Homes England Considering Tough New Green Building Standards

 Homes England is considering bringing in tough new sustainability standards for the homes produced by its partners or on its land. The possibility of new stretching standards is being considered as part of a major review of the housing quango being conducted by its new chairman, former Argent boss Peter Freeman. The agency’s chief land and development officer, told Housing Today there was a “live conversation” about whether the agency needed to ask development partners to produce homes to higher environmental standards than those called for by building regulations. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/homes-england-considering-tough-new-green-building-standards/5111358.article

Social Housing Sector Running Out Of Time To Meet Sustainability Targets

Nine in 10 social housing construction professionals believe the sector is in urgent need of new government guidelines if it is going to successfully meet sustainability targets. In a survey of 150 decision makers involved in the specification of building materials used for social housing developments, 88% agreed that the sector cannot wait for the pending Decarbonisation Fund and Decent Homes Standard review to define how it is going to become more sustainable. This guidance was expected to be included in the Social Housing Whitepaper which was released late last year, but it failed to clarify a number of key details the sector was waiting on. Read more on the Showhouse website.

https://www.showhouse.co.uk/news/social-housing-sector-running-out-of-time-to-meet-sustainability-targets/

Plea For Government To End Sidelining Of Rural Housing

The Rural Coalition has issued a statement, identifying the key principles, policies and actions which the new government must apply to secure a ‘living, working countryside’ and give rural communities a sustainable future. These include a planning system and funding regime that delivers a meaningful increase in the number of affordable homes outside of towns and cities, fair distribution of funding between urban and rural areas for all services including healthcare and transport, and an industrial strategy that realises the potential of rural areas. Read more on 24housing.

Rental Growth Sustained Across UK During August

Rents across the UK continued to rise during August, with this year’s trend of modest inflation continuing. Tenants signing up to a new tenancy during August agreed to pay an average rent of £913 a month, a 3.1 per cent increase on the same month of 2015. The pace of rent rises, while sustainable, is moderating. The 3.1 per cent recorded in August is comparable to annual increases of between 3.5 and 3.8 per cent over the previous four months. By contrast, annual rental inflation was running at close to 6 per cent this time last year.

·         Rents rose at a modest pace during August, up by an average of 3.1 per cent year-on-year, across the UK as a whole

·         Average rent in the UK now stands at £913 a month, compared to £885 per month in August 2015

Read more on the Homelet website.

RTB Extension Could See 145k Association Homes Sold

The Chartered Institute of Housing has estimated 145,000 housing association tenants will exercise the Right to Buy over the next five years. The claim was made in the Chartered Institute of Housing’s (CIH) submission to the CLG Committee inquiry into the viability and sustainability of housing associations. “Our initial analysis of Right to Buy [RTB] is that about 1.45 million tenants will be eligible and about 10% will exercise the Right to Buy in the first five years,” said John Perry, CIH policy advisor. “This is based on experience with local authority Right to Buy in the 1980s, taking into account that the proportion of housing association tenants in employment now is a lot lower than was the case with council tenants then. Read more on Inside Housing.

Sector Lobbies On Right to Buy and Rent Cut

The financial straits housing associations are facing due to Right to Buy and the social housing rent cut has dominated submissions to a parliamentary inquiry on the future of the sector.  Written submissions to the CLG Committee’s inquiry on the sustainability and viability of housing associations reveal strong concern over the policies while also apparently wanting to appear supportive to the government. According to the Placeshapers group of associations there was now however a “risk of a drastic loss of new homes” in the light of Right to Buy, required rent reductions and welfare reform.  Read more on Inside Housing.

CLG Committee Launch Inquiry into Future of Housing Associations

The Communities and Local Government (CLG) Committee has announced an inquiry into the viability and sustainability of housing associations. This inquiry will look at the proposed extension of Right to Buy and how this and a number of other government measures may impact on the ability of housing associations to build and develop. The Housing Bill, to be published later this year, will enable the extension of the Right to Buy to housing association tenants, giving them the ability to buy their homes at a discount. Written evidence should be submitted by Friday 28 August 2015. Read more on the Parliament website.

Easement for Homeless Persons

Work Programme provider memo WP161 about a new easement for homeless persons. Briefly, it says that an amendment has been made to the regulations to help support homeless claimants on Jobseekers Allowance in finding sustainable living accommodation which will help to remove a barrier into employment.  The Regulations allow Jobcentre Plus to treat certain homeless claimants as meeting the jobseeking conditions for periods of longer than one week with no limit on the number of occasions on which it can be applied.  A claimant will not be required to attend the Work Programme for the duration of any easement. Download the memo from the GovUK website.

New Digital Champions Network for Housing Launched

A new Digital Champions Network for Housing has been launched to help housing providers support their residents to get online and extend their digital skills ahead of the introduction of Universal Credit. Powered by Digital Unite and inspired by Affinity Sutton, one of the largest providers of affordable housing in England, the Digital Champions Network for Housing (DCN4H) is an innovative online platform to create, develop and support Digital Champions in local communities. Building an army of Digital Champions, people who can help others to use the internet, is a sustainable and cost-effective way for housing providers to improve digital skills among their residents and tenants.  Read more on the digitalunite website.

HCA Publishes Annual Report

The HCA Annual Report for 2010/11 is now available to download. As well as providing information about performance, it explains the HCA's role and impact as an investment and enabling agency. Alongside this there is also a sustainability report which reflects the HCA’s commitment to achieve carbon reduction targets by 2015. Download copies of these reports from the HCA website.

Localism Bill Could Block Green Projects

The Localism Bill lacks a definition of sustainable development and could block green projects in the future, a group of MPs has warned. The Environmental Audit Committee will call on the government to urgently amend the bill to combat fears the flagship legislation will fail to adequately promote sustainable development. In a report, the committee warns that while the government has promised a ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’ to be legislated in the national planning policy framework later this year, it does not contain a definition of what ‘sustainable’ is. The report also warns against the fairness of neighbourhood development plans, suggesting they could favour those who have ‘more time and money to spend on the process’. Download a copy of the report from the Parliament website.

Housing Design & Sustainability Standards Consultation

The HCA has launched a consultation on potential design and sustainability core standards. It seeks views of stakeholders on options for core standards, their level, and how, if adopted, they should be applied and phased in to operation. The consultation responses will be used to inform final decisions on standards and their application and will be part of delivering HCA's commitment to be at the forefront of good design quality and sustainability in housing. The consultation closes on June 17 2010 and can be found on the HCA website.