Long Wait For Housing In Sandwell As Thousands Of Homes Sit Empty

 Sandwell Council had 3,187 empty residential properties as of September 6, according to council tax records. This includes all privately owned, privately rented and social housing across the borough, and includes everything empty for just one day up to those empty for over 10 years. Meanwhile 10,004 people were waiting for a residential property on the council’s housing list as of September 6, with 3,574 of these current tenants and 6,430 non-current tenants. The average wait for a two-bed council house in West Bromwich is seven years. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/property/2021/09/21/long-wait-for-council-housing-in-sandwell-as-thousands-of-homes-sit-empty/

Developers Swamp Council With 'Horrendous' Number Of Housing Proposals

A council has been swamped with new housing proposals from opportunistic developers. About 9,000 sites have been put forward for development in South Staffordshire – with a large swathe bordering the Black Country. But Brian Edwards MBE, leader of South Staffordshire District Council, claims this number is 10 times too many. He says council planners face a "horrendous" task sorting out which developments are most suitable. And he accused developers of "scaremongering" residents in the process. It comes after the local authority identified a shortfall of 8,845 homes needed within the district by 2037. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/property/2019/12/11/developers-swamp-council-with-horrendous-number-of-housing-proposals/

‘Rip-Off Rents’ Forcing Families Into Poverty, Warns Labour

Labour has condemned “rip-off rents” it says are driving more families into poverty. It comes after figures revealed a 150% increase in the number of youngsters living in severe poverty in the private rented sector. There were 50,000 children recorded as falling into this category over the period 2015-16 to 2017-18, Scottish Government data shows, up from 20,000 a decade before. Households are classed as being in severe poverty if they have less than 50% of the UK median income to live on, after housing costs have been met. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2019/04/10/rip-off-rents-forcing-families-into-poverty-warns-labour/

Empty Properties Will Be Seized For Homeless Families, Private Landlords Warned

No-nonsense housing bosses in Wolverhampton are warning private landlords that any homes in the city left empty for long periods of time will be seized and used to provide much-needed accommodation for homeless families. The city council’s ‘Empty Properties Strategy’ is designed to provide additional housing for people while at the same time generating additional civic income by reintroducing vacant properties to the market. Read more on the Express & Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2019/01/09/wolverhampton-housing-bosses-warn-private-landlords/

First Tenants Moving Into Flat-Pack Homes

The first tenants have moved into flat-pack homes in Wolverhampton which have been built more than 200 miles away. The four homes were made in Dublin before being flown to the city and lifted into position on Cannock Road in Fallings Park. They were craned into place at the end of January to have brick 'skins' added and be connected to utilities. Council bosses said the homes are the first of their kind delivered by the authority alongside Wolverhampton Homes. Enabling works on the £600,000 pilot scheme, which is part of the council’s newbuild council housing programme on small sites, started in November. Read more on the Express and Star website.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/local-hubs/wolverhampton/2018/04/30/first-tenants-moving-into-flat-pack-homes-in-wolverhampton/

Local Authority Pension Funds Back Rental Homes Investment Scheme

In the face of rising rents and the nationwide housing crisis, Hearthstone Investment Management has put together a £100 million fund to buy clusters of houses and low-rise blocks in areas where there is sold rental demand. The Hearthstone Residential Fund 1 has five local authority pension funds as cornerstone investors, including the West Midlands Pension Fund and Staffordshire Pension Fund. The other three backers are the local authority funds in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Teeside. The fund will invest in UK regions, buying newly-built clusters of houses and low-rise blocks in areas of solid rental demand that appeal to families and young professionals. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Investigation Into Fresh Allegations Over Corrupt House Allocations

Fresh allegations over corrupt council house allocations are being investigated by Sandwell Council. Leader Steve Eling confirmed the issue is among a series of matters now being probed by the council’s internal audit team. It comes in the wake of the publication of the Wragge Report earlier this year. Councillor Eling said: “A number of things following the Wragge Report are being internally investigated by the council. This could relate to a number of people. If there is wrong-doing about council house letting, then no member of the council would be able to do it on their own, they would have had to engage with officers also.” Read more on the Express & Star website.

Disability Charities Urge 'End To Funding Uncertainty' For Supported Housing

The 15 charities wrote to the Government, calling on it to set out what would happen to housing benefit rates for the supported housing sector from 2018 onwards. Earlier this year, the Government announced a one-year exemption for the supported housing sector from a planned 1% reduction in rent. It also delayed for 12 months the introduction of the local housing allowance (LHA) cap - which affects residents living in supported housing. The Government has commissioned a review into the impact of its proposals but the charities warned that 40% of existing supported accommodation would be at risk of closure if the allowance cap went ahead. Fears have been expressed that the changes would reduce the amount of money supported housing providers receive in rent and could make it more difficult for them to deliver specialist services. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Tackle 'Homelessness Trap' With Rental Deposit Guarantee Scheme

Crisis is calling for a rental deposit guarantee scheme to be set up across England, to ease landlords' fears that letting properties to people who have been homeless is too risky. More than eight in 10 (82%) private landlords across England are unwilling to rent to homeless people, according to research for Crisis. The survey of more than 800 landlords found their main concerns were that people who have been homeless pose a greater risk of rent arrears and that they were worried their property would need to be more intensively managed. Crisis has launched a campaign called Home: No Less Will Do - calling for stronger action across England to help homeless people secure a home to rent. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Buy-To-Let Measures Risk Damaging Whole Economy

The cross-party Commons Treasury Committee said that jobs, output and productivity could all suffer if a fall in the supply of privately rented homes led to a reduction in labour market mobility. The warning follows the Chancellor's announcement in last year's Autumn Statement that he was imposing a new stamp duty "surcharge" on buy-to-let properties from April as the Government sought to drive up home ownership. It came after Mr Osborne set out plans to restrict mortgage interest rate relief for landlords from 2017 in his Summer Budget following last year's general election. "Were the measures taken to curb buy-to-let to have a substantial effect, they would come at a cost to the wider economy," the committee said. Read more on the Express & Star website.

250,000 Would-Be Home-Owners Open Help To Buy Isa

The 250,000 total equates to one account every 30 seconds or more than 3,000 a day across the UK. The Government said figures provided by some of the banks offering the new Isas show that three-quarters (75%) of people who have opened them so far have been aged 30 and under. First-time buyers can put up to £200 a month in a dedicated Isa that the Government will top up by 25% - meaning a £ 50 bonus for every £200 saved. The maximum Government bonus is £3,000. To receive that, someone will need to have saved £12,000.First-time buyers can also open their account with a one-off lump sum of up to £1,000 in addition to the monthly £200 maximum deposit. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Tenants Facing Rent Rise Of £15 Per Week

In July ministers ordered that all social landlords, including councils and housing associations, reduce rent by one per cent per year each year for the next four years. But Wolverhampton council has based its long term strategy for building maintenance on rents going up. Bosses have launched a consultation featuring a series of options aimed at making up for the shortfall. They include charging 'affordable rent' instead of 'social rent', meaning rents will go up by £15 per week for new tenants. Another proposal is to increase service charges by £2 per week, meaning garage rents and hostel charges would go up by one per cent, along with concierge charges. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Soaring House Prices Force Workers Into Longer Commutes

The number of people spending more than two hours travelling to and from work every day has jumped by 72% over the past decade to over three million. Women have suffered most from the increase in long commuting, with a 131% rise in those travelling three hours or more since 2004, said the TUC. The biggest increases in long commutes have been in the South East, South West, East Midlands and Wales. The union organisation said soaring rents and high house prices, coupled with the UK's "creaking" infrastructure had led to people having to spend longer getting to work. More low paid workers are facing longer and costlier commutes just to get to work, said the TUC. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Housing Crisis Has 'Devastating' Impact On Disabled People, Warns Charity

A charity has highlighted the "devastating" impact that the housing crisis is having on disabled people in England, with some being forced to choose between struggling in an unsuitable property or racking up huge debts attempting to adapt it. Muscular Dystrophy UK, which compiled the report, said there is an alarming lack of accessible housing in many parts of the country. It found that some councils in England have more than 100 households waiting for wheelchair-accessible homes. The charity said that a lack of wheelchair-accessible housing is having a "devastating impact on households". Read more on the Express & Star website.

Scheme Forcing Landlords to Check Tenants' Immigration Status 'Has Failed'

A scheme to fine landlords for renting homes to illegal immigrants has caught just seven people since it was launched in the Black Country. The government chose Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley and Walsall, as well as neighbouring Birmingham, to pilot tougher rules on the right to rent, threatening them with £3,000 fines if they do not maintain strict checks. But since it was launched last December only seven people have been prosecuted and fined an average of £800 each. The Home Office said it was 'currently the subject of an evaluation which will be published in due course'. But a Freedom of Information Act request has revealed the current figures across the whole of the Black Country and Birmingham. Read more on the Express and Star website.

Council Homes Are Taken Back

Illegal subletting and not using a house as a main home were among the ways residents were found to be flouting tenancy rules. Sandwell council launched more than 200 fraud investigations during the past year and recovered a total of 115 properties. Deputy council leader Councillor Steve Eling said the authority was determined to catch cheats but it was a growing problem. “With the increasing shortage of affordable housing and the changes in right to buy legislation, tenancy fraud is becoming even more lucrative to some greedy people pocketing lots of money,” he said. The other ways people were caught misusing properties included not filling out home applications correctly. Some properties were also recovered after they were found abandoned. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Right to Buy Failed, Says Miliband's Housing Guru

The man appointed by Ed Miliband to set out a plan to deal with Britain's 'housing crisis' has called the right to buy council homes a 'failure' and predicted it will end in five years. Sir Michael Lyons made the remarks as he introduced a meeting to discuss housing policies across the West Midlands. Sir Michael said: "We will see an end to the right to buy within the next five years and a recognition that it was a failure. It was introduced in the belief that it would lead to more home ownership and more people, through owning their own homes, investing in their communities. But homes sold under right to buy often ended up as rented accommodation." Read more on the Express and Star website.

Workers Reliant On Housing Benefit Jumps By 75%

The number of working people in the Black Country who rely on housing benefit has jumped by 75 per cent in four years, new figures show. Official DWP statistics show that the number of employed people in receipt of housing benefit has gone up from 10,627 in 2010 to 18,640 last year. The total number of people receiving the benefit, however, went up by just two per cent. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Council Homes to Be Bought-Back in Housing Crisis Battle

Sandwell Council will buy-back council homes sold under the 'right to buy' scheme as it continues to battle a housing crisis. Around 20 ex-tenants have approached the council in the last year under the legislation's 'right of first refusal' clause, which states a homeowner who looks to sell their home within 10 years must first offer it to the previous landlord. And now the council's cabinet has passed a measure to speed up the process by allowing officers to negotiate purchases. Read more on the Express and Star website.

Tenants' Private Details Put Online In Data Blunder

Names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, details of illnesses and private family circumstances were put on the website of the South Staffordshire Housing Association. Cancer patients, ex-police officers, pensioners and the disabled were among those to have their details laid bare for all to see. Not only were the details and messages made public, they were also able to be edited and deleted. The computer IP addresses, which can be used to track individuals to their homes or businesses, were also published. Read more on the Express & Star website.