valid reason is among the ‘landmark’ renting reforms to be introduced to Parliament today.

Affordable housing at risk in cash-strapped council areas

10/09/2024

Half of the councils most impacted by austerity have not built any affordable homes using contributions from private developers since 2010, a think-tank has found.

Man United joins regeneration drive

10/09/2024

Manchester United has joined forces with Trafford Council and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to maximise regeneration opportunities.

‘Little meaningful progress’ made in tackling anti-social behaviour

09/09/2024

Little progress has been made in improving the responses of councils and other agencies to complaints of anti-social behaviour, Victims' Commissioner says.

New homes should be for Welsh speakers, council says

06/09/2024

A community council in Wales has objected to plans for a new affordable housing development amid fears of a decline in non-Welsh speakers.

£27m flood protection scheme gets the go-ahead

06/09/2024

Balfour Beatty has been awarded a £27m contract to deliver a flood protection scheme in Scotland on behalf of Perth and Kinross Council.

Catastrophic system failure

05/09/2024

Mo Baines, chief executive of APSE, calls for an end to the hollowing out of public service capacity in light of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.

Ombudsman: Grenfell should lead to end of social housing ‘stigma’

05/09/2024

The inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy should lead to a ‘wider societal change’ to end the stigmatisation of those living in social housing, Ombudsman says.

Woman denied help after council fails to recognise domestic abuse

05/09/2024

Ealing Council denied a pregnant woman housing support because it used an outdated definition of domestic abuse, an ombudsman has found.

Significant funding needed for Wales to ‘get close’ to housing pledge

05/09/2024

The Welsh Government is unlikely to deliver on a pledge to build 20,000 low-carbon social homes for rent by 2026, according to a spending watchdog.

Liverpool seeks Festival Gardens developer after £60m clean-up

04/09/2024

Liverpool City Council is set to start searching for a housing developer for a 28-acre site it spent £60m cleaning up.

John Lewis submits plans for £80m Reading housing scheme

04/09/2024

The John Lewis Partnership (JLP) has submitted plans to Reading Borough Council to build new rental housing on the site of a disused town centre depot.

Planning ‘dysfunction’ leaves new homes vulnerable to floods

03/09/2024

‘Dysfunction’ in the English planning system is leaving new housing development vulnerable to flood risks, according to a report published today.

Council leaders call for £644m housing boost

03/09/2024

More than 100 council leaders will today warn England’s council housing system is broken and call for an urgent £644m one-off cash injection to support it.

Why building more homes isn't the answer

02/09/2024

Nick Sanderson, CEO & Founder at Audley Group and co-chair of ARCO (Associated Retirement Community Operators), discusses delivering housing for retirees.

Thousands of social homes illegally sublet, study reveals

02/09/2024

Thousands of social homes are being marketed on short-term let platforms like Airbnb, new research reveals.

West Midlands councils warn region will be ‘financially unsustainable’

02/09/2024

Seven council leaders in the West Midlands have warned there is a risk the region will have to declare itself as ‘financially unsustainable.’

Placing accessibility at the centre of house building

30/08/2024

Disabled architect and renowned access consultant, Amy Francis-Smith, argues that accessibility should be the focus of new local government house building.

Manchester councillors approve 71-storey tower

30/08/2024

Councillors in Manchester have approved plans for five new skyscrapers that will provide no affordable housing among 2,388 flats.

Councillors back controversial £1bn regen scheme

30/08/2024

Tower Hamlets Council members have granted planning permission to media mogul Richard Desmond's controversial £1bn development scheme on the Isle of Dogs.

Councils spend record £1bn on temporary accommodation

30/08/2024

Local authorities in England spent a record £1bn on temporary accommodation for homeless households last year, new analysis has revealed.

Ministers: Increase the pace of fixing unsafe buildings

30/08/2024

Ministers have told regulators at a round table meeting to ‘increase the pace of remediating unsafe buildings' after a major fire in Dagenham.

Council chiefs welcome New Homes Accelerator

29/08/2024

Local government leaders welcome the launch of a New Homes Accelerator, which has been tasked with speeding up the delivery of stalled housing sites.

Nutrient neutrality plan won't unblock building, warn housebuilders

29/08/2024

Labour's proposals to address the issue of nutrient neutrality will fail to unblock the construction of more than 160,000 homes, home building industry warns.

Call for council role in asylum housing

29/08/2024

A call has been made for a more prominent role for local government in asylum accommodation.

Council seizes properties from rogue landlord

28/08/2024

A rogue landlord has had several properties seized by Merton Council after failing to license them in what is a first move of its kind for the London borough.

Councils spend £1.7bn repurchasing right-to-buy homes

23/08/2024

Local authorities in England have spent a total of £1.7bn repurchasing former right-to-buy homes, with £1bn of this spent since 2020, analysis reveals.

Council reluctantly puts forward extra housing sites

22/08/2024

West Berkshire Council has proposed additional housebuilding sites ‘with great reluctance’ following a demand from a planning inspector.

Teen left at self-harm risk after council’s housing delay

22/08/2024

A teenager with significant support needs was at significant risk of self-harm after a council left him ‘on the brink of homeless’, an ombudsman has reported.

Call for Government RAAC remediation cash

20/08/2024

Pressure is growing on the Scottish Government to help shoulder the multi-million pound burden of replacing council buildings containing dangerous concrete.

Birmingham to lose £320m on athletes’ village sale

14/08/2024

Hundreds of homes designed to be part of an athletes’ village for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games will be sold by the council at a loss of about £320m.

Councils to have greater powers to compulsorily buy green belt land

12/08/2024

Councils will be handed powers to ensure landowners sell green belt land for housebuilding at a reasonable price under the Government's planning reforms.

Landlords facing increasing costs due to selective licensing

12/08/2024

Thousands of landlords in England are facing increasing costs due to selective licensing schemes imposed by local councils, new research has found.

United call following homelessness surge

08/08/2024

The local government sector has united to call for urgent action following a surge in the number of homeless families.

DCN calls for more powers to hit housing targets

08/08/2024

Councils need more powers and funding to address empty and stalled sites if ministers are to achieve their housing aims, the District Councils' Network (DCN) has said.

AAT’s answer to helping address housing shortage

06/08/2024

With the Government vowing to address the housing shortage, leading mobility innovator AAT is suggesting a way to help some of the 120,000 people with disabilities who need re-housing, and make use of at least some of the 700,000 empty/redundant properties already in existence in the UK. Importantly, the solution can be expediated within days and costs only a few £000.

South East leaders vent fury over mandatory housing targets

06/08/2024

Leaders of five shire councils in the South East have criticised the Government's move to reintroduce mandatory housing targets.

Newham raises alarm over ‘spiralling’ homelessness costs

06/08/2024

Newham Council has warned it may need government assistance due to the ‘spiralling’ costs of supporting homeless people.

Lewisham apologises over family placed in poor accommodation

01/08/2024

Lewisham Council has apologised for placing a family in such poor accommodation that a child had to go to hospital

House building failing to keep pace with the population rises say researchers

01/08/2024

House building has failed to keep pace with the rising population in some areas, according to researchers.

Reforming Right to Buy

31/07/2024

Hollie Wright, assistant researcher, New Economics Foundation (NEF), calls on the new government to rethink Right to Buy.

Ombudsman publishes new guidance for housing officers

31/07/2024

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has published a guide for officers who make decisions on people’s housing needs based on medical assessments.

Rayner promises 'biggest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation'

31/07/2024

Government has confirmed English councils will receive millions of pounds to help them deliver ‘biggest increase in affordable housebuilding in a generation'.

Ensuring packaged pump stations meet utility standards

30/07/2024

Helen Wilson, industry & infrastructure UK manager at Xylem UK, answers the questions developers may ask before selecting a pumping station.

The Housing Crisis: a long road ahead

30/07/2024

Vistry’s CEO of Partnerships & Regeneration, Stephen Teagle, looks at what needs to be done to deliver more affordable housing.

Will increasing council tax on second homes help?

30/07/2024

John Webber, head of Business Rates, Colliers, discusses why he thinks taxing second homeowners more won’t alleviate the shortfall in local authority finance.

Severe maladministration findings prompt housing investigation

30/07/2024

The Housing Ombudsman has launched a special investigation into Lewisham Council following a ‘significant number of severe maladministration findings’.

Local housing deals could deliver 200k social homes

30/07/2024

Implementation of five-year local housing deals by 2025 would lead to 200,000 additional social homes being built over the next three decades, report finds.

Government to kick off planning consultation

29/07/2024

The Government will release a promised consultation on its updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) tomorrow.

Council uncovers fraud cases worth £3.6m

29/07/2024

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's corporate fraud team uncovered more than 140 cases of fraud in 2023-24, saving residents about £3.6m.

Bromley first to approve John Lewis homes

26/07/2024

Councillors have approved retailer John Lewis’ plans to build a housing block above a Waitrose store in Bromley town centre.

Cost of refurbishment scheme doubles to £40m

25/07/2024

Plans to refurbish and retrofit five council-owned housing blocks in Kent have more than doubled in price since they were agreed last year.

Homelessness pressures 'unsustainable'

24/07/2024

Councils face ‘unsustainable financial pressure' due to record levels of homelessness, according to a public spending watchdog.

Planning funding restoration needed to meet homes target

23/07/2024

Labour will have to return planning department funding back to 2010 levels to achieve its ambition of 1.5 million homes, a network of councils has said.

Award-winning Caseload Manager outperforms expectations, as tenancies under management near one million

22/07/2024

Voicescape’s award-winning technology, Caseload Manager, has outperformed expectations, doubling in size in the last 12 months.

How to tackle London’s housing crisis

18/07/2024

Piali Das Gupta, London Councils’ Strategy Director – London’s Future, looks at what the new government should do to solve the capital’s housing shortage.

King’s Speech: Labour commits to ‘modernising planning committees’

17/07/2024

The Labour Government will deliver its aim of building 1.5 million houses by ‘modernising planning committees.’

King’s Speech: No-fault evictions to be banned

17/07/2024

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s first King’s Speech has confirmed that so-called no-fault evictions will be banned.

Call for ‘Right to Pause’ on Right to Buy

15/07/2024

Councils have called for the power to pause the Right to Buy (RTB) scheme when they are facing significant housing pressure.

Liverpool City Council to receive £55m regeneration boost

15/07/2024

Liverpool City Council is set to receive a £55m boost from Homes England to accelerate the regeneration of the city’s historic northern docklands.

Tower Hamlets Council apologises for housing backlog

12/07/2024

Tower Hamlets Council has agreed to review the way it allocates properties after an investigation revealed a backlog in housing register applications.

West Yorkshire mayor unveils plans to deliver 38,000 homes

11/07/2024

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin has unveiled plans to deliver more than 38,000 homes across the region over the next 15 years.

Council housing landlords warn of £2.2bn ‘black hole’

11/07/2024

Twenty of England’s largest local authority landlords have warned council housing finances are ‘unsustainable’ with housing budgets facing a £2bn ‘black hole’.

Fixing the broken retrofit system

10/07/2024

Ian Preston, Centre for Sustainable Energy, argues the retrofit system is broken and offers lessons for the Local Authority Retrofit Scheme.

The Grey Belt: Is it the panacea that is needed?

10/07/2024

The new Government plans to ‘get Britain building again’ by releasing 'Grey Belt' land. William Nichols, Regional Director, Lanpro looks at what this means.

Council to explore ‘more aggressive’ strategy on empty property

09/07/2024

Hartlepool Borough Council will consider taking a ‘more aggressive’ approach to tackling derelict buildings and land in the area.

Four councils criticised for social housing failures

09/07/2024

Four local authorities have been criticised for failing to meet the Regulator of Social Housing’s (RSH) new consumer standards.

Reeves: Labour set to bring back housebuilding targets

08/07/2024

Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce today that she will bring back compulsory housebuilding targets.

Islington identifies £1.8bn housing shortfall

05/07/2024

Islington Council is facing a deficit ‘in excess of’ £1.8bn in its housing revenue account (HRA) over the next 30 years.

Ashfield DC agrees land purchase in £14m regeneration scheme

02/07/2024

Ashfield District Council has agreed to purchase land in Kirkby-in-Ashfield as part of the £14m North Kirkby Gateway scheme.

Homelessness spending triples in eight years

02/07/2024

The proportion of councils’ total housing budget spent on homelessness and temporary accommodation has tripled since 2015, new analysis has revealed.

Council refunds £1.6m to leaseholders

01/07/2024

Lambeth residents have been told to sign confidentiality clauses before receiving money owed to them for building work they had been overcharged for.

NextGov: Resolving the housing crisis

28/06/2024

The Home Builders Federation’s (HBF) policy and external affairs manager, Laura Markus, discusses what the next government should do to tackle the housing crisis.

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