Few Social Landlords Make Use of Tenant Transfer Freedom

Only three in 10 social landlords have used new flexibilities to help tenants transfer home, research has found. A CIH poll of 111 social landlords and council strategic housing authorities published this week reveals the extent to which landlords are helping tenants move. The study showed 30% of respondents used flexibilities in the Localism Act, which allows landlords to set their own policies in relation to transfer requests by tenants not in housing need. Read more on Inside Housing.

Make Ending Youth Homelessness A Priority, Says 60% of Poll

More than 60 per cent of British adults polled by a charity think the government should make ending youth homelessness a priority. The ComRes poll, carried out for Centrepoint, questioned the attitudes of 2,079 British adults with 1,247 respondents (61 per cent) saying they believe the government should make ending youth homelessness a priority. The sample included 270 British adults from London; 291 from the south east; 83 from the north east; 229 from the north west; 187 from Yorkshire and Humberside; 187 from the west midlands; 146 from the east midlands. The greatest support for the statement came from London and the south east. Download a copy of the report from the ComRes website.

Landlords Spoil Pay-To-Stay Party

Many social landlords intend to reject the government’s pay-to-stay policy, an exclusive poll by Inside Housing reveals. Of the 41 councils and housing associations that responded to the snap survey, 27 will either not implement pay-to-stay or are unlikely to. Ten landlords have yet to decide. Although three said they may consider it, not one landlord said they plan to bring it in.

Landlords cited concerns about complexity and increased administration costs, as well as the small numbers of tenants affected, as reasons for ruling out the scheme. Read more on Inside Housing.

Public Support House-Building Drive to Tackle the Country's Housing Crisis

Two thirds of Britons want more homes built in order to provide homes for younger people and those on lower incomes to tackle the worst housing crisis the country has seen in generations, according to a new poll. The YouGov survey, which was commissioned by the National Housing Federation, found strong support for increasing the supply of new homes after house-building last year slumped to its lowest level since the 1920s. The poll of 2,655 adults in Britain found:
* 66% agreed that there was a need to increase the supply of new properties
* 59% believe there is a housing crisis. 28% believe there isn’t.
* 48% believe the housing crisis will only get worse unless there is a significant increase in the number of new homes built.
*46% said they would support the building of new homes if it wasn’t on greenbelt land, with 36% opposed.
Read more on the NHF website.