Housing Crisis

Bedroom Tax Claims Its First Confirmed Victim

Rob Atkinson | Posted 14.05.2013 | UK Politics
Rob Atkinson

Stephanie Bottrill seems to have concluded, in the face of all the information available to her, that - in undeniable fact - nobody in Government does care. Nobody was prepared to lift a finger to help her in her no-win, zero-options situation.

Tories Need to Learn That Carrots Sometimes Work Better Than Sticks

Rob Atkinson | Posted 01.04.2013 | UK Politics
Rob Atkinson

The current administration are wide-open to charges of callousness, misrepresenting salient facts about poverty and an abject failure, indeed refusal, to listen to any source - however well-informed - that doesn't unswervingly endorse their chosen path

How Will the Budget Affect the UK Property Market?

Adam Day | Posted 25.03.2013 | UK
Adam Day

Nothing the government said in the Budget will aid the housing market. A toothless bunch, the market has recovered through hard work and honest advice from estate agents, not the policies or schemes that the government has introduced in recent years.

Immigrants Must Live In UK For Five Years Minimum Before Getting Housing

PA/The Huffington Post UK | Posted 25.03.2013 | UK Politics

Immigrant families will be kept off council house waiting lists for up to five years, under a crackdown being unveiled by David Cameron. The Prime ...

IDS Drops Supreme Court Appeal Over Disabled Children Bedroom Tax

Huffington Post UK | Felicity Morse | Posted 12.03.2013 | UK Politics

Iain Duncan Smith has decided to drop the case against a man with two disabled daughters who had been denied extra housing benefit on the basis that h...

Council Blocks on the Way Back as Brits Priced Out of Their Capital?

Dan Ehrlich | Posted 30.04.2013 | UK
Dan Ehrlich

Today London has become one of the world's most expensive cities (overall ranked 6th) in the key categories of housing, food, transportation and entertainment. It has the world's most expensive office space and took over from Paris as priciest night-out capital. What makes this all the more curious is that the average Brit isn't a wealthy person

Listen to the HAPPI2 Report: There Is Another Way to Address the Housing Shortage

Nick Sanderson | Posted 25.02.2013 | UK Politics
Nick Sanderson

The UK is facing an increasing housing shortage, and one which needs to be urgently addressed.

Britain Needs More Houses, But It Doesn't Need Them Everywhere

Paul Swinney | Posted 25.03.2013 | UK Politics
Paul Swinney

High house prices are bad for future economic growth of cities such as Oxford because they price people out of the job opportunities that are available within them. This is bad for the individual, bad for businesses in such cities and, as a result, is bad for the economy.

House Building Schemes Could Boost City Economies

PA | Posted 21.01.2013 | UK

Cities across Southern England could help deliver a quick boost to the economy if they were given funds to build more houses, according to a new repor...

Going Soft on Rough Sleepers?

Dave Clements | Posted 03.03.2013 | UK Politics
Dave Clements

Instead of focusing its efforts on the 'vulnerable' margins none too effectively, the mayor and the government need to build - or else create the conditions whereby others build - more houses to meet the historically massive shortfall.

Osborne: Gamble on the Many Not the Few

Tom Wadsworth | Posted 29.01.2013 | UK Politics
Tom Wadsworth

George Osborne must be prepared to gamble and choose the needs of the many over the interests of the few in his Autumn Statement.

Britain's Empty Homes: The Unlearned Lessons

Adam Forrest | Posted 28.01.2013 | UK Politics
Adam Forrest

This week offers a chance to celebrate the progress made in bringing some of Britain's 710,000 empty homes back into use. Unfortunately, there is also reason to fear some of those responsible for 'regenerating' our towns and cities remain overly-fond of bulldozers and land-banking deals with developers.

A 21st Century Scandal

Tom Copley | Posted 27.01.2013 | UK Politics
Tom Copley

There is no more visible and tragic sign of the failure of housing policy than people sleeping rough on our streets. It is a scandal that in the twenty-first century, in one of the richest cities in the world, there are people still forced to sleep rough on London's streets.

Bring Back the Ronseal Test

Dave Clements | Posted 28.12.2012 | UK
Dave Clements

I'm sure there are other similar wood-treatment products out there but only the Ronseal test will get us any closer to making sure that riots, housing associations and charities do what they say on the tin.

Hunting the Poor - The Tory Bloodsport of Choice

John Wight | Posted 28.12.2012 | UK Politics
John Wight

This latest attack on recipients of housing benefit and the born and unborn children of the poor are merely the latest in a wider and continuing class war, unleashed when this coalition government came to power in 2010.

Westminster Homes UK's Most Expensive - And Smallest

PA | Posted 14.10.2012 | UK

Homes in Westminster in central London are the most expensive per square metre in the UK - and the most cramped - a study has found. Properties in ...

1.6m Adults Living With Their Parents Due To Housing Costs

PA | Posted 13.10.2012 | UK

More than 1.6 million people aged between 20 and 40 are living with their parents because they cannot afford to rent or buy their own home, a report r...

Crisis As Housing Market 'Breaking Down'

PA | Posted 12.09.2012 | UK

More than 250,000 homes must be built each year to tackle the "serious dysfunction" in England's housing market, experts are warning. Campaign grou...

How Labour Will Tackle Bad Letting Agents

Jack Dromey MP | Posted 16.09.2012 | UK Politics
Jack Dromey MP

Labour believes we should take steps now to stop irresponsible agents operating and end the scandal of rip-off fees. Labour wants to see a sector based on long-termism and responsibility that works for working people whether they are tenants, landlords or running businesses that operate within the sector.

David Cameron: 'Children Should be Seen and Not Heard

Shan Ellis | Posted 03.09.2012 | UK Politics
Shan Ellis

Last week David Cameron unveiled his master plan to cut 10 billion from the Welfare budget by 2016. How? By forcing the under 25's to seek refuge with their parents until they turn 25.

Why Cuts to Housing Benefit Would Make It Even Harder to Be Young in 2012

Campbell Robb | Posted 25.08.2012 | UK Politics
Campbell Robb

Cutting back on benefits won't solve the underlying problem: the exorbitant cost of housing. If the government wants to be truly radical, it must turn its attention to the housing market.

Another Blow to the Next Generation

Cat Mcshane | Posted 24.08.2012 | UK Politics
Cat Mcshane

After a week where high earning tax avoiders have been in the spotlight, this is an attempt at distracting voters from the real culprits of Britain's financial mess and punishing some of the country's youngest and most vulnerable people.

Why Boris Mustn't Be the Clown Mayor of London

Tiernan Douieb | Posted 25.06.2012 | UK Politics
Tiernan Douieb

I've always had a slight fear of clowns. The terrifying need to hide behind ridiculous gestures and make-up combined with the efforts of the clown fro...

Planning Reform? Look to West Bank to See How to Tackle a Housing Crisis

John Slinger | Posted 31.05.2012 | UK Politics
John Slinger

Last week, the Government published its new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Most commentators claim that they have squared the circle by protecting the green belt whilst simultaneously giving a presumption in favour of sustainable development.

The Budget Was a Lost Opportunity for Housing and the Economy

David_Orr | Posted 21.05.2012 | UK Politics
David_Orr

For those of us involved in housing, the growth agenda is what matters. We understand how important growth is for the economy and how essential it is that we create new jobs, not least because so many housing associations are exploring ways of assisting their residents to get into work.