Shelter Launches £600,000 PRS Fund

A £600,000 pot of funding launched in Greater Manchester aims to find “real-life” solutions to the housing problems facing thousands of vulnerable private renters in the city. Funded by the Nationwide Foundation and hosted by housing charity Shelter, the £1.2m Fair Housing Futures project seeks to address the challenges of accessing and living in Greater Manchester’s private rented sector, that are faced by tenants with limited financial and social support. The scheme is now calling for local organisations such as tenant’s groups, housing associations, and organisations covering planning, development and even health and well-being, to apply to have their ideas backed with cash from a £600,000 grant fund over the next three years. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/shelter-launches-600000-prs-fund-in-manchester/

Manchester Providers Offer To Pilot Alternative To LHA Cap

Social landlords in Greater Manchester have offered to run a regional pilot of an alternative to the controversial ‘Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap’ in supported housing. Supported and sheltered housing providers fear government plans to cap benefit entitlement at LHA rates from 2019 could make their businesses unviable. LHA rates are set according to the lowest 30% of local market rents, making them well below the rental cost of supported housing. Under current proposals, councils would be given cash to top up the difference but providers have voiced concerns that this system would lead to uncertainty with new schemes under development on hold as a result. Read more on Inside Housing.

Soaring Cost of Emergency Payments to People Hit By Bedroom Tax

Greater Manchester’s councils spent nearly £5m helping people hit by the government’s controversial bedroom tax last year. The region’s town halls spent £4.8m in discretionary housing payments to help people on housing benefits who could no longer afford their rent because of the removal of the spare room subsidy. People living in social housing are penalised for having spare bedrooms, say opponents, with some residents effectively priced out of their own homes. The latest DWP figures show there has been a near 16pc increase in Greater Manchester in discretionary housing payments made because of the bedroom tax. Read more on the Manchester Evening News website.

Council to Bring Thousands of Empty Homes Back Into Use

Salford City Council is taking action to bring around 3,400 empty properties back in to use. The council is offering access to grants of up to £34,000 to private landlords to make their vacant properties habitable.  As part of the Empty to Plenty scheme, launched during Greater Manchester empty property week, the council’s empty property team is appealing to landlords to get advice on turning disused properties into family homes. Read more on 24dash.

Early Roll Out Of Universal Credit

The new Universal Credit - which will replace six income-related benefits from next year - will go live in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire region in April 2013, six months before the national roll-out.  The early roll-out is expected to see up to 1,500 new Universal Credit claimants coming on stream across four Pathfinder areas – Tameside, Oldham, Wigan and Warrington - each month.  It will test the new single benefit payment system - which will be paid monthly and directly to claimants - with local authorities, employers and claimants in a live environment before Universal Credit is rolled out across the country in October 2013. Work will continue over the coming months to ensure that jobcentres, local authorities and employers in the Greater Manchester and Cheshire region are geared up to support the new service ahead of the early roll out in April.  Ministers have also confirmed that Universal Credit will be introduced across Britain, starting on a small scale in every region from October 2013 and building up capacity to April 2014, when all new claims to the current benefits and credits will be entirely phased out.  Read more on the DWP website.