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

Council Housing Company Submits MMC Scheme For Planning

Barnet Homes will use modular system developed by architect RCKa. Council-owned housing company Barnet Homes has submitted plans drawn up by architect RCKa for 47 modular homes on the Broadfields Estate in Edgware. The homes will be built using RCKa’s own “Common Home” system – a set of house types based on Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), and specifically developed by the architect to minimise construction wastage, cost and unnecessary complexity in the design and construction of new homes. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/council-housing-company-submits-mmc-scheme-for-planning/5107491.article

Councils Sack ALMO Board

Four Kent councils have today dismissed the board of their ALMO and taken it under direct control in response to major health and safety failings. Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe councils said they acted after an independent report into problems at East Kent Housing (EKH) concluded that it is “fundamentally broken”. The authorities’ chief executives will now make up the EKH board. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/councils-sack-almo-board-following-health-and-safety-failures-64512?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

East Kent Housing Likely To Be Ditched

Thanet council is proposing to ditch arrangements with East Kent Housing and bring its social housing service back under authority control. Cabinet members are expected to approve moves to put the plans out to council property residents for consultation next month with a report coming back to council early next year. The action comes on the heels of revelations earlier this year that hundreds of council property tenants across east Kent had been awaiting gas safety certificates due to overdue Landlord Gas Safety Register assessments. It then emerged that there were also grave concerns over potential further issues with electrical certification, lifts, fire safety and legionella testing. Read more on the Isle of Thanet News website.

https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2019/10/09/east-kent-housing-likely-to-be-ditched-and-housing-brought-back-under-thanet-council-control/

Midlands Council Had 622 Gas Certificates Outstanding

A council in the Midlands had 622 gas safety certificates out of date for a short period this summer, council papers have revealed. Newark and Sherwood District Council said the issues came to its attention in July and that all its homes were checked and serviced by 15 August. The council manages its 5,400 council homes through an ALMO, Newark and Sherwood Homes (NS Homes), but is already set to wind the company up and bring its housing services in-house. A report seen by the Conservative council’s Homes & Communities Committee revealed there have been two instances of gas servicing failures this year. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/midlands-council-had-622-gas-certificates-outstanding-63552?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

Gas Services Contractor Embroiled In ALMO Safety Saga Closed Down

The parent company of a contractor involved with a contract at a Kent ALMO that saw hundreds of gas safety checks incomplete has shut down its gas services operations. In a trading update, heating, electrical and building services provider Bilby plc said it closed P&R Installations Company’s gas servicing division in July, with its remaining “ongoing profitable building services contracts” shifted onto Purdy, another subsidiary of Bilby. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/gas-services-contractor-embroiled-in-almo-safety-saga-closed-down-62656?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

ALMO Under Review Following Home Standard Breach

Gateshead Council, which owns around 19,000 homes, agreed last week to immediately update its management agreement with The Gateshead Housing Company (TGHC) and set a two-year deadline to decide the organisation’s future. In April the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) revealed that Gateshead Council had breached the Home Standard by failing to carry out fire risk assessments properly, as well as asbestos surveys and electrical safety checks. Measures in the new management agreement include new performance metrics for TGHC, covering a range of safety and housing management areas, plus a new regime of monitoring meetings with the council. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/almo-under-review-following-home-standard-breach-62400?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

HSE Investigating After ALMO Left Hundreds Of Gas Safety Checks Uncompleted

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is investigating after an ALMO failed to carry out hundreds of gas safety checks on time. East Kent Housing (EKH), which manages around 17,000 homes on behalf of Canterbury, Dover, Thanet and Folkestone & Hythe councils, has issued an apology to residents. Rosie Duffield, Labour MP for Canterbury, claimed in parliament on Monday that 544 homes had not been “regularly subjected to vital landlord gas safety assessments” by EKH. EKH said that 384 homes had expired gas safety certificates as of 7 June. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/hse-investigating-after-almo-left-hundreds-of-gas-safety-checks-uncompleted-61964

Regulator Issues Guidance To Councils On Compliance With Consumer Standards

The Regulator for Social Housing (RSH) has issued a letter to local authority Chief Executives to remind councils of their obligations under the Regulator's consumer standards, particularly with respect to the Home Standard expectations on health and safety. The letter has been issued following Regulatory Notices issued by the RSH to two local authorities in respect of failures to comply with the Home Standard (part of the regulator's Consumer Standards) and specifically a range of health & safety requirements. The letter reminds local authorities that their obligations under the Home Standard remain with the local authority where it is the stock-owning body, even if the management has been contracted to another body such as an Almo. Read more on the ARCH website.

http://www.arch-housing.org.uk/news/latest-news/regulator-issues-guidance-to-councils-on-compliance-with-consumer-standards.aspx

How Nottingham Labour Is Tackling The Housing Crisis

In May 2015, Nottingham Labour stood for election on five key pledges, one of which was a commitment to build 2,500 new homes that Nottingham people could afford to rent or buy. Four years later we have managed to build 2,293 new affordable homes and we have 534 more in the planning stages. Achieving this meant that Nottingham City Council embarked on the biggest new council house building program in a generation: over the last four years, we’ve built 523 new council homes. The political focus we placed on meeting this target means we have created award winning quality developments in partnership with our ALMO, Nottingham City Homes and they are now one of the top social housing builders in the UK. Read more of this article by Cllr Linda Woodings on the Labourlist website.

https://labourlist.org/2019/04/how-nottingham-labour-is-tackling-the-housing-crisis-and-wants-to-do-more/

31% Of ALMO Right To Buy Stock Not Replaced In 2018

The annual survey looking at the state of the ALMO sector in England has shown latest build figures and wider impact on communities. One of the stark figures is that only 46% of Right To Buy sales were replaced with new build. This figure rises to 69% when acquisitions are included. Of the 31 ALMOs, three quarters of the building was done by just six, showing a real challenge for the sector. The year before, 59% was being built by just three of them. The NFA, which authored the report, says this is a “year-on-year problem with properties not being replaced fully from previous years’ sales”. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/31-of-almo-right-to-buy-stock-not-replaced-in-2018/

Regulator: Sector League Tables Within Two Years And Will Include Councils

League tables for social landlords could come into effect within two years and would compare housing associations, councils, ALMOs and for-profit providers equally, the regulator has said. Asked if he thought league tables or an alternative system could be introduced in 18 months to two years’ time, Jonathan Walters, deputy director of strategy and performance at the RSH, said: “I think that is probably about right.” And he suggested league tables would be “cross domain”, applying to all organisations which are currently subject to the RSH’s standard. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/regulator-sector-league-tables-within-two-years-and-will-include-councils-58572?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

ALMO Did Not Carry Out Inspections After 2014 Report Into Broadwater Farm Defects

Homes for Haringey did not carry out an intrusive inspection on a high-rise tower, despite a report in 2014 warning doing so could uncover safety issues. Residents will be evacuated from Tangmere House on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham due to longstanding issues with the safety of the block’s structure. But Inside Housing has obtained a document which shows a structural assessment of this block carried out in 2014 reported cracks in walls throughout the building. The report added: “Latent defects may exist in the structure which can only be discovered by a further more detailed investigation.” Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JSE3_zmShaEJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/almo-did-not-carry-out-inspections-after-2014-report-into-broadwater-farm-defects-57499+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Kit Malthouse Appointed Minister Of State For Housing

Kit Malthouse MP has been appointed Minister of State for Housing, following the promotion of Dominic Raab MP to Secretary of State for Exiting the EU. Mr Malthouse was previously Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance at the DWP. He is a chartered accountant and, before entering Parliament, was a member of the London Assembly, serving as Deputy Mayor for Policing and Deputy Mayor for Business and Enterprise. Prior to this, he was a councillor on Westminster Council and was also on the board of the authority’s arm’s-length management organisation (ALMO), Citywest Homes. Read more on the NLA website.

https://landlords.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/kit-malthouse-appointed-minister-state-housing

ALMOs Boss Wants New Regulator For Councils With Housing Stock

National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) managing director, Eamon McGoldrick, has confirmed talks over a new regulator or ombudsman to oversee councils with housing stock. McGoldrick says: “About 55-60% of the socially rented housing stock is managed by housing associations, but 100% of the failings on public record are through housing associations – that doesn’t seem right.” McGoldrick said he had been talking to civil servants about the possibility of creating a “light touch” regulator or ombudsman to oversee councils with homes in-house or managed by ALMOs. “If you are a housing association you will tell the regulator you have fallen behind with gas servicing, because if you don’t and the regulator finds out you will get downgraded… which in turn impacts on their ability to borrow,” he said. There is no similar impact on councils or ALMOs. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/almo-boss-wants-new-regulator-for-councils-with-housing-stock/

London ALMO Launches Letting Agent

The Barnet Group has set up the agent as a subsidiary, called Bumblebee. It will operate online only, with all profits set to be reinvested in the group’s other services. According to Bumblebee’s website, tenants will not be charged any fees apart from a £350 holding fee, which will then be offset against an advance payment of one month’s rent, plus a deposit. The Barnet Group is made up of Barnet Homes, which manages the council’s housing stock; Opendoor Homes, its housing association; recruiting arm, TGB Flex; and social care provider, Your Choice Barnet. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:fM95KN_byjgJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/london-almo-launches-letting-agent-56413+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Westminster Investigating ALMO For Ex-Council Buy-Back Practices

Westminster Council’s trading standards team is investigating its own ALMO for the second time in six months. The authority previously fined City West Homes £15,000 and listed it on the Greater London Authority’s database of rogue landlords and agents after another investigation last year. City West Residential, a letting and estate agent set up by the ALMO in 2009, was found to have breached consumer rights laws by failing to display its new tenancy fees accurately on its website. Westminster City Council would not confirm the nature of the second investigation, but Inside Housing understands it relates to the way City West Homes uses its estate agent to buy back ex-authority homes sold through Right to Buy. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:mAauyakvVuMJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/westminster-investigating-almo-for-ex-council-buy-back-practices-55759+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

A1 Housing Could Be Brought Back Under Council Control

The organisation which has run council housing in Retford and Bassetlaw for 13 years could be brought back under local authority control. Bassetlaw District Council is consulting with its tenants and leaseholders over proposals to bring the management of its housing stock back to the authority - a move that could generate savings of £335,000 each year, it claims. Council housing in Bassetlaw has been managed by the Arms-Length Management Organisation (ALMO) A1 Housing since 2004. It was created by the council to deliver the Government funded Decent Homes programme, which ended in 2012. Read more on the Lincolnshire Live website.

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/a1-housing-could-brought-back-1270253

Councils And ALMOs Call For Flexibility In £1bn Borrowing Cap

Council housing representative bodies are urging the government to set out flexible bidding criteria for the £1bn of additional borrowing headroom announced in the Autumn Statement. The Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), the National Federation of ALMOs (NFA) and the Local Government Association (LGA) are also calling on their members to prepare to bid for the debt. There are fears that too much red tape could cause the programme to be undersubscribed – as happened when the Treasury announced a similar policy in 2014 – damaging future opportunities of funding for council housebuilding. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:5slWa1zxiP8J:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/home/home/councils-and-almos-call-for-flexibility-in-1bn-borrowing-cap-programme-54835+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss

Council Lists Own ALMO On Rogue Landlord Database

Westminster City Council has fined its ALMO £15,000 and listed it on Sadiq Khan’s Rogue Landlord and Agents Checker for consumer rights breaches. It comes after the council’s trading standards department investigated City West Residential, a letting agent subsidiary of City West Homes, which manages the borough’s 21,000-unit housing stock. The company was found to have breached Section 83 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for failing to display its letting fees accurately on its website. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:wQRhkN7GM2cJ:https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/news/westminster-council-lists-own-almo-on-rogue-landlord-database-54718+&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&safe=vss