Tory MP Blames ‘Idiot Nuisances’ In Social Housing For Bad Behaviour In His Constituency

The Tory MP for Ashfield called on the government to make it easier for local authorities to evict “nuisance” tenants. “The residents of the Carsic estate In Ashfield are fed up with the handful of local idiots who are the source of the vast majority of anti-social behaviour, and this is happening all over the country,” he told the Commons. “The majority of these nuisances are social housing tenants who show no respect to the vast majority of decent hard-working tenants who are being let down by a system that makes it very difficult to evict nuisance tenants.”Mr Anderson said he wanted police forces, councils and the courts to be greater eviction powers to allow “decent people” a more peaceful life. Read more on the Independent website.

Lee Anderson: Tory MP blames ‘idiot nuisances’ in social housing for bad behaviour in constituency | The Independent 

'Nuisance' Council Tenants 'Should Live In Tents' Says Ashfield Tory Candidate

"Nuisance" council tenants should be forced to live in tents and pick vegetables, a Conservative parliamentary candidate has said. Lee Anderson, who is contesting the marginal Nottinghamshire seat of Ashfield, posted the comments on a video on his Facebook page. The Labour Party said the idea amounted to "forced labour camps" and went "beyond the pale". Mr Anderson declined to comment when approached by the BBC. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-2019-50474572

NLA Warns Landlords To Get A Licence Or Face A £20k Fine

The National Landlords Association is encouraging landlords in Ashfield to become accredited to take advantage of discounted property licensing fees. From May 1, landlords in Ashfield will require a licence for every property they let, or they could be subject to a £20,000 fine. The scheme has been set up to tackle problems identified by the Council as poor quality of rented properties, poorly behaved tenants and anti-social behaviour. However, landlords will receive a £100 discount when applying for licences, so long as they are accredited with an appropriate body. The full cost of a licence per property is £350 and is valid for five years. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

Nottinghamshire Has Almost 9,000 EMPTY Homes

Almost 9,000 homes across Nottinghamshire are currently empty or derelict, new figures have revealed. The statistics, obtained through Freedom of Information requests to eight district councils, show that 8,982 properties are unoccupied across the county. Some homes are mid-sale or being marketed for either sale or rent, others are in probate, a few are being converted or awaiting demolition and planning consent and others are between tenants and changes of ownership. Nottingham City has the most empty properties, with 1,443 currently without tenants, whereas the Ashfield district has the least with 712. Read more on the Nottingham Post website.

Council Hands Back Empty Homes Cash

The third largest recipient of government funding to bring empty homes back into use has dramatically scaled back its scheme because of financial risks in its Homes and Communities Agency contract. Ashfield Council was in March 2012 awarded £3.5 million of the first £70 million tranche of the HCA’s empty homes cash. The authority aimed to bring 474 long-term vacant properties back onto the market by March 2015. The authority has now handed back the lion’s share of the cash to the HCA after failing to reach an agreement with the agency over which organisation should shoulder the financial risk. It now expects to bring just 20 homes back into use. Read more on Inside Housing.

Tenants Fight to Save ALMO

A group of tenants has launched a petition to save an arm’s-length management organisation from being brought back under council control. Tenants have said that they want Ashfield Homes to continue to manage the 7,000 council-owned homes, rather than transfer management back to Ashfield Council in Nottinghamshire. Councillors said that moving the organisation back in-house could save millions of pounds, but a spokesperson for the Ashfield Tenants’ and Residents’ Association told local press that she had secured 100 signatures for a petition against the move. The council said it had delayed a report into the future of the ALMO, which was due to be published this week, following consultations with employees and trade unions. The report will now be published on 28 July. Read more on Inside Housing.