Spike in Social Housing Tenants Leaving Cambridge to Rent

There are fresh fears about the "social cleansing" of Cambridge after new figures showed a flood of people leaving the city for cheaper housing. There has been a spike in the number of housing benefit claimants moving from social housing inside the city to the private sector outside Cambridge. Sixty-five people made this move between March and November 2014 – compared to just 45 people in the previous nine months. The figures come from Government statistics unearthed by the News showing the movements of those claiming housing benefit between social housing and the private rented sector. Read more on the Cambridge News website.

Homelessness at ‘Tipping Point’

Homelessness appears to be spiralling in Cambridge with fears the city has reached "tipping point" and faces a crisis. Fresh figures from the city council show 100 households presented as homeless between April and July – completely eclipsing the previous high for a quarterly period of 76 cases. And this surge in cases is reflected across the board. New figures also show more than 350 cases were placed in temporary accommodation over the past 12 months while their case was awaiting further assessment, compared to fewer than 300 the previous year. Read more on the Cambridge News website.

Just 43 Affordable Homes on the Market for First-Time Buyers in London

There are only 43 potentially suitable homes in London currently available that would be “affordable” for the typical young family buying their first property, according to research by Shelter. The charity says that in 35 local authorities there are no appropriate homes available for first-time buyers at all, mostly in the south-east and London. They include Cambridge, where Shelter estimates the most expensive home a young family on average incomes could afford would be £125,684. Looking at listings of properties with two or more bedrooms on the website Zoopla, the housing charity found that just 0.1% of those in the capital would fall into what they defined as an “affordability threshold”. Read more on the Guardian website.

36 Councils Call On Government to Abolish Bedroom Tax

Councillors representing 36 local authorities have urged the government to abolish its controversial bedroom tax policy. At a special summit held at Manchester Town Hall, Labour councillors representing Bradford, Bristol, Cambridge, Birmingham, Nottingham and 31 other cities outlined the damage they believe is being caused by the under-occupancy policy.  The participating councils also agreed to work with housing organisations on a set of interventions to support residents who get into financial difficulty as a result of the government's changes to housing benefit.  A detailed report on the meeting's findings will be sent to the government in the coming weeks. Read more on 24dash.

Lib Dems in Affordable Rent Row

A flagship Liberal Democrat council has reacted furiously after it was told to price poor people out of a new 16,000-home scheme. The Homes and Communities Agency has told Lib Dem-run Cambridge Council it must charge tenants of new homes in the area’s over-heated housing market 80 per cent of market rates, the maximum the rules of the ‘affordable rent’ product allows. Councillors want to charge families 60 per cent of market rate to live in a development built as part of the ‘Cambridge Challenge’ scheme, which will see thousands of homes built in several large sites around the city. Catherine Smart, executive councillor for housing, said that both the Lib Dem and Conservative housing ministers had said the affordable rent regime should be flexible. Read more on Inside Housing.