Progress On Council Housing But ‘More To Be Done’

The government is standing by statistics that pitch progress on council housing – but maintains there’s more to be done. On paper, the stats show more people have got onto the housing ladder, waiting lists for councils houses have reduced and the amount of council housing not meeting minimum standards has decreased. The stats show;

·         A decrease of 0.7% on local authority housing in 2016/17 with 13,416 people having bought homes as a result of Right to Buy.

·         20,000 fewer people are now on Local Authority waiting lists, a decrease of 2% since 1 April 2016.

·         Over 95% of all Local Authority stock meets the decent homes standard. This is up from 84% in 2010.

Read more on 24housing.

http://www.24housing.co.uk/news/progress-on-council-housing-but-more-to-be-done/

Half A Million Social Homes Do Not Meet Basic Health And Safety Standards

More than half a million social homes in England fail to meet basic health and safety standards, an analysis of official government data has revealed. Just weeks after the Grenfell Tower fire raised serious questions about the state of housing in the UK, new statistics show that 525,000 social homes currently do not meet the national Decent Homes Standard – almost one in seven of all social homes in England. Of these, 244,000 properties are deemed to have a category one safety hazard – the highest category of risk — which includes potentially fatal hazards such as exposed wiring, overloaded electricity sockets, dangerous boilers, leaking roofs, vermin infestations or inadequate security. Read more on the Independent website.

Calls For Minimum Standards For Private Rented Sector

New minimum standards should be introduced for the private rented sector and landlords should receive tax incentives for signing up to accreditation schemes. CIH made the calls in its budget submission to government. The submission said more needs to be done to improve the quality of private homes across the board, including a new set of minimum standards for landlords which cover property conditions and housing management. It also called for tax incentives for private landlords who sign up to an accreditation scheme and new measures to allow local authorities to enforce standards. And it calls for the regulation of letting agents to stamp out poor practice. Read more on 24housing.