Category: Property Market Section

Have your say on the August riots

Inside Housing is offering the chance to win £100 in Marks & Spencer vouchers in exchange for your views on the riots.

Shortly after the riots swept England in August, Inside Housing, the Chartered Institute of Housing and the National Housing Federation launched ‘The Riot Report’ to find out what steps can be taken to help prevent a repeat of the violence. Now they want to know what housing professionals, who work for social landlords operating in areas that experienced riots, think caused the disturbances. What would they like their organisations to do to address the underlying problems?

Have your say here.

Homeless Londoners face move to Hull

A London council is considering rehoming people in Yorkshire following a surge of people in emergency accommodation.

Croydon Council in south London, has seen the number of families it houses in emergency bed and breakfast accommodation rise from 61 families in 2008 to 300.

Caps to local housing allowance, benefit paid to private rented sector tenants, and job losses due to the financial crisis are thought to be behind the increase.

The council is now looking at housing people in other parts of the country where rents are cheaper and there are more homes available. The authority insists it will not attempt to move people to other areas without their consent.

Dudley Mead, cabinet member for housing, finance and asset management, said: ‘We don’t seem to be able to raise the supply of temporary accommodation. I told officers to look outside Croydon to find housing, we will take it from wherever we can.

‘At the moment we are talking about the north and some of the Yorkshire towns.’

More news stories can be found on our article archive here

Source: Inside Housing

Welsh Association increases investment in new homes

pontypriddsurveyors.co.uk – Areas like Pontypridd, caerphilly, Cardiff and Barry will all see increased investment in new homes construction, revealed by a new report from Community Housing Cymru. It says Housing Associations spent £802m in 2010/2011, up 16% from 2009/2010 and employed 6,300 people directly.

Read the full article here.

If you are thinking of buying a new property in Wales, think about getting a professional to look it over and give you the peace of mind you need to plan for the future. Keith Batten FRICS has lived in South Wales all his life and is a Chartered Surveyors providing building surveys in Wales. Call now on 0800 880 6264

Construction industry unveils their wishlist for growth this Christmas

In the new Unlocking Growth in UK Construction report, complied by industry leaders and representative bodies across the UK, it is argued that stimulating growth in the construction sector will help solve the wider economic problems facing the UK. The group has compiled a six point focus plan which may help steer the Government’s future policy making.

To read the rest of this article, just click here.

Tenant services authority starts consultation on regulatory framework

The Tenant Services Authority has launched its consultation about the new regulatory framework. The consultation runs until 10 February 2012, and the new framework is expected to take effect on 1 April 2012. The new framework takes account of the new investment arrangements, ministerial directions to the regulator, and the Localism Act 2011.

Find out more on the National Housing Federation’s website here.