The government has decided to push ahead with its housing benefit reforms despite advisers fearing they will discriminate against thousands of families and black and minority ethnic households. The changes will cap from next month the amount of local housing allowance payable for homes of six or more bedrooms,Read More →
AN OPINION SURVEY published today by the BBC reveals some worrying public attitudes towards homelessness on the 40th anniversary of Cathy Come Home: Twice as many people would feel sympathetic to a homeless dog as to a homeless person with mental health or drug addiction problems or aRead More →
THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE taking out a mortgage worth more than the value of their home has soared by 70% in a year, according to mortgage brokers quoted in today’s Daily Mail. The ‘100% or more mortgages’ allow them to get on to a property ladder that is stillRead More →
With nine out of 10 estate agents reporting falling prices, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) says the downturn in the property market is likely to spill over into weaker high street spending and job losses for construction workers. New RICS stats, released today, show that the numberRead More →
Planning regulations designed to cut red tape and save money on planning application fees are having the opposite effect, according to research by a national loft builder, Econoloft. It argues that the easing in planning restrictions on some extensions has not clarified the rules, as every council is interpretingRead More →
Hopes of a revival in mortgage lending are unrealistic, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). New figures on mortgage lending for January show that lending fell by 8 per cent from December 2015, a 52 per cent decline in year-on-year figures. CML said that the mortgage marketRead More →
TODAY’s INTEREST rate rise has taken just about everyone by surprise. A 0.25% rise had been expected, but not until February, and analysts including the CML are now predicting another increase to 5.5% later this year. Each 0.25% rise adds about £15 a month to the cost of aRead More →
House prices remained steady in June for the second month in a row, while demand from potential buyers outstripped the supply of homes on the market, analysis from Hometrack has found. The average cost of a property remained at £155,600 for the past two months, while the average rateRead More →
The government is considering widening the choice-based lettings scheme. The government wants all local authorities to set up choice-based letting schemes by 2017, but a spokesperson for the department for Communities and Local Government said it was interested in hearing if any areas had obstacles in the way ofRead More →
Today’s papers are full of yesterday’s increase in inflation and some are now predicting two more increases in interest rates. According to The Guardian, Shaks Ghosh, the former head of Crisis, is to become chief executive of the Private Equity Foundation, a charity set up by the controversialRead More →