Mortgages Refused For Self-Employed Who Took Covid Grants

Some of Britain's biggest high street banks are refusing to give mortgages to self-employed people who received government grants during the pandemic. Mortgage brokers say those working in sectors like entertainment, hospitality and travel are the worst affected. Many lenders spoken to by the BBC are not accepting mortgage applications from people on furlough. Brokers said that banks often see people who have received Covid-related grants as high risk. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57843756 

Affordable Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Baroness Byford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will take steps to ensure that new houses designated as affordable cannot be altered or extended in ways which remove them from that classification.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The Housing Act 1996 and the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 require that new affordable homes delivered through the provision of Government Grant must remain affordable in perpetuity. Where a grant funded property is sold or undergoes a change of use, for example, from affordable housing to private rent or sale, the grant element used to build the property is then recycled for the delivery of further new affordable homes or returned to the Government. This ensures that the number of properties available through our Affordable Housing Programmes remains at a consistent level.

Disability Grants 'Not Always Meeting Need'

Government grants to help people adapt their homes to live more independently are not always allocated to meet need, a report has concluded. Around 40,000 people a year, the majority over 60 years of age, receive Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) to pay for changes to their homes such as the installation of stairlifts, level access showers and ramps. However, a report commissioned by the national body for DFGs and home improvement agencies, Foundations, said awareness of the grants is low, its provision is fragmented and too often older and disabled people are forced to find solutions on their own. Download a copy of the report from the Foundations website.

Grant Repayable If RTB Replacement Deadline Missed

Housing associations will repay government grant from Right to Buy homes if they fail to replace properties sold in three years, under a sector proposal. Details of the National Housing Federation (NHF) offer to government to escape legislation to implement the Right to Buy reveals measures designed to encourage landlords to replace homes sold under the policy or else face repaying government grant. Under the proposal, all proceeds from the sales would be expected to be spent on building a new home, or in “exceptional” cases buying new property within a maximum of three years. However, only the grant that was originally provided to build the sold home would be returned to the government if it was unspent within the three-year period. Download the proposal from the NHF website.

Council to Bank Homes Bonus to Offset Cuts

Cherwell District Council is to set aside almost half the bonus cash it gets for building new homes to make up for future government budget cuts . At a meeting last week the council’s executive agreed how it would spend the £1,340,156 it has been allocated under the Government’s New Homes Bonus for this financial year. Councillors decided to reserve 50 per cent of the funds – equating to £619, 958 – to make up for current and future cuts in government grants. Read more on the Banbury Guardian website.

Is The Conservative Party Bringing About The End Of Social Housing?

Mark Prisk is a housing minister who spends his time in the shadows. After arrival in post a little over a year ago, he went to ground, preferring to conduct business in private meetings. So you could be forgiven for missing Prisk's latest policy announcement. He said last month the payment of future social housing government grants to housing associations will be attached to the conversion of social tenancies to "affordable rent". Affordable rent, however, is a misnomer. For example, to qualify for a government-funded "affordable" three-bedroom property within Westminster, in central London, applicants may need a joint household income of between £90,000 and £103,000 a year. So under this model, which was introduced at a time of economic crisis, government subsidy could be used to build homes for high-income households.  Read more of this opinion piece on the Guardian website.