The power of local systems to save lives
Councils and their partners could do even more to contain the spread of COVID-19 if properly funded to undertake a robust localised system of testing, tracking and tracing, argues Professor Donna Hall.
Councils 'unlikely to cope' with rise in homelessness
22/05/2020 Campaigners have warned that councils are unlikely to cope with a rise in homelessness after figures showed half of homeless households were unable to secure a home before the pandemic. |
‘Golden opportunity’ to end rough sleeping
22/05/2020 The Government has been urged to commit £100m to councils in a bid to end rough sleeping in England. |
Securing the best sites for future development
15/05/2020 Katja Stille explains why a more strategic approach is needed for site allocation. |
Jenrick launches plans to kickstart housing market
13/05/2020 Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has restarted the housing market as part of the Government’s plans to ease lockdown. |
Homes for Heroes calls for 100,000 affordable key worker homes
12/05/2020 The UK’s 15 largest housing associations have joined forces to call for 100,000 affordable new homes for key workers over the next five years. |
Labour's five-point plan to protect renters from eviction
11/05/2020 Labour has published a five-point plan to prevent renters from being evicted during the coronavirus crisis. |
CIPFA: 17 years to work through council housing waiting list
04/05/2020 It could take up to 17 years to re-house individuals and families on the waiting list for council housing, data analysis by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has revealed. |
Councils have supported 90% of rough sleepers during pandemic
04/05/2020 Councils have offered accommodation to 90% of known rough sleepers to keep them safe during the pandemic, the Government has confirmed. |
Social landlords asked to only allow essential home moves
28/04/2020 Social housing landlords have been asked to pause any non-urgent house moves to help limit the spread of coronavirus. |
Councils call for more time to spend Right to Buy cash
28/04/2020 Council leaders have called for more time to spend money from Right to Buy sales, as most housebuilding has been halted in the wake of coronavirus. |
Council-owned housing companies increase housing targets in past year
28/04/2020 The lifting of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) cap has helped council-owned housing companies increase their new-build housing targets by 70% in the past year, a new survey has revealed. |
Research shows ‘boom’ in build-to-rent homes
23/04/2020 The number of build-to-rent homes has increased by 12% in the past year, new research has revealed. |
Birmingham signs major development deal
23/04/2020 A new deal to unlock up to 1,000 new homes has been agreed between Birmingham City Council and Homes England. |
Social landlords issued with new domestic abuse guidance
16/04/2020 New guidance to help social landlords protect tenants from domestic violence during the coronavirus pandemic has been published. |
Millions of renters expect to lose their job in next three months
16/04/2020 One in five private renters in England expect to lose their job in the next three months due to the coronavirus crisis, new research has revealed. |
Think tank calls for benefit cap to be suspended to protect renters
09/04/2020 Social housing tenants are the most likely to be affected by the current economic crisis, a new report has found today. |
Government announces ‘biggest changes to building safety in a generation’
03/04/2020 The Government has announced steps to further reform building safety, including mandatory sprinkler systems and consistent wayfinding signage in all new high-rise blocks over 11 metres tall. |
Gateshead to look at bring housing back in-house
30/03/2020 Gateshead MBC is to formally consult on proposals to bring its housing services back in-house. |
Renters protected from eviction during coronavirus crisis
27/03/2020 Charities have welcomed moves to protect tenants from all ongoing housing evictions. |
Charity says it ‘defies belief’ that renters evicted during a pandemic
24/03/2020 Shelter has warned that legislation to suspend new eviction cases during the coronavirus pandemic does not go far enough as 20,000 evictions set to go ahead. |
Council chiefs say new Fire Safety Bill ‘step in the right direction’
20/03/2020 Building owners and managers of high-rise and multi-occupied buildings are to be held to account for the safety of their residents thanks to new legislation. |
Tenants protected from eviction during coronavirus outbreak
19/03/2020 Council leaders have welcomed measures to protect renters from being evicted due to the coronavirus crisis. |
Council chiefs welcome drive to ensure new homes come with gigabit-speed broadband
17/03/2020 Local authority leaders have welcomed an announcement that the Government will legislate to make sure new-build homes come with gigabit-speed broadband. |
Tory MPs call for more funding for services to prevent rough sleeping
16/03/2020 A group of 10 Conservative MPs have called for a move from a policy of ‘housing first’ to one of ‘prevention first’ that would see more funding go to services aimed at preventing homelessness. |
Jenrick 'deeply disappointed' in housing delivery under Khan
13/03/2020 The number of homes being delivered in the capital under Sadiq Khan has been ‘deeply disappointing’, according to secretary of state for housing Robert Jenrick. |
Jenrick outlines new proposals to reform planning process
12/03/2020 Developers will be able to demolish vacant buildings and turn them into new homes more quickly, under new proposals published today. |
Budget 2020: £1bn Building Safety Fund to remove unsafe cladding
11/03/2020 A new £1bn fund to remove unsafe cladding from high-rise buildings has been unveiled today by the chancellor. |
Lack of housing stopping councils from helping homeless people, charity warns
10/03/2020 A lack of affordable housing is forcing local authorities to leave people homeless, a homelessness charity has warned. |
Next mayor should ‘step up’ fight against rogue landlords, group says
09/03/2020 Half of London’s boroughs did not fine any landlords for letting out unsafe homes in the past year, new research reveals. |
Inquiry into housing tenure and unemployment launched
09/03/2020 A new parliamentary inquiry launched today to tackle the employment and earnings gap that exists between working age social housing tenants and other tenures. |
Over £30bn annual investment needed to reach net zero by 2050
09/03/2020 An estimated £33bn of investment is needed every year for the next three decades if the Government is to meet its carbon emissions target of net zero by 2050. |
Council chiefs call for freedom to cut carbon emissions from housebuilding
06/03/2020 Council leaders and mayors from across the political spectrum are calling on the Government to abandon proposed restrictions on their ability to cut carbon emissions from housebuilding. |
Two million over-55s in ‘dangerous’ homes
05/03/2020 Over two million over-55s are living in a home that endangers their health and wellbeing, an alarming new report has revealed. |
Jenrick orders council to go ahead with 28,500 homes despite local objections
05/03/2020 An Oxfordshire council has said it is ‘disappointed’ by the Government’s decision to order the local authority to build thousands of new homes. |
Council chiefs worry £5bn Right to Buy discounts ‘threaten’ scheme
04/03/2020 Local authority leaders have warned that billions of pounds of centrally determined national discounts are threatening the future of Right to Buy (RtB). |
A pathway to low carbon heat
03/03/2020 Ian Rose explains why decarbonising home heating offers financial opportunity to registered social landlords. |
Housing benefit reform a ‘false economy’
27/02/2020 Councils have been left carrying the financial burden of reforms to housing benefit, new research has revealed today. |
Study reveals eight-year ‘time lag’ in delivery of large housing sites
26/02/2020 Large housing sites of 2,000-or-more take on average eight years to deliver their first home from submitting the initial planning application, study reveals. |
High-rise residents warn worries over fire safety causing mental distress
24/02/2020 A survey of residents living in high-rise buildings in Manchester has found fire safety risks are damaging their mental health and wellbeing. |
70,000 homes ‘at risk’ of having no flood insurance
21/02/2020 A think tank has warned that there are around 70,000 homes that are at risk of having no flood insurance because they are built in high-risk flooding zones. |
New pilot to turn existing social homes into net-zero properties
20/02/2020 A pilot to turn existing council homes into net-zero energy properties is being trialled by Exeter City Council. |
North disproportionately hit by housing cutbacks - research
19/02/2020 Increased funding and investment in planning skills are required to reverse disproportionate cuts to councils in the north of England, according to research published today. |
Housing overcrowding in London at ‘40-year high’
19/02/2020 Overcrowding in housing in parts of London and the South East of England is worse now than at any other period over the last four decades, research reveals. |
Councils demand extra planning powers
19/02/2020 Councils have called on the Government to use its White Paper to give them powers to take action on unbuilt land that has planning permission. |
Legal & General commits £100m pension money for affordable housing
19/02/2020 Insurance giant Legal & General has provided £100m of long term debt financing to its affordable housing business. |
Selling public land has created ‘minuscule’ amount of affordable housing, think tank says
18/02/2020 The Government has sold enough public land for developers to build 131,000 homes, but only 2.6% of those homes will be for social rent, think tank reveals. |
Affordable housing in Wales to receive a £24m ‘boost’
18/02/2020 The Welsh government has announced that £24m is to be invested into building more affordable homes in Wales. |
Council gets ‘green light’ to set up trading company
18/02/2020 Plans to set up a new council-run trading company to manage 79 new homes in Kingston have been given the go ahead. |
Extending support for refugees could save millions, research finds
18/02/2020 Helping new refugees for longer could help save the public purse millions of pounds every year, new research has revealed today. |
Cambridgeshire's new modular neighbourhood gets the green light
14/02/2020 Plans to build a new Fenland village and take forward the second phase of a new town in Cambridgeshire have been approved. |
Calls to close down Harlow’s office blocks ‘ghettos’
14/02/2020 Converted office blocks that are being used to house vulnerable homeless people should be closed down, the MP for Harlow has said. |
Council chiefs cautious about plans to offer 30% discount on new homes
07/02/2020 Local authorities have urged the Government to ensure that the proposed First Homes scheme does not come at the expense of providing ‘affordable’ homes for rent. |
End housing allowance freeze to help 100,000 people, council chiefs say
05/02/2020 More than 100,000 people would be protected from financial hardship if Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates were lifted to cover the cost of renting, local authority leaders say. |
Combined authority re-defines ‘affordable housing’
04/02/2020 The West Midlands has become the first region to re-define ‘affordable housing’. |
Temporary accommodation industry worth £1.1bn
04/02/2020 An investigation has revealed that councils are spending £1.1bn on temporary accommodation every year, with 86% going to private landlords or companies. |
The self-delivery of private housing
03/02/2020 Sophie Davies says councils have the tools to take private and affordable housing delivery to the next level. |
Councils to fast track 'beautiful buildings'
30/01/2020 Councils will be encouraged to speed up the planning process for ‘beautiful buildings’ through a new ‘Fast Track for Beauty’ rule. |
Seven out of 10 councils overspend on homelessness
28/01/2020 Seven out of 10 English councils overspent their homelessness budgets in 2018/19 by a combined total of nearly £115m, Local Government Association (LGA) analysis has found. |
UK ‘haemorrhaging’ social housing, charity warns
28/01/2020 A homelessness charity has warned in response to new Government figures that the UK is ‘haemorrhaging’ social housing each year. |
Council signs agreement with 10 housing associations
27/01/2020 Lambeth Council has signed a joint agreement with all 10 housing associations operating in the borough to transform housing services. |
New guidelines are failing to boost number of homes, research finds
24/01/2020 Measures designed to boost housebuilding by councils have actually had the opposite effect, according to planning consultants’ Lichfields. |
Households living in overcrowded private rentals ‘doubles’ in decade
24/01/2020 The number of households living in overcrowded private rentals has doubled over the last 10 years, a housing charity has found. |
Approval given for council's landlord licensing scheme
22/01/2020 A large-scale selective licensing scheme in Waltham Forest has been approved by the Government. |
Councils 'coming up short' in helping self-builders, say campaigners
22/01/2020 Campaigners have accused some councils of using 'dirty tricks' to stop people from building their own home. |
Short-term lets are ‘growing out of control’ in London
22/01/2020 London Councils has warned that one in every 50 homes in the capital are now being let on a short-term basis, depriving people of permanent accommodation. |
Sector presses for further action on cladding
21/01/2020 Building safety reforms billed as the ‘biggest change for a generation’ do not go far enough to clamp down on potentially dangerous cladding, councils argued this week. |
New housing developments slammed for 'mediocre and poor' design
21/01/2020 Three-quarters of new housing developments should not have been approved due to their ‘poor’ or ‘mediocre’ design, a new report from campaigners has found. |
Manchester becomes 'early adopter' of Hackitt Review
20/01/2020 Manchester City Council has joined three other councils to become an ‘early adopter’ of the recommendations made in the Hackitt Review. |
Preparing for new regulations
20/01/2020 Chris Proctor warns housing providers must enact change now to improve compliance and not wait for the regulators. |
Council abandons joint housing plan after inspectors question its ‘soundness’
20/01/2020 A third west of England council has voted to withdraw from a joint regional plan for housing and growth. |
Council prepares to approve £306m investment strategy
20/01/2020 A multi-million pound investment strategy that will see the delivery of 2,000 new homes is set to be approved by Oldham Council. |
Number of build-to-rent homes rises over 50% mark
17/01/2020 New figures reveal that the total number of newly completed build-to-rent homes across the UK, excluding London, increased by over 50% last year. |
Councils secure funding to tackle criminal landlords
17/01/2020 Councils across England are to share more than £4m to target criminal landlords and letting agents. |
Former housing minister warns of ‘a new generation of slum housing’
16/01/2020 A former housing minister has warned that national planning policy needs ‘a radical rethink’ in order to promote the wellbeing of communities. |
Two million private renters made ill by housing worries, poll reveals
15/01/2020 Worries over private renting is causing millions of people to become physically ill or sick, a new survey has revealed. |
Councils as modular building champions
15/01/2020 Ruby Giblin calls on councils to use their access to public borrowing to help grow modular building. |
Funding boost for garden towns and villages
14/01/2020 The Government has allocated £6m to deliver up to 200,000 new homes in new locally-led garden towns and villages. |
Local housing allowance ‘freeze’ ended
14/01/2020 The Government has announced that it will end the four-year freeze on the local housing allowance (LHA) which charities blame for a rise in homelessness. |
Tackling grant complaints
13/01/2020 Paul Smith outlines five ways that a local authority can reduce the number of complaints it receives about disabled facilities grants. |
Liverpool criticises 'short-sighted' rejection of its landlord licensing scheme
13/01/2020 The Government has been branded ‘short-sighted’ after it refused Liverpool’s application to continue its landlord licensing scheme. |
Council chiefs call for permitted development right to be ‘scrapped’
13/01/2020 Local authority leaders have warned that communities are potentially losing out on thousands of affordable homes due to office conversions which bypass local planning offices. |
Housing benefit errors pushing families into homelessness, ombudsman warns
09/01/2020 Families are facing the prospect of becoming homeless due to the way some councils are handling housing benefit appeals, the ombudsman has warned today. |
Scottish councils granted powers to regulate short-term lets
09/01/2020 Local authorities in Scotland are to be given new powers to regulate short-term lets where they decide this is in the interests of local communities. |
Council ‘vows’ to defend local plan
09/01/2020 Sevenoaks District Council has vowed not to withdraw its draft local plan despite continued pressure from the planning inspector who they accuse of ‘ignoring evidence’. |
Only one in 10 support ‘new towns’, study finds
08/01/2020 Just 10% of the UK population believes that the construction of new towns is the best way to tackle the UK housing crisis, according to a new report. |
Councils still being held back from building more homes finds report
07/01/2020 Local authorities are still being held back from providing more homes, a new report examining the future for council housing has argued. |
Report calls for end of 'age apartheid'
07/01/2020 Radical action is needed to create ‘a country for all ages’ by 2030, according to a report published today. |
Lack of housing benefit forcing families to give up food to pay rent, charity warns
07/01/2020 Families are being forced to give up food shopping in order to pay their rent, a charity has warned today. |
Council chiefs welcome £4m ‘rogue landlord’ fund
03/01/2020 Local authorities have welcomed a funding commitment by the Government aimed at cracking down on criminal landlords and letting agents. |
PM pledges £260m to ‘eliminate’ homelessness
24/12/2019 The Prime Minister has pledged £260m to help local authorities prevent homelessness and rough sleeping. |
Welfare reform drives ‘sofa surfing’, council chiefs warn
23/12/2019 Council leaders have called on the Government to adapt welfare reforms as research finds changes to the benefits system have been a driver of ‘sofa surfing’. |
Welsh government bans combustible cladding
23/12/2019 Welsh government has banned the use of combustible cladding on high rise buildings following the Hackitt review into fire safety after the Grenfell tragedy. |
Visionary housing for the elderly
19/12/2019 A project in London has linked private and public sectors to provide quality care for older people alongside a block of luxury apartments, Mark Whitehead says. |
Council chiefs call for welfare reform to tackle homelessness
19/12/2019 Local authority leaders have called on the new Government to adapt welfare reforms so that they protect families at risk of becoming homeless. |
Rogue west London landlord fined over £400,000
18/12/2019 A landlord in west London has been ordered to pay £430,000 for illegally renting out her property to 15 tenants. |
Rough sleeping in Greater Manchester down by nearly 40%
18/12/2019 Mayor of Greater Manchester urges the Government to do more to help the homeless as figures reveal rough sleeping has fallen by 37% in one year. |
Around 280,000 people will be homeless this Christmas, charity warns
18/12/2019 A new study has revealed that 280,000 people are recorded as homeless in England – an increase of 23,000 since 2016. |
Khan urges Londoners to support rough sleepers this winter
17/12/2019 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on residents of the capital to support his winter rough sleeping campaign ahead of Christmas. |
In a nutshell: What the election result means for local government
13/12/2019 With the Conservative party securing its biggest majority since the 1980s, what does this mean for local government? |
Rogue landlord fined for ‘endangering lives’
11/12/2019 A landlord in Birmingham has been successfully prosecuted and ordered to pay close to £20,000 for breaching housing regulations. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
