Internet Giant to Offer Cheap Broadband to Social Tenants

An internet giant has agreed to offer cut-price broadband specifically to social housing tenants in advance of the full roll-out of universal credit. Talk Talk will be the supplier for the reduced-price contracts for tenants, which will be offered and marketed by social enterprise Happus. The deal, which launches in June, will be £10.85 for the first six months, around 40% cheaper than its cheapest offer to other customers, rising to £19.20 thereafter. The price is based on research by the Connected Housing Initiative – a group of 13 social landlords aiming to increase internet access among tenants – which suggested this pricing would be affordable. Read more on Inside Housing.

Survey Finds More People Living Alone and Renting

The housing market in the UK is experiencing a number of key trend changes which mean the more people are living along and more are renting a home for the long term, new research has found. Of the 43% of those taking part in the Housing Futures Survey who are single and planning to move in the next five years, some 75% expect to be living alone and 45% of those aged 18 to 29 indicated they would consider living in a professionally managed private rental unit. The research suggests that future housing types and location decisions are being altered by access to technology. Nearly 36% of the respondents who were intending to move listed broadband connectivity as important or very important in their motivations for moving, and nearly 20% listed mobile coverage. Read more on the Property Wire website.

Funding Cuts for Local Authorities Could Lead To Fewer New Homes

Town halls might have to shelve house building and rural broadband schemes if the government goes ahead with a £400m cut to local authorities, council leaders warned today. Under government plans, the new homes bonus – where payment is given to local authorities for creating extra housing – will be diverted to local enterprise partnership areas as part of the local growth fund. LEPs are partnerships between businesses and local authorities. £400 million from the NHB will be pooled within LEP areas in 2015/16. The Local Government Association says this represents 35 per cent of the total value of the bonus, which was introduced in 2011. Read more on the LGA website.

Landlords in Talks to Give Tenants Free Internet

Social landlords are in talks with internet service providers in a bid to arrange free online access for tenants ahead of the introduction of the universal credit. Westminster Council, which owns 22,000 homes, is in talks with a private company to provide free broadband to all its social housing tenants. The council estimates three in 10 of its tenants do not have online access.  Under the proposed scheme, the company would pay for a fibre optic link into the council’s housing stock.  Tenants would be offered a box enabling free internet access through their televisions. They would be able to access government, email, shopping and banking websites and some freeview television channels.  In return for funding the free service, the company will offer more complex packages tenants would pay for.  Read more on Inside Housing.

IDS to Look At ‘Social Housing Broadband Tariff’ For Universal Credit

Work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith says the Government will explore a 'social housing broadband tariff' to enable those to claim the new Universal Credit online.  The Government says it’s committed to providing support for those without online access and has recently selected councils to pilot such support. However, its aspiration is for 80% of Universal Credit claims to be made online by 2017.  Recent estimates suggest nearly half of council and housing association tenants in England do not have access to the internet or have never gone online.  When asked in the Commons to explore the possibility of a 'social housing broadband tariff, Duncan Smith said this was exactly what the Government was trying to do.  Read more on the Parliament website.

Shapps Urges Housing Chiefs to Embrace Broadband Drive

Housing minister Grant Shapps and other housing leaders have written to all social landlords urging them to help their tenants get online. It was signed by the housing minister as well as the heads of the National Housing Federation, the local government association, the Chartered Institute of Housing and UK digital champion Martha Lane Fox. The housing authorities are urging social landlords to offer low-cost ways for tenants to get online. Up to 64 per cent of tenants offline see no reason to be online. To address the issue, social landlords are urged to recruit staff and employees to explain and demonstrate the benefits of access to offline tenants. Mr Shapps said the development of broadband in social housing would be beneficial for tenants as well as for landlords themselves as they can deliver services in new and better ways, “saving money along the way”. Mr Shapps has recently announced that no Government cash would be unlocked to develop broadband in social housing. Read more on 24dash.