Gordon Brown has pledged to build three million new homes by 2020, but house-building has collapsed as a result of the recession. Figures obtained by Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat housing spokesman, show that the Government owns 3,100 hectares of surplus land – an area equivalent in size toRead More →
Home secretary Alan Johnson has pledged to revive the use of antisocial behaviour orders (asbos) in the most extreme cases of intimidation and harassment. In a package of measures designed to turn around the 30 per cent drop in new orders issued, he promises to cut delays of upRead More →
The government’s housebuilding targets are under threat after a shock fall in the number of homes built last year. The official target is to build 240,000 homes a year by 2016, and three million more homes in England by 2020, but the department for Communities and Local Government’s (CLG)Read More →
Three cash-rich housing associations have agreed to lend millions of pounds to some of their competitors, struggling in the credit crisis. The associations – Affinity Sutton, Circle Anglia and L&Q Group – are three of 10 originally approached by the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) to see if they wouldRead More →
The buy-to-let property market is still bouyant according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The number of buy-to-let loans rose by 23 per cent last year, and accounted for 10.3 per cent of all outstanding mortgages. Lending to such landlords is a lower risk than to homebuyers generally,Read More →
Physical and verbal attacks take place on housing officers in England and Wales more than once a day. That is what research by the Conservative party has found. Local authorities reported a total of almost 1,200 incidents during the past three years, which the Tories blamed squarely on theRead More →
Higher unemployment is forcing more young people into further education, increasing demand for short-term flats and providing a boost for Unite, the student accommodation developer. Demand is expected to accelerate at such a rate that Unite yesterday told investors it would continue to buy properties in student hotspots suchRead More →
House price falls have made it cheaper for first-time buyers with deposits of upwards of £25,000 to buy a home than rent one on most parts of the UK. According to research by Abbey National, London and East Anglia are the only regions where renting is cheaper than buyingRead More →
The Conservative Party would scrap home information packs (HIPs) ‘in a matter of weeks’ after coming to power, the Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said yesterday. The pledge follows claims by estate agents that the packs are impeding a housing market recovery, as potential sellers regardRead More →
The number of families forced to hand back the deeds to their home in the recession has been understated, according to the Conservatives, because the official figures exclude ‘sale and rentbacks’. There were 48,000 repossessions in 2016, compared with 75,000 in 1991 at the peak of the last recession.Read More →
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