Poor Housing Costs The NHS £1.4 Billion A Year

Poor housing is costing the NHS in England £1.4 billion a year. A new report produced by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) highlights the vast sum of money that is spent treating health problems caused by living in substandard homes. Researchers have analysed government data on the number and types of hazards- such as excessive cold, damp and falling down the stairs- found in homes in England to calculate how much they cost the NHS. Read more on the ITV website.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-11-10/poor-housing-is-costing-the-nhs-in-england-14-billion-a-year-data-shows 

Social Rented Housing – Parliamentary Written Answer

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what estimate he has made of the proportion of people seeking social housing who are (a) single mothers and (b) families who have children with special educational needs.

Christopher Pincher: The proportion of single mothers who acquired a new social housing letting in 2019/2020 was 20.1% of all new lettings. In 2018/19 single mothers made up 19% of all new lettings. We do not collect information on whether families with children who are seeking social housing have children with special educational needs. The proportion of families who acquired a new social housing letting in 2019/2020 was 10.4% of all new lettings.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-11-03/69086 

Gove To Overhaul ‘Out Of Date’ Housing Need Formula

 Michael Gove has told MPs he is looking again at the way housing needs targets are calculated. The housing secretary said: “In making a calculation of housing need overall one of the things I wanted to do is to look at how the numbers are generated in the first place.” The way that housing need is calculated, which forms the basis of housing targets in local plans, has become a thorny issue for the government. The standard method delivers a figure for housing need upon which most local authorities base their local housing targets. It uses projected household growth figures, adjusted for areas with high house prices, with the increases in new homes for any local planning authority capped. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/gove-to-overhaul-out-of-date-housing-need-formula/5114613.article

House Price Growth Likely To Be Curbed By Supply Boost Next Spring

Despite rising inflation and the end of both the furlough scheme and stamp duty holiday, UK house price growth continues to deny economic gravity as we head into the festive period. However, what goes up must surely come down - eventually. The latest market analysis from Knight Frank shows that a combination of rising interest rates and a much-needed increase in housing supply are the likely culprits to end the seemingly never-ending streak of stronger than usual house price growth. Nationwide reported that the average UK price exceeded £250,000 in October for the first time. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/house-price-growth-likely-to-be-curbed-by-supply-boost-next-spring.html 

Housing Association Spend Per Home Plummets By Nearly A Fifth During Pandemic

Social housing providers have reduced their spending on repairs and maintenance by 16% during the pandemic. The drop in ‘major works capital spend per unit’ reflects a downturn in all but essential repairs during 2020, when the sector was hit by successive pandemic-induced lockdowns. The slow in repairs meant that the overall cost by housing associations per home fell from an average of £3,664 in 2019-20 to £3,565 during 2020-21 – a drop of 2.8%. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-association-spend-per-home-plummets-by-nearly-a-fifth-during-pandemic-73239 

Green Homes Grant Scheme Helped Just 15,000 Low-Income Households

The government’s flagship green homes grant scheme to help people install energy efficiency measures resulted in just 15,182 households on low incomes improving their property’s insulation, it has emerged. The £1.5bn scheme was designed to improve 600,000 properties but, according to data uncovered by the Liberal Democrats, only a small number of homes benefited from funding for much-needed improvements. In total 41,300 measures were installed, according to the figures, with low-income households benefiting from around half of the jobs. Launched in a blaze of publicity last year, the scheme offered homeowners in England vouchers worth up to £10,000 to make their homes more energy efficient or to replace old boilers. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/01/green-homes-grant-scheme-helped-just-15000-low-income-households 

Pincher: Replacement Of Section 106 To Put ‘More Ammunition In The Hands’ Of Councils

Speaking to the House of Lords Built Environment Committee, which has been undertaking an inquiry into meeting the UK’s housing demand, Christopher Pincher said the “new system that we develop should provide at least as much affordable housing as the present one”. The government’s proposed planning reforms include replacing Section 106 and the Community Infrastructure Levy with a single new levy in a bid to ensure that affordable housing and infrastructure agreed by a developer is delivered “as expected” and on time. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/pincher-replacement-of-section-106-to-put-more-ammunition-in-the-hands-of-councils-73170 

Rented Housing: Reform – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to deliver reforms for renters through the proposed renters reform bill.

Eddie Hughes: The Government remains committed to building back fairer and delivering a better deal for renters. We will publish a White Paper in 2022 which sets out a package of reforms to create a fairer private rented sector that works for both tenants and landlords. This will include further detail on repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, and on targeted enforcement measures that drive out criminal landlords. We will explore the merits of a landlord register as part of this work.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-10-28/65377

Government Launches £624m Housebuilding Loan Fund

Housebuilders can now bid for loan funding from a £624 million fund to deliver infrastructure and assemble land, the government has said. The funding is part of £2.2bn announced in the spending review last year to support infrastructure. The funding, to be committed from 2021/22 to 2024/25 with terms of up to 20 years, is part of the £7.1bn National Home Building fund and is also available to small builders. The government says funding will help deliver 116,000 new homes. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/government-opens-624m-loan-fund-to-house-builders/5114568.article

Right To Buy Sales Drop By A Third In Past 12 Months

Right to Buy sales dropped by 35% in 2020/21 to the lowest yearly figure in eight years, according to newly published statistics. The government has put the decline, from 10,572 to 6,850, largely down to the restrictions introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.  A seven-week freeze on the housing market was introduced in March 2020 to stop the spread of coronavirus, effectively preventing most purchases and sales. This also stopped valuations, which make up a key part of the Right to Buy sales process. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/right-to-buy-sales-drop-by-a-third-in-past-12-months-73138

Formal Investigations By Housing Ombudsman Up By 65%

 Formal investigations by the Housing Ombudsman have risen by 65% compared with last year, while enquiries and complaints to the service have surged by 139 per cent in the last year, the body has revealed. The figures were published as the ombudsman launched a consultation on its three-year corporate plan from 2022 to 2025, in which it sets out how it will tackle an “unprecedented increase” in casework and to “reinforce the importance” of complaint-handling in the social housing sector. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/formal-investigations-by-housing-ombudsman-up-by-65-72864?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

House Prices Rise 1.8%

The price of homes jumped by 1.8% in the last month, the biggest monthly increase for six years, according to the latest data from Rightmove which said that every region and nation of the UK recorded price growth, the first time this has happened since before the global financial crash, with the number of sales up 15% compared to the pre-covid market in 2019. The growth in prices comes amidst continued low levels of stock coming on the market, with the number of new homes for sale down 3.2% on 2019 numbers. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/house-prices-rise-18/5114228.article 

Land Release Fund Embraced By Councils

The DLUHC has released £57.8 million to councils in order to develop quality housing. Councils have received 80 per cent of the £75 million Brownfield Land Release Fund (BLRF), meaning financial support has been made available to 53 councils across the nation to boost local areas through the transformation of unloved and disused sites. According to the DLUHC (formerly the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government) there could be up to 17,000 jobs supported across the housing and construction sector as well as the wider economy. Read more on the ARLA website.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/land-release-fund-embraced-by-councils.html

Youth Homelessness Has Risen 40% In Five Years

Youth homeless in the UK has increased by an estimated two-fifths in five years, rising to more than 120,000, a leading charity director has warned, as fresh analysis suggests that black households are likely to be disproportionally affected. Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, said its estimates show 86,000 young people in the UK presented to their local authority as homeless or at risk in 2016/17, and that the figure increased to 121,000 in 2019-20. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/18/youth-homelessness-up-40-per-cent-in-five-years-says-uk-charity-centrepoint 

Housing Waiting Lists Could Double Next Year

One in 10 households in need of housing are stuck on council waiting lists for over five years as a result of the chronic shortage of affordable homes. A new report, Building post-pandemic prosperity, commissioned by the LGA, ARCH, and the NFA, sets out the case for building 100,000 green social homes for rent each year as part of the recovery from COVID-19, to deliver net zero housing and “level-up” the nation. It also reveals that as a result of the pandemic, council housing waiting lists could almost double next year to as many as 2.1 million households, due to the impact of Covid-related support schemes winding down and a potential increase in homelessness. Read more on the LGA website.

https://www.local.gov.uk/about/news/housing-waiting-lists-could-double-next-year-one-10-stuck-queue-more-5-years-new 

Housing Played ‘Significant Role’ In Higher COVID-19 Rates Among BAME People

Housing was an important factor that led to “unacceptably high death rates” among BAME communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, a report from a cross-party group of MPs has said.  Titled Coronavirus: lessons learned to date, the report said the death rates among people from BAME communities was “unacceptably high” and pointed to housing, working conditions and “possible biological factors” as things that contributed to “unequal outcomes”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-played-significant-role-in-higher-covid-19-rates-among-black-and-minority-ethnic-people-says-official-report-72831 

Rent Arrears ‘Much Worse Than Feared’ Ahead Of UK Cost Of Living Crisis

 The number of universal credit claimants at least two months behind on rent soared by 70 per cent in the first half of this year, according to new analysis. Official figures show around 190,000 people in England who receive universal credit were in severe rent arrears by May this year. This compares to just over 110,000 people at least two months late on rent payments as of December 2020. This does not take into account people who have been behind on their rent for just one month or those who have fallen into arrears since May. Read more on the Big Issue website.

https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/rent-arrears-much-worse-than-feared-ahead-of-uk-cost-of-living-crisis/

Building 100,000 Social Rent Homes A Year Would 'Contribute £24.5bn To Economy' Over 30 Years

 Giving councils the powers and funding to meet a third of the government’s current target of 300,000 new homes per year would improve the public finances by £24.5bn over 30 years, a new report has found. The report also found that a household typically saves £37 a week in social housing, compared to private rental and that for 1.6 million households, social rent would be the most appropriate form of housing. Social housing providers, including councils and their ALMOs, are already ahead of the curve on building ‘green’ and their expertise would boost national efforts towards meeting 2050 zero-carbon goals. Read more on the HQN website.

https://hqnetwork.co.uk/news/building-100000-social-rent-homes-a-year-would-contribute-245bn-to-economy-over-30-years-5749

Decline In Residential-Starts Holds Back Construction Industry Recovery

 Overall project-starts saw a steady slowdown in Q.2 and Q.3, after an initial surge in the first quarter and continued to fall in September, albeit at a slower rate, according to the September analysis from Glenigan. Further, the development pipeline remained robust throughout the year, particularly for some non-residential sectors, including industrial. Main contract awards have been increasing over the last eighteen months, ever since the first National Lockdown in March 2020 and detailing planning approvals remain consistently high. Read more on Specification Online.

https://specificationonline.co.uk/articles/2021-10-12/glenigan/strong-decline-in-residential-starts-holds-back-construction-industry-recovery

Tories’ Manifesto Pledge To Build 300,000 Houses A Year Now ‘Almost Impossible’

Boris Johnson’s election pledge to build 300,000 new houses a year is in serious jeopardy in the face of labour and material shortages that are causing major disruption across the economy, industry figures have warned. A commitment to reaching the target by “the mid-2020s” was included in the last Tory manifesto as a key part of the party’s offer to increase home ownership to relieve the housing crisis. However, analysts already believe it is “almost impossible” to meet the manifesto pledge under the current conditions. Construction firms have complained of unavailable transport, a severe lack of materials and continued staff shortages among bricklayers, drivers, ground workers, joiners and plumbers. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/10/tories-manifesto-pledge-to-build-300000-houses-a-year-now-almost-impossible

Housing associations and their wholly owned subsidiaries are set to be made exempt from the developer cladding tax after lobbying efforts by the sector. Lawyers had warned that not-for-profit registered providers that own development companies could be liable for the Residential Property Development Tax (RPDT), due to take effect next April. But in an updated note on the legislation, the Treasury said that non-profit housing companies will be excluded. The note added: “Wholly-owned subsidiary companies of a non-profit housing company are also excluded from being treated as residential property developers for the purpose of the tax.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-associations-to-escape-cladding-tax-72806

Poor Housing Harms Health Of 20% Of Renters In England

Poor housing is harming the health of one in five renters in England, with mould, damp and cold the main triggers of sickness, a major survey by the housing charity Shelter has revealed. Approximately 1.9m households could be suffering physical and mental problems as a result of poor housing conditions as well as uncertainty caused by struggles to pay the rent and repeated evictions, polling of over 3,000 private renters suggests. A quarter of all renters said they were affected by damp and mould and by being unable to heat their homes. They were three times more likely to say housing was harming their health than those without the problems. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/oct/13/poor-housing-harms-health-of-20-of-renters-in-england-says-shelter

End Of Stamp Duty Holiday Sees Average House Prices Surge

The price of an average house is now as expensive as it has ever been, standing at just over £267,500, according to data from Halifax, who report that following the end of the stamp duty holiday last month, house price growth saw its strongest month since 2007. In June 2020, the month before the stamp duty holiday began, the typical standardised price for a UK property was £239,317. Therefore a home-mover would have faced SDLT costs of around £2,300. From July last year, the zero rate introduced on homes valued up to £500,000 (falling to £250,000 between July and September this year as the holiday was tapered out) meant no stamp duty would be payable on that same property. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/halifax-end-of-stamp-duty-holiday-sees-average-house-prices-surge-to-record-all-time-high.html 

More Than 1,000 Homes Made Available To Rough Sleepers In Liverpool

More than 1,000 properties have been made available to homeless people across Liverpool. Housing association, Cobalt Housing, said on its website that the rehoming initiative was through a successful collaboration between housing associations and Liverpool Council. They said more than 1,000 properties were provided for the city's homeless who had been temporarily put up in hotels during the coronavirus pandemic. The project has now been shortlisted in the UK Housing Awards. Read more on the Liverpool Echo website.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/more-200-homes-made-available-21778947 

Don't Dilute Planning Reforms, Jenrick Urges PM

Recently sacked Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has urged the prime minister not to water down planning reforms to enable more house building. Sources have told the BBC the changes - which would help meet a pledge to build 300,000 new homes - are being paused amid a backlash among Conservative MPs. Mr Jenrick's successor Michael Gove is said to want to address the concerns. But Mr Jenrick told the BBC's Newscast a government with a big majority must tackle difficult issues. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it remained "committed" to meeting its housing targets. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58837621

Housing Association Shared Ownership Sales Rise Almost 10% In 2020

Housing association (HA) shared ownership sales saw a near-10 per cent rise across England during 2019-20, with a significant increase seen in sales in outer London. A total of 12,396 first tranche shared ownership units were sold over the period in England – an increase of 1,090 sales. The data is based on the Regulator of Social Housing’s statistical data return (SDR) for 2020. It showed that the bulk of shared ownership sales took place outside the capital (80 per cent), with London accounting for 19 per cent of sales. Read more on the Social Housing website.

https://www.socialhousing.co.uk/insight/special-report-housing-association-shared-ownership-sales-rise-almost-10-in-2020-72787?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Only London’s Highest Earners Able To Rent Privately At Affordable Cost

 Only the top 25% of earners in London were able to privately rent a property in the city at an affordable rate last year, according to official figures on costs across England. Data from the Office for National Statistics revealed that for three-quarters of households, rents in the capital were set at a level equal to more than 30% of their income. The ONS said it considered an area to have affordable private rent if tenants spend no more than 30% of their income on it. Rents in some parts of the country dropped when the pandemic struck but in recent months costs have started to rise again. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/oct/06/london-rent-privately-affordable-ons-household-income

Gove To Push Homebuilding In The North Of England

Michael Gove will instruct his Levelling Up department to boost homebuilding in the north of England, after widespread concerns that previous proposals could see development targeted overwhelmingly in the south. Gove, the new levelling up secretary, has been given the task of overhauling controversial plans set out in a white paper last year, which have widely been seen as tipping the balance of power in favour of developers and away from local objectors. The prime minister is determined to press ahead with boosting housing development on brownfield sites, including in the south. But it is understood Gove will significantly water down the reforms. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/oct/06/michael-gove-to-push-homebuilding-in-the-north-of-england 

Quality Of Social Housing ‘Scandalously Poor’, Says Gove

Speaking at a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference Mr Gove hinted at the possibility of new incentives for social landlords to improve their stock. He told delegates “The quality of social housing, particularly in some parts of the country, remains scandalously poor. That there are people who are living in conditions which are overcrowded, there are people living in conditions affected by damp and other factors.” He remarked that “we do need to look at the condition of social housing, and the way in which we can make sure that there is a proper incentivisation for those who are social housing providers both to improve stock and to increase numbers”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/quality-of-social-housing-scandalously-poor-says-gove-72749?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Jenrick Says Ending Rough Sleeping ‘Isn’t High Enough On The Government’s Agenda’

Former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has warned there is not enough political will in the government to hit its target of ending rough sleeping by 2024. Jenrick, who was sacked last month, told a Conservative Party Conference fringe event that getting other departments to “step up” will be a challenge his successor Michael Gove faces if he is to deliver on the Conservative manifesto promise. “Some issues stay with you long after you have left a job. For me, this is true of homelessness,” said Jenrick at the event. Read more on the Big Issue website.

https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/robert-jenrick-says-ending-rough-sleeping-isnt-high-enough-on-the-governments-agenda/ 

Tenant Demand Sees Average UK Rents Hit Another Record High

 Vast rental demand rippling across the country has fuelled yet another rise in monthly rents according to the latest data and analysis from Homelet. According to the latest figures, the average rent in the UK now sits at £1,061, up 7.5% on the same time last year and a 0.8% increase from the previous month’s figures. In the capital, rents are rising too. An annual increase of 6.4% has taken the average price in London to £1,752 PCM; the monthly jump of 2.3% is the biggest in the country. Excluding London, the average UK rent price is up to £891 PCM, up 7.6% YOY. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

 https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/tenant-demand-sees-average-uk-rents-hit-another-record-high.html

Housing Association Housebuilding Completions Drop By Fifth

 The number of homes built by housing associations fell by almost a fifth in the 2020/21 financial year due in part to the pandemic. Data collated by the NHF showed that approximately 44,000 homes of all tenures were started in 2020/21, with 38,200 completed. In terms of homes built, housing associations completed 4,240 social rent homes, a decline of 13% on 2020. Affordable rental home completions fell by 19% to 16,038 and affordable homes for sale fell by 19% to 11,959. Total affordable home completions stood at 32,237 a drop of 18%. Market rent completions stood at 1,095 during the year, a drop of 12%, and market sale homes dropped 19% to 4,910. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/housing-association-housebuilding-completions-drop-by-fifth-72715

House Price Growth Slows As End To Stamp Duty Holiday Looms

 UK house price growth slowed in September as economists said the looming end of the stamp duty tax break had cooled the market after a period of extraordinary growth. The average price grew by just 0.1% over the month to £248,742, a sharp slowdown compared with growth of 2% in August, according to Nationwide. The UK’s largest building society said annual house price growth fell back to 10%, down from 11% in August. That was down from annual growth of more than 13% as recently as June, the fastest since the property boom in 2004. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/30/uk-house-price-growth-slows-as-end-to-stamp-duty-holiday-looms

Universal Credit Cut ‘Puts 100,000 Renters At Risk Of Homelessness’

THOUSANDS of renters could be made homeless due to the £20 cut to Universal Credit, a housing charity has warned. More than 100,000 low income people in England will be at least two months behind on their rent when the benefit is reduced. Research by Crisis found that the cut, which coincides with the end of other financial support schemes, could be a disaster for thousands of families who rent their homes. Universal Credit was boosted by an extra £20 a week during the pandemic, amounting to £1,040 a year. Read more on the Sun website.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/16309553/universal-credit-renters-risk-homelessness-your-rights/ 

House Prices Forecast To Rise By Up To 3.5% A Year

A second wave of demand for more space will keep driving house prices across Great Britain higher, with values set to rise by up to 3.5% a year between 2022 and 2024, a forecast claims. The estate agent Hamptons also predicted that more homes will be sold in 2021 than in any year since 2007, after a record surge in activity this year as families sought larger homes after the pandemic. Hamptons believes that summer 2021 marked “peak house price growth”, and expects growth to slow over the next few months, so that this year would end with average prices in Great Britain 4.5% higher than at the end of 2020. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/27/uk-house-prices-forecast-to-rise-by-up-to-35-a-year-between-2022-and-2024 

Housing Market Remains Buoyant

 Confidence and resilience in the housing market are expected to remain high beyond the end of government support, as falling numbers of prospective homeowners cite the risk of job losses as a barrier to purchase a property. Although furlough will close at the end of the month just over a third of people cite a risk of job loss as a barrier to homeownership (34%), compared to 68% in September 2020 and 45% just three months ago. The end of the stamp duty holiday also appears not to be denting confidence, with just over one in four people (26%) thinking now is a good time to buy a new home, with a similar number (25%) disagreeing. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/housing-market-remains-buoyant-despite-looming-ending-of-government-support.html

Home Buyers Paying Premium Of Up To £40k On Energy Efficient Houses

Home buyers wanting to settle down in the top energy efficient homes face prices of up to £40,000 more than less sustainable options. Environmentally aware home buyers are willing to pay a ‘green premium’ as homes in all parts of England and Wales sell for a higher price depending on the quality of their energy performance. Houses on the market in England and Wales must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which ranges from ratings A-G and is valid for ten years. A represents the ‘greenest’ grade and G is the least. Read more on the City AM website.

https://www.cityam.com/home-buyers-green-premium-40000-energy-efficient-homes/ 

Owners Face New Trap In Their Bid To Sell Flats Hit By Grenfell Cladding Crisis

Thousands of people are stuck in flats they cannot sell or remortgage despite government efforts to persuade banks to drop fire-safety cladding checks on low-rise buildings. The government announced in July that external wall surveys, or EWS1 certificates, which have become commonplace since the Grenfell disaster, would no longer be required on buildings not higher than 18 metres. But banks and building societies are still insisting on checks which, due to a shortage of qualified and insured fire engineers, can take months or even years to carry out. Read more on the Observer website.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/sep/26/owners-face-new-trap-in-their-bid-to-sell-flats-hit-by-grenfell-cladding-crisis 

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/

Social Landlords Fear For Tenants Amid Energy Price Surges

Social housing providers and sector bodies have urged the government to reconsider the cuts to Universal Credit and step up support to tenants who could face the stark choice between heating their homes or eating, due to soaring energy prices. Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng warned that some households face a “very difficult winter”. But prime minister Boris Johnson played down the issue, saying that the energy price surges were a “short-term” issue and that people should not worry about putting food on the table. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/social-landlords-fear-for-tenants-amid-energy-price-surges-72619?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

Ms Nusrat Ghani: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will review the five-year plan to assume that homes will be built within five years to remove incentives for developers to delay development and speculate on land.

Christopher Pincher: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that local planning authorities should identify and update annually a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years' worth of housing against their housing requirement set out in adopted strategic policies. The Government wants to see homes built faster and expects house builders to build out as soon as possible once planning permission is granted. Where build-out is delayed, it is for councils and developers to work closely together to overcome any barriers. To support them, this Government is looking at strengthening the tools available to local authorities to encourage faster build out rates.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-09-14/49185 

Government Policies Contribute To Housing Inequality

Welfare and immigration policies are contributing to sharply unequal access to affordable housing among Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, a report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found. Analysis concluded that a quarter of Black, Asian and minority ethnic workers, excluding those of Indian origin, are paying unaffordable housing costs compared with 10% of white workers. The study also found that the issue is a UK-wide problem not only confined to the capital, with two in 10 Black, Asian and minority ethnic households living in unaffordable housing across the country. Download the briefing from the JRF website.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/file/58774/download?token=Obw_6Nkv&filetype=briefing 

Pincher Re-Appointed In Rebranded ‘Levelling Up’ Department

Chris Pincher has been re-appointed housing minister in the renamed Ministry for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (MLUHC). Lord Stephen Greenhalgh also retains his position as minister for building safety. He will serve under new secretary of state Michael Gove and alongside other new appointees Kemi Badenoch, who will serve as minister for equalities and planning reform critic and former adviser Neil O’Brien who will join in a junior role. The department has been renamed, from Ministry for Communities & Local Government, as part of efforts to underline the government’s pledge to spread wealth and opportunity to all parts of the United Kingdom. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/pincher-re-appointed-housing-minister-in-rebranded-levelling-up-department/5113766.article 

Average Home Sale Netted Owner £110k Profit In First Year Of The Pandemic

      ·         Home sellers made an average of over £110k profit in the year to May             2021, £15,587 higher than the year previous

·         Sellers in the South East saw the biggest increase in gains, up £18,739 to £141,538, followed by the South West where the average profit rose by over £18,000

·         Detached home sellers made an average gain of £166,586, £22,588 higher than a year previous, while sellers of flats saw their average return increase by less than £1,000

·         Strongest sales activity came from those selling in the 3-7 year period of ownership (38.3%)

Read more on the Savills website.

https://www.savills.co.uk/research_articles/229130/318859-0

Grenfell Inquiry: London Fire Brigade’s Water ‘Could Have Reached Top Floor’

London fire brigade did not know how to properly deploy water equipment that could have doused flames all the way to the top of Grenfell tower and potentially saved lives. In what a lawyer for bereaved people and survivors said was “an extraordinary possibility to have to contemplate four years after the fire”, an expert witness has found that water from a ground monitor – a nozzle on a fixed base – beside the tower was capable of reaching the 15th floor and that all the available aerial pumps were capable of launching water to the top of the building. But neither happened “because of a fundamental misunderstanding of the technical features of water supply,” said Danny Friedman QC. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/20/grenfell-inquiry-hears-london-fire-brigade-water-could-have-reached-top-floor 

LFB ‘Closed-Minded And Parochial’ Before Grenfell

The London Fire Brigade (LFB) was “unacceptably closed-minded”, “isolationist” and “parochial” in the years before the Grenfell Tower fire and was beset by a culture that left it unable to cope with an emergency “beyond the normal or standard fire”, lawyers acting for bereaved and survivors said. The claim came as the Grenfell Tower Inquiry heard opening statements for the section of its investigation focusing on the LFB’s actions in the years before the blaze. Speaking for one group, Danny Friedman QC said that the blaze saw the brigade face “the limits of its competence”. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/lfb-closed-minded-and-parochial-before-grenfell-and-unable-to-cope-with-emergency-beyond-normal-fire-lawyers-for-community-say-72584?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Homes England Should Be Rebooted To Regenerate ‘Left Behind’ Neighbourhoods

 Homes England’s remit should be refocused on renewing and regenerating ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, according to a new report chaired by a former Downing Street housing policy advisor. The No Place Left Behind report by the Commission into Prosperity and Community Placemaking has said that the government must invest in the physical fabric of local places as well as the social fabric of local communities to tackle neighbourhood decline. It called for ministers to “empower Homes England with a new mission-based remit to focus on retrofitting, quality, regeneration and long-term placemaking; and more devolved decision-making”. Download the report from the Create Streets website.

https://www.createstreetsfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/8560_PS_Create_No_Place_Left_Behind_FINAL.pdf

Asking Prices Hit All Time High

Despite the usual traditional summer holiday lull, fierce competition continues among buyers for a record low number of available properties for sale, with many who put off buying during the height of the stamp duty holiday now making their move. The latest data from Rightmove shows that the national average asking prices of newly marketed properties have risen by £1,091 this month to hit a new all-time high of £338,462, with buyer demand per property for sale more than double that of pre-pandemic levels. However, there are early signs of more properties coming to market, which may help to slowly rebuild buyer choice. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/asking-prices-hit-all-time-high-as-buyer-demand-continues-to-rise.html 

Gove Set To Pause Contentious Planning Shake-Up

 Michael Gove is expected to pause the government’s planning changes and review them before deciding how to proceed, sources say. Proposals widely seen as tipping the balance of power away from local objectors and towards developers have caused uproar among grassroots Conservatives, though advocates say they are vital for boosting housebuilding. Instead of individual planning applications being decided through a democratic process, councils would be asked to draw up multi-year plans that divides land into zones for development and protection. Outline approval would be automatic in growth zones and there would be a statutory presumption in favour of development in renewal zones. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/17/michael-gove-set-to-pause-contentious-planning-shake-up

Cladding Systems Failed Government-Commissioned Fire Tests In 2004

A series of cladding systems failed fire tests carried out for the government in 2004, but the results were never revealed before the materials were installed on thousands of buildings. A research report first obtained by the BBC shows 10 external wall systems were subjected to fire tests as officials sought to develop a new testing methodology for cladding in the mid-2000s. The document shows systems containing materials such as high-pressure laminate (HPL), expanded polystyrene and phenolic insulation failed the tests. These systems are currently being removed from thousands of buildings around the UK, in many cases at the cost of individual leaseholders. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/cladding-systems-failed-government-commissioned-fire-tests-in-2004-leaked-document-reveals-72558?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

Average Age Of First-Time Buyers To Reach 35

With house prices at an all-time high and the age of first–time buyers on the rise, new research by comparethemarket.com forecasts the change in the property market over the next decade. By 2031, house prices in greater London are predicted to increase by a third, whereas the rest of the UK is likely to see a slighter lesser increase of 30%. Looking ahead, the UK property market is set to see incremental house price increases until the year 2040. UK house prices look set to increase by 58% overall. comparethemarket.com also analysed the age of first–time buyers in England dating back to 2006, to reveal how this will increase over the next ten years. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/average-age-of-first-time-buyers-to-reach-35/ 

Housing: Prices – Parliamentary Written Answer

 Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of changes in the level of house prices on the UK’s economic recovery.

Lord Agnew of Oulton: HM Treasury does not prepare formal forecasts for house prices or the outlook on the UK economy, which are the responsibility of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). In its March forecast, the OBR expects that GDP will grow by 4% in 2021 and return to its pre-Covid peak in 2022. The OBR also forecasts annual house price growth of 5% in 2021. The latest available data shows that UK average house prices reached £266,000 in June 2021.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2021-09-06/HL2449

First-Time Buyers £25,000 Worse Off Due To Stamp Duty Holiday

The stamp duty holiday has increased the price of first-time buyer homes by an average of 11.7% in England in the last year, and by as much as 31.5% in some areas of the country, according to research from GetAgent. The average price of a first-time buyer home in July 2020, just before the holiday was introduced, was £212,166. However, the latest figures show the average first-time buyer home now costs £236,982, an increase of £24,816 or 11.7%. On a broad regional level, the North West has seen the largest increase, with the average first-time buyer now paying £168,820 - a 16.9% jump since July of last year. Read more on the Financial Reporter website.

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/finance-news/first-time-buyers-25000-worse-off-due-to-stamp-duty-holiday.html 

Letting Of Former Cornwall Council Houses To Be Investigated

Cornwall Council has outlined plans to clamp down on former council houses being used as holiday homes. The council has proposed setting up a dedicated investigation and enforcement unit to restrict the practice. Homes sold under the government's Right to Buy scheme are usually restricted from being used as holiday lets or as houses of multiple occupancy so they are protected for use by local people. It is believed there are dozens of homes being advertised online. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-58570565

Leaseholders Freed From Costly Contract Terms

Following CMA action, leaseholders with Countryside Properties will no longer be subjected to ground rents that double every 10 or 15 years. Countryside Properties – one of the UK’s leading housing developers – has voluntarily given formal commitments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to remove terms from leasehold contracts that cause ground rents to double in price. The effect of these increases, which kick in every 10 to 15 years, is that people often struggle to sell or mortgage their home and their property rights can be at risk, for example, if they fall behind on their rent. Read more on the GovUK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/leaseholders-freed-from-costly-contract-terms 

Grenfell Fire: Cladding Company Lawyer Says It Holds No Responsibility

A lawyer for the company which made the cladding panels used in Grenfell Tower said it was unfair to pin the blame for the fire on them. Stephen Hockman QC, speaking on behalf of cladding giant Arconic, told an inquiry into the 2017 disaster the company’s product was used in a “wholly unorthodox and irregular cladding system” on the west London tower, for which it “bore no responsibility”. In 2019, inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick concluded the “principal reason” the flames shot up the building at such speed was the combustible cladding which acted as a “source of fuel”. Read more on the Evening Standard website.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/cladding-company-lawyer-no-responsibility-grenfell-fire-b955317.html 

Ministers Urged To Create 250,000 New Homes For ‘Heroes’ Of The Pandemic

 The Government is being urged to create 250,000 new homes for key workers as a reward for their efforts during the pandemic. The Centre for Policy Studies (CPS) – a centre-right think tank – has called on ministers to set aside land for a new class of “homes for heroes”. The CPS said the majority of properties should be offered on a rent-to-buy or shared ownership basis, with the rest on long leases, with priority given to local key workers – both public and private sector. Read more on the Belfast Telegraph website.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/uk/ministers-urged-to-create-250000-new-homes-for-heroes-of-the-pandemic-40855783.html

Jenrick Exits As Housing Secretary In Cabinet Reshuffle

Robert Jenrick has lost his job as housing secretary in a major cabinet reshuffle and been replaced by Michael Gove. The former housing secretary announced his departure in a tweet which made no reference to a new ministerial post - suggesting he has been removed from the cabinet. The reshuffle brings to a close a two-year run in the position for Mr Jenrick. It makes him the longest serving secretary of state in this role since Eric Pickles, who left office in 2015. Former education and justice secretary Mr Gove was announced as his replacement, moving from his current role as chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/jenrick-exits-as-housing-secretary-in-cabinet-reshuffle-72531 

Average UK House Price Fell By £10,000 In July

The average UK house price fell by £10,000 in July compared with a month earlier, official figures show, as the housing market appeared to cool after the phasing out of the stamp duty holiday. The average UK house price was £256,000 in July, which was £19,000 higher than a year earlier, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Average house prices in the year to July rose by 8%. However, the increase was down on the 13% recorded in the 12 months to June. The housing market fell slightly in July, as many homebuyers had rushed to complete their purchases before the stamp duty holiday deadline of 30 June. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/15/average-uk-house-price-fell-by-10000-in-july-stamp-duty

Government Brands Housing Conditions ‘Unacceptable’ After ITV Documentary

 The documentary Surviving Squalor: Britain’s Housing Shame revealed the disturbing conditions some social housing tenants have been exposed to, and showed homes owned and managed by a number of councils, as well as housing associations including L&Q and Clarion. The conditions included leaks which led to near-fatal ceiling collapses, rodent infestations, persistent and chronic mould and fungus – in some cases within the homes of tenants who have breathing difficulties. An MHCLG spokesperson said: “It is completely unacceptable for people to be living in the unsafe homes we have seen in this investigation and we are committed to doing all we can to support tenants.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/government-brands-squalid-housing-conditions-unacceptable-after-itv-documentary-72494

Regulator of Social Housing: Powers – Parliamentary Written Answer

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the Regulator of Social Housing’s investigatory powers.

Christopher Pincher: The most important step we will take will be to work with the Regulator of Social Housing to create a strong, proactive consumer regulatory regime, strengthening the formal standards against which landlords are regulated, requiring them to be transparent about their performance so they can be held to account, to put things right when they go wrong and to listen to tenants through effective engagement. The Regulator of Social Housing will be given stronger powers to proactively monitor and drive compliance with consumer standards, as well as regular inspection of the largest landlords and new tenant satisfaction measures to help assess landlord performance on issues like repairs and complaints handling. We are committed to implementing the reforms laid out in our Charter for Social Housing Residents, and will look to legislate as soon as practicable.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-09-03/42055 

Grenfell Survivors Call For Urgent Ban On Combustible Building Materials

 The bereaved and survivors of the Grenfell disaster have called for an urgent ban on the use of combustible materials in buildings after they said evidence at the public inquiry had revealed “fraud”, “cover-up” and “incompetence” in the construction industry. Their lawyer told the inquiry chairman, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, that methods of checking safety of materials had been revealed as “positively dangerous” and that a key independent testing centre for construction products had been “complicit in manufacturers’ frauds”. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/13/grenfell-survivors-call-for-urgent-ban-on-combustible-building-materials

MHCLG’s Latest Homelessness Statistics For 2020-2021

MHCLG has released the latest statutory homelessness statistics, covering the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. The statistics capture data on everyone who has been assessed under the Homelessness Reduction Act. Whilst the Homelessness Reduction Act significantly expanded the number of people eligible for homelessness support from their local authority, the statutory statistics still only capture those who access support from Housing Options services. This data helps explain the wider trends, but not those not engaging with support, people experiencing more hidden forms of homelessness or those not entitled to support because of immigration restrictions. According to the latest statistics, 268,560 households were at risk of or experienced homelessness from 2020-21. Read more on the Homeless Link website.

https://homeless.org.uk/connect/blogs/2021/sep/13/stats-summary-mhclg%E2%80%99s-latest-homelessness-statistics-for-2020-2021 

Demand Remains Strong Heading Into Autumn

 Following the wind-down of the stamp duty holiday at the end of September, activity levels in the UK property market are predicted to remain high, albeit not at the same frenetic pace seen during the first half of the year. According to new research from Knight Frank, the data for August is unambiguous and shows demand remains exceptionally strong with the number of new prospective buyers registering during the month up 24% against the five-year average. With demand undeniably strong, the big unknown is supply. How quickly it picks up will be a determining factor for transaction volumes and prices. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/property/demand-remains-exceptionally-strong-heading-into-autumn-market.html

Changes To Notice Periods In England From 1 October

Following the pandemic and the introduction of the Coronavirus Act 2020, the UK Government initially increased all notices to six months for most grounds (including Section 21 notices), with exemptions for certain serious cases. Since 1 June 2021 until 30 September 2021 notice periods must be at least four months in most circumstances apart from exemptions for the most serious cases. Notice periods for cases where there are less than four months of unpaid rent, reduced to two months’ notice from 1 August. Moving forward, the UK Government intend to retain the power to implement any similar measures again in the future should the public health situation worsen. Read more on the Propertymark website.

https://www.propertymark.co.uk/resource/changes-to-notice-periods-in-england-from-1-october.html 

Ministers ‘To Ditch Overhaul Of Planning Laws’

The government is reportedly backpedalling on its commitment to overhaul planning laws in order to accelerate infrastructure projects with a target of building 300,000 homes a year in England. Part of the government’s “Project Speed”, the new planning laws were announced in the Queen’s speech with the target of modernising and simplifying the system and increasing the number of homes being planned by more than a third. The planning reforms have been met with criticism from countryside campaigners, who said the changes would lead to the “suburbanisation” of green areas without delivering much-needed affordable housing. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/sep/11/ministers-to-ditch-overhaul-of-planning-laws-after-criticism 

Right to Buy Scheme: Housing Associations – Parliamentary Written Answer

 tephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to extend right to buy to housing association tenants after the completion of the 2017 pilot scheme.

Christopher Pincher: The Government remains committed to the Right to Buy and to spreading the dream of home ownership to even more people. The Midlands pilot of the Voluntary Right to Buy scheme completed this year and has been fully evaluated. The Government is looking at the findings, which will be used to inform future policy. As set out in the 2019 manifesto, the Government will evaluate new pilot areas and we will be announcing more details on that.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-09-03/41867

Rents Outside London Soaring At Fastest Rate On Record

Private rents outside London are rising at their fastest rate for 13 years, research suggests, as tenants making plans for life post-pandemic compete for properties. The property website Zoopla said average rents across the UK outside the capital rose by 5% over the 12 months to the end of July – adding more than £450 to a typical annual rent bill – the biggest increase since its index began in 2008. However, locations popular with tenants quitting London and other big cities after reevaluating their lifestyle have seen rents jump by a lot more – up to 25%, according to some estate agents. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/sep/08/rents-outside-london-soaring-at-fastest-rate-on-record-agencies-say

Rising House Prices See Borrowers Paying Mortgages Off Beyond Retirement

A significant number of borrowers are attempting to stretch mortgage terms to 35 or even forty years, with ‘maximum age at end of term’ the most-searched term by brokers in August. This backs up research which showed a 70% rise in 35 year-plus mortgages over the past two years. This trend for elongated mortgages is potentially a result of rapidly increasing house prices. With higher prices creating affordability issues, some borrowers are looking to spread their mortgage out over a longer time period to lower the monthly repayments. ‘Income multiple used for affordability assessment’, was the second most-searched term in the residential market in August. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/finance/rising-house-prices-see-growing-number-of-borrowers-paying-mortgages-off-beyond-retirement.html 

Green Homes Grants Cost £1,000 In Admin For Each Household That Benefited

A scheme to make homes cosier and greener racked up administration costs of £1,000 for each household that benefited, the Whitehall spending watchdog said. The flagship green homes grant scheme was rushed, caused frustration for homeowners and installers and had lower benefits in cutting carbon and creating jobs than it could have done, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. The programme was launched in September 2020 as a six-month “green” pandemic recovery measure, and closed in March 2021 having been extended and then curtailed again in the face of problems with its delivery. Read more on the ITV website.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-07/green-homes-grants-cost-1000-in-admin-for-each-household-that-benefited--nao

House Prices Hit Record High Despite Cut In Stamp Duty Break

The average UK house price reached a fresh record high in August while annual inflation cooled to a five-month low, after the partial end of the stamp duty holiday in England and Northern Ireland. Halifax, one of the country’s biggest mortgage lenders, said the average cost of a property increased by 0.7%, or £1,789, to £262,954, topping the previous peak of £261,642 recorded in May. The annual rate of house price inflation slowed to 7.1%, the lowest since March and down from 7.6% in July. However, compared with June 2020, when the housing market began to reopen after the first Covid-19 lockdown, prices remain more than £23,600, or 9.9%, higher. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/07/uk-house-prices-stamp-duty-august-halifax 

More Than One In Six Social Homes ‘Uneconomical’ To Upgrade To Net Zero

In its annual Housing Sector Survey consultancy Savills identified a significant shift towards investment in existing homes. A poll of 138 social housing providers found that 30% expect the need to increase spending in current stock to affect their development programmes. Stock investment, driven by the building safety and zero-carbon agendas, was cited as a top priority by 85% more respondents than in the 2020 survey. Those which have crunched the numbers expect an average cost of £20,600 per home to get their housing stocks to net zero, the research found. But 37% of providers have not yet factored these huge costs into their business plans. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/more-than-one-in-six-social-homes-uneconomical-to-upgrade-to-net-zero-research-finds-72443 

Number Of Sub-1% Mortgage Deals Rises To 86

The number of lenders offering sub-1% mortgage products has increased from just 1 in March to 12 by July, according to analysis by Trussle. Its data shows that there are now 86 deals with an interest rate of 0.9% or lower. Two-year fix rates are the most popular term type for sub-1% products, with 74% of leads coming from remortgage customers. Despite the growth in sub-1% products, just 2% of all enquiries to Trussle were for these types of mortgages in July. Read more on the Financial Reporter website.

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/mortgages/number-of-sub-1-mortgage-deals-rises-to-86.html 

Demand For Rental Home Mortgages Surges

The boom in domestic holidays has fuelled a surge in demand for mortgages for UK holiday rental homes as landlords and investors cash in on people taking breaks in Britain. The number of “holiday let” mortgage deals on the market has more than doubled in a year, reflecting what one mortgage broker said had been “really incredible interest” this year. Its findings coincided with an analysis of government figures by the real estate adviser firm Altus Group that showed more than 11,000 second home owners in England had “flipped” their properties to become holiday lets since the start of the pandemic in order to capitalise on the booming market. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/06/uk-rental-home-mortgage-demand-surges-domestic-holiday-boom 

More Than 11,000 Properties Flipped To Holiday Homes Amid Staycation Boom

 More than 11,000 second-home owners in England have flipped their properties to become holiday lets since the start of the pandemic, to capitalise on soaring demand for staycations. New analysis of government figures shows that the number of holiday homes trading as businesses has jumped by more than a fifth since the pandemic hit. The data shows that there are now 67,578 homes in England classified as holiday homes which have been flipped to become commercial premises, compared with 56,102 properties in March last year. Read more on the ITV website.

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-09-05/more-than-11000-properties-flipped-to-holiday-homes-amid-staycation-boom

Housebuilding Growth Rate ‘Slowest For 15 Months’

The rate of growth in housebuilding work fell to its lowest level last month since the height of the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020, as materials and labour shortages continue to bite. According to the latest construction purchasing managers’ index from IHS Markit and CIPS, the housebuilding industry recorded a score of 55 – still above the “50” mark that denotes growth – but the lowest level seen since the industry was effectively temporarily shut down in spring last year. This is also the first time that the housebuilding industry has recorded an index score of less than 60 since February this year. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/housebuilding-growth-rate-slowest-for-15-months/5113568.article 

Nottingham Predicted To Fall Short Of Housing Demand By More Than 4,000 Homes

Nottingham could fall short of the demand for housing by more than 4,000 homes, according to the latest predictions. The issue will be raised during a Nottingham City Council strategic planning and transport committee meeting, as the latest predictions show the city is set to fall short of its estimated housing need by 4,411 properties. However the city council says it has plans to produce a new strategic plan later this year, working alongside other local authorities across the Greater Nottingham area, to "ensure the demand is met". Read more on the Nottingham Live website.

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/nottingham-news/nottingham-predicted-fall-short-housing-5867183 

Grenfell Tower Set To Be Demolished Over Safety Concerns

Ministers are expected to announce that Grenfell Tower will be demolished because of safety concerns, more than four years after the fire that killed 72 people. Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, has been told that the building poses a risk to the local community including a secondary school located near the charred remains. Senior Whitehall sources told the Sunday Times that structural engineering experts hired by the government had “unambiguously and unanimously” advised that the tower should be “carefully taken down”. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/sep/04/grenfell-tower-set-to-be-demolished-over-safety-concerns

Property Purchases Funded By Equity Release More Than Double In 2021

Over-55s keen to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday drove a 116% year-on-year increase in the number of people using equity release for property purchase, new research from more2life shows. The increase coincides with the introduction of the stamp duty holiday in July 2020 and highlights how over-55s are increasingly using equity release to help them move home – often to be close to family, friends or amenities. Property purchase cases increased by 208% between H1 2020 and H2 2020 and while this started to slow as the SDLT holiday deadline loomed. Read more on the Financial Reporter website.

https://www.financialreporter.co.uk/later-life/property-purchases-funded-by-equity-release-more-than-double-in-2021.html 

Complaints To Housing Ombudsman Rise By 21%

Complaints and enquiries to the Housing Ombudsman increased 21% in the first three months of 2020/21, having already risen sharply last year. The complaints arbitration service revealed that it received 7,276 enquiries and complaints over the period, up from 6,010 in the previous three months. The number is also 230% higher than for between April and June 2020 – although that quarter saw a 41% drop compared with the previous year amid the first coronavirus lockdown. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/complaints-to-housing-ombudsman-rise-by-21-72385?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60 

UK Enjoys Property Sales Boom Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Hard-to-sell homes are being snapped up by the hundred as Britain’s booming property market maintains a year-long breakneck sales record. In areas of high demand, even the most knocked-about and idiosyncratic houses are spending just days on the market once buyers, desperate to grab something, see that predictions of a house price crash are proving off the mark. While the property merry-go-round screeched to a temporary halt during the first lockdown early last year, the pause did not last. With sales barely slowing over the summer, the data is clear: along with technology, real estate has emerged as one of the pandemic’s boom sectors. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/sep/03/uk-enjoys-property-sales-boom-amid-covid-19-pandemic 

House Price Rises Accelerate

UK house prices accelerated in August, the Nationwide has said, with values now 13% higher than before the pandemic. The building society said that annual house price growth sped up, to 11%, with the average home costing £248,857. It said property prices recorded their second largest month-on-month rise in 15 years, up by 2.1%. The Nationwide said the increase was "surprising", given that the benefit from stamp duty holidays was reduced. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58399869 

Higher Energy Efficiency Has Only ‘Modest’ Influence On House Prices

The house price premium for a property with a higher energy rating – A or B – is just 1.7% compared to a D-rated home, new research from Nationwide shows. At the other end of the scale, houses rated F or G run with a 3.5% discount over a D-rated property, the lender’s report adds. These values are likely to change over time, however, especially if the government takes measures to incentivise greater energy efficiency in future to help ensure the UK meets its climate change obligations.  Regulation means that socially rented houses have the highest energy efficiency ratings, followed by privately rented stock. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/news/higher-energy-efficiency-has-only-modest-influence-on-house-prices/ 

£8.6 Billion For Affordable Homes

 Thousands of people will be helped onto the housing ladder as funding worth £8.6 billion is allocated across the country. Part of the largest single investment in affordable housing in a decade, the Affordable Homes Programme funding will deliver around 119,000 homes, including 57,000 for ownership, 29,600 for social rent and 6,250 affordable rural homes. The cash injection could support up to 370,000 jobs across the country for homebuilders, SME developers, and wider businesses supporting the house building industry such as electricians and plumbers. This is expected to generate up to £26 billion of other private and public investment. Read more on the GovUK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/86-billion-for-affordable-homes-to-give-boost-onto-housing-ladder

Three Quarters Of Brits Don’t Spend Enough Money On Home Upkeep

Three quarters of Brits don’t spend enough money each year on home upkeep, new research has revealed. Experts claim that homeowners should spend the equivalent of 1% of their property value on its upkeep each year in order to maintain its worth, and with the average UK house price currently standing at £255,0002, Brits are recommended to spend around £2,550 a year refreshing their home. However, a recent study by ScS found that 75% of the nation spend less than this amount. In fact, more than half (56%) spend under £1,000 each year and one in six (17%) splash out less than £250. Read more on the Property Reporter website.

https://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/at-home/three-quarters-of-brits-dont-spend-enough-money-on-home-upkeep.html

Older Buyers Being Excluded From Housing Market

 An estate agent says the housing market now has a hidden characteristic - an absence of homes that are friendly for older people. Loveitts Estate Agents says the issue is nationwide. In a statement it says: “With many inner-city properties being untenable for elderly or disabled people, matters have only been worsened by housing policy focusing prominently on helping first-time buyers.” Last year, NHBC registered a total of 123,151 new homes in 2020, compared to 160,319 in 2019.  Of those registered in 2020, just 1,942 were bungalows - the most popular form of home for many older buyers, especially those with mobility issues. Read more on the Estate Agent Today website.

https://www.estateagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2021/8/older-buyers-being-excluded-from-housing-market-warns-agency