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

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 

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

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 

Covid Homeless Scheme Not Leading To Permanent Accommodation

Fewer than one in four homeless people housed by the government's Everyone In scheme have moved into permanent accommodation, according to figures seen by the BBC. The initiative provided over 37,000 rough sleepers with a place to stay during the pandemic. But housing charity Shelter warned many were still in temporary homes or may even be back on the streets. The government said the figures were "misleading". Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-58334379 

Consumer 'Confusion' Threatens Net Zero Homes Plan

Government plans to decarbonise homes are too complicated and confusing, according to a coalition of consumer and industry groups. They've written to the prime minister to say that current schemes to adapt homes go wrong far too often. The open letter, from Citizens Advice and others, calls for more financial support for making changes. Otherwise, they argue, efforts to curb emissions from millions of homes in the UK will be at risk. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58320578 

House Prices: Demand Changes, Not Tax Waiver, Pushed Prices Up

The current house prices boom was not caused by the stamp duty holiday, a new report has argued. The Resolution Foundation says prices will keep rising because of pandemic-related factors like low interest rates and changing home preferences. In fact, the think tank says the tax holiday was "wasteful" and HMRC lost out on about £4.4bn of taxes in England and Northern Ireland as a result. The Treasury said the policy saved jobs by stimulating the housing market. Between June 2020 and June 2021, the average value of a UK home increased 13.2%. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58274811 

House Prices Fall For First Time This Year

House prices have fallen for the first time this year, according to property website Rightmove. It said the average price of property coming to market in August fell 0.3%, a drop of £1,076, to £337,371. That was prompted by the ending of the stamp duty holiday and a subsequent fall in demand for bigger homes. "Average prices have only fallen in the upper-end sector," said Tim Bannister, Rightmove's director of property data. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58206513

House Price Growth Slows As Housing Market Cools

The Halifax says house prices rose again in July after dipping last month, making the average price £261,221 and leaving prices 7.6% higher than at the same time last year. Last month, average prices were 8.7% up on a year ago. The lender said it expected prices to settle further after the recent spate of strong rises, which has been fuelled in part by tax breaks on stamp duty. But it said a shortage of homes was likely to support prices. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58112221 

Mortgages Refused For Self-Employed Who Took Covid Grants

Some of Britain's biggest high street banks are refusing to give mortgages to self-employed people who received government grants during the pandemic. Mortgage brokers say those working in sectors like entertainment, hospitality and travel are the worst affected. Many lenders spoken to by the BBC are not accepting mortgage applications from people on furlough. Brokers said that banks often see people who have received Covid-related grants as high risk. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57843756 

House Prices Set To Continue Rising As Supply Shrinks

A lack of available properties is helping to push up house prices, surveyors say. As a result, a majority of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) members think prices will continue to rise over the next year. The shrinking supply meant the number of new properties coming to the market fell by a third in June. But with no let-up in demand, all parts of the UK continued to report robust increases in house prices, RICS said. Read more on the BBC website.

House prices set to continue rising as supply shrinks - BBC News

Checkatrade Boss Warns Of Shortage Of Skilled Trade Workers

A shortage of skilled trade workers has developed as European Union migrants leave the UK and demand for home improvements rises, the founder of Homeserve has said. Chief executive Richard Harpin said the shortages were "pretty bad" across the country, not just in construction but in other trades too. He wants the government to put more trades on its jobs shortage list. The Home Office said employers should invest in UK workers. Mr Harpin, whose company also operates Checkatrade, told BBC Radio Four's Today programme he believed shortages were being caused by "mainly EU migrant workers going home". Read more on the BBC website.

Checkatrade boss warns of shortage of skilled trade workers - BBC News

House Prices Rise At Fastest Pace In 17 Years

UK house prices rose 13.4% in the year to June, the fastest pace since November 2004, the Nationwide has said. The building society said the average house price increased to £245,432 from £216,403 in June 2020. The Nationwide bases the findings on its own mortgage data. It said while the rapid annual growth was partly due to prices being "unusually weak" during the first lockdown last year, the market continued to "show significant momentum". Read more on the BBC website.

House prices rise at fastest pace in 17 years - BBC News

Renting Now Cheaper Than Buying A Home

It is cheaper to rent a property than it is to buy a home for the first time in more than six years, says Hamptons. Research by the estate agency suggests that before the pandemic began in March 2020, people buying with a 10% deposit would have been better off than renters by £102 a month. But last month, it found the average private sector tenant was better off, spending £71 a month less in rent. There are now only four areas in the UK where it is cheaper to buy than rent. Read more on the BBC website.

Renting now cheaper than buying a home, Hamptons says - BBC News 

House Prices Jump 9.5% As Buyers Seek Larger Homes

UK house prices leapt another 9.5% in the year to May, boosted by the government's stamp duty holiday which ends this month. The Halifax said prices rose by more than £22,000 to an average of £261,743. But it said buyer preferences are shifting "in anticipation of new, post-pandemic lifestyles". "There's greater demand for larger properties with more space," said Halifax managing director Russell Galley. He said this was leading to "an increased willingness to spend a higher proportion of income on housing". Halifax said annual house price inflation was at its strongest level in nearly seven years, with UK prices rising by 1.3% month-on-month. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57383862 

'Mad Rush' To Buy Homes Faded In April

The "mad rush" to buy properties to take advantage of stamp duty holidays waned in April, official figures suggest. Transactions fell by 36% compared with the record level of UK home sales in March, according to HM Revenue and Customs. An extension to the deadline for stamp duty relief into the summer is likely to have been behind the fall. However, analysts expect interest and prices to remain high. Read more on the BBC website.

'Mad rush' to buy homes faded in April - BBC News

Rough Sleepers To Get £203m Funding To Help Them Off The Streets

More rough sleepers in England will be helped off the streets and into housing this year as part of a £203m programme, the government has announced. Some 2,688 people were estimated to be sleeping rough on any single night in England last autumn. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick said the money will be given to councils to support shelters and specialist mental health or addiction services. But charity Crisis warned the funding "will only scratch the surface". Read more on the BBC website.

Rough sleepers in England to get £203m funding to help them off the streets - BBC News

Grenfell: Survivors Condemn New Fire Safety Laws

New laws that could leave flat owners facing bills for fire safety measures are "indefensible", say Grenfell Tower survivors and bereaved relatives. The Fire Safety Act is aimed at making homes safer following the 2017 blaze, in which 72 people died. But a push to include more financial protections for leaseholders was defeated in a Parliamentary vote, despite a large Tory rebellion. The government has made a £5bn fund available to remove cladding. Read more on the BBC website.

Grenfell: Survivors condemn new fire safety laws - BBC News 

Mortgage Scheme Launched For 5% Deposits

High Street lenders are now starting to offer mortgages to borrowers offering a deposit of just 5% under a new government guarantee scheme. The policy, announced in the Budget, is designed to help more first-time buyers secure a home. But the launch comes as average house prices in the UK continue to rise to record levels. Analysts also suggest that cheaper deals are available for those able to stretch to a 10% deposit. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56777436

Grenfell Residents 'Bullied' For Raising Safety Fears Before Fire

Lawyers for victims of the Grenfell fire accused the council that owned the tower block and its building managers of "neglect, indifference and discrimination" towards residents. Residents who raised safety concerns before the fire were "bullied" and "stigmatised", the inquiry into the disaster heard as it began a new phase. But building managers denied being "dismissive" towards residents and their concerns. Read more on the BBC website.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56566439