Areas Most Affected By ‘Bedroom Tax’ Are Hardest To Downsize In

Research commissioned by government following housing benefit reforms finds increase in tenants self-selecting to downsize, but the areas hardest hit by reform are those least equipped with appropriate housing stock. Landlord surveys suggest that between policy enactment in April 2013 and autumn last year up to 45,000 had downsized within the social sector – no more than 8% of those affected by the bedroom tax. In much of the UK, particularly areas such as Wales and the North East of England where overcrowding is not a problem, there is a gulf between the size of households and that of available social housing stock: a dearth of much needed one-bed properties and a surplus of three-bed properties, the hardest to let under the bedroom tax.  Read more on the Cambridge University website.

Estimating the Scale of Youth Homelessness in the UK

The University of Cambridge carried out research to produce an up-to-date estimate of the number of young people aged 16 to 24 experiencing homelessness during the course of a year. Key findings were:

·       Over 83,000 homeless young people have been accommodated by local authorities or homelessness services during 2013-14

·       Nine per cent of UK young people have slept in an ‘outside’ place in the last year, including on the street, in car parks or parks, because they had nowhere else to go

·       1.3m young people aged 16 to 24 have slept in an unsafe place because they had nowhere else to go.

·       35 per cent of UK young people have experience of sofa surfing which would suggest over a million 16-25 year olds having done so nationally

Download the report from the University of Cambridge website.

Shelter Warns Blunt Rent Cap Could Harm Tenants

Capping rents could force landlords out of the market and make life harder for tenants if it is done too bluntly, the housing charity Shelter has warned. In a report commissioned by the charity and shared with the Guardian, researchers from the University of Cambridge said “hard rent controls” would remove landlords’ financial incentive to invest in their properties, and lead to poorer quality homes. A survey of landlords carried out for the report found 31% claiming they would sell all or some of their properties immediately if rents were frozen, meaning less choice for those in the private rented sector. Researchers also warned of a serious risk that a blunt cap on rents would encourage the growth of a black market not subject to rent regulation.  Read more on the Guardian website.

When It Comes To New Housing, We Need Quality As Well As Quantity

A basic lack of space in new homes is leading to confusion over the relationship between underoccupation and undersizing.  A housing crisis builds: demand goes up and supply goes down, while a groundswell of liberal voices calls for the development of more than 200,000 new homes a year.  Above all, they say, we just need to build more homes.  But if there's one thing we don't need, it's 200,000 more of the kind of homes we've been building up to now.  A new study carried out by academics at the University of Cambridge analysed 16,000 properties across England and compared them to the basic space standards set out in the London Housing Design Guide. Those working in housing and planning might be able to guess what came next: more than half (55%) fell short on floor space alone and a fifth (21%) were considered too small for comfortable habitation for the size of the household. Read more on the Guardian website.

Study Finds Premise behind Bedroom Tax Is ‘Fundamentally Flawed’

A new study shows that more than half of English homes - which are the smallest by floor area in Europe - fall short of modern space standards, calling into question the premise behind the so-called ‘bedroom tax’.  The study also found that households receiving housing benefit were more likely to be undersized, with 'spare' bedrooms required for other uses, suggesting that the policy of withdrawing benefits from these households is misguided. The research, from the University of Cambridge, analysed 16,000 dwellings in England and compared them to the London Housing Design Guide internal space standard. It found that 55% of dwellings fall short of the standards based on floor space alone, and 21% fall short when the number of current occupants is taken into account. Read more on the Cambridge University website.

Million More Homes Needed For Vulnerable People

Nearly one million more new properties could be needed in England by 2021 for those on housing benefit, according to research by Cambridge University and homelessness charity Centrepoint.  In a new report, the organisations estimated that 934,388 extra sub-market housing units - those for social rent or accessible to tenants in the private rented sector on housing benefit - will be needed in addition to planned current supply.  It said that 137,535 of these would be required by people under 25, with such young people facing more barriers than ever to accessing housing. Read more on Inside Housing.