The government’s new housing benefit system is creating poverty traps in the outer north eastern boroughs of London, research by HHSE found. The local housing allowance (LHA), which is replacing the housing benefit in the private rented sector will leave many tenants with a significant shortfall in rent, whichRead More →
The problem of homeless people sleeping on Britain’s streets may have been transferred to hospitals, according to a new study. Although the government claims that the number of people sleeping rough has fallen by three-quarters since 1988, figures obtained from 173 hospital trusts under the Freedom of Information ActRead More →
THOSE NICE Nu Tories couldn’t possibly do anything nasty if they get power, right? That nice Mr Cameron even mentioned housing in his conference speech. Wrong, says Polly Toynbee this morning. Public spending cuts are inevitable. ‘What might the Tories do to shrink the state? At first expectRead More →
Housing minister Margaret Beckett has denied opposition claims that no properties have been sold through the government’s HomeBuy scheme, although she is recorded on Hansard as saying so. Ms Beckett says that although she has no ‘solid figures’, she has ‘met at least one couple’ who have participated inRead More →
New research from the Business Development Research Consultants has found that private landlords are increasingly renting to housing benefit claimants even though they are concerned about the upkeep of the property and payments. The proportion of private landlords in Britain letting to benefits claimants more than doubled, increasing fromRead More →
A consultation on future core housing design and sustainability standards has been published by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). It aims to stimulate a debate on how to prioritise the quality of new housing in a challenging financial climate. It seeks views on a series of options forRead More →
Consumers could face having their mortgage and bank accounts branded with a health warning system, similar to the traffic lights system for food, in the government’s expected response to the financial crisis to be laid out today. Under the proposals the riskiest products, such as mortgages with ‘teaser rates’Read More →
A Salvation Army report has warned a generation of young people are binge drinking to such an extent they are at risk of social exclusion and homelessness. The report, Seeds of Exclusion 2016, says it is concerned for a new generation of young homeless adults who appear to beRead More →
The government has been warned that its plans to cut fuel poverty and improve energy efficiency were underfunded, untargeted and underprepared in a report from Consumer Focus. The group says the government needs to spend £3 billion a year for seven years to meet its target of ending fuelRead More →
Iain Wright, junior housing minister, spoke out against criticism of the Housing and Regeneration Bill and the setting up of the Homes and Communities Agency, saying the agency was not a ‘centrally driven quango’ imposing ‘top down targets’. He also announced the establishment of new Community Land Trusts, thatRead More →