Housing Quality Network News from Around the Sector – 17 August 2017

Housing Quality Network News from around the sector – 17 August 2017

In the headlines

Mears issues profits warning in wake of Grenfell tower fire

Mears Group has downgraded its profit forecast and slashed its full-year revenue predictions as its clients delay new contracts following the Grenfell Tower fire.

The repairs and maintenance company, said new orders were on hold as authorities focused on ensuring all their properties were safe and compliant. They warned that the “tragic events at Grenfell Tower will impact the housing division later this year as clients review the commissioning and safety practices at their properties”.

The Guardian

The full financial statement

Terms of reference published for Grenfell Tower inquiry

On Tuesday the terms of reference were announced, marking the official start date of the inquiry.The government have said that the Prime Minister has “accepted in full the recommendations” made by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, the judge leading the inquiry.

The terms of reference and Prime Minister's response can be found by following the link below.

Prime Minister’s Office

Labour MP for Kensington sceptical about new inquiry

Emma Dent Coad, said:

"We were told 'no stone would be unturned' but instead are being presented with a technical assessment which will not get to the heart of the problem: what effects, if any, the lack of investment into social housing had on the refurbishment project.

The Government has delegated this responsibility to an in-house team. We have no confidence whatever in the ability of Alok Sharma and a few politically compromised individuals to take on the task of answering this most important question."

Evening Standard

School children asked to help with Grenfell Tower wrapping with art

Plans are being considered for Grenfell Tower to be covered with art by local school children. The complex operation to begin wrapping the tower block is due to begin imminently, which will prevent dust and ash being blown onto surrounding areas.

Primary school children who live near the building have been asked to design artwork that will “help them look up and smile”. The wrapping will be placed around scaffolding, which will be erected floor-by-floor and will allow a lift to be installed in the building to help with recovering items. The tower is then expected to be demolished sometime next year.

Evening Standard

Policy, regulation and legislation

Homelessness Reduction Act to commence from April next year

The Department for Communities and Local Government has told councils that £61m has been set aside. In a letter to councils, homelessness minister Marcus Jones said the formula for how the funding will be distributed is being finalised and allocations will be announced in the autumn with the first payments expected to be made in the winter.

Arden Chambers

Housing statistics and intelligence

Private rental sector gets a ‘perfect storm’ warning

According to a survey of almost 3,000 landlords by RLA, 22% plan to sell at least one of their properties over the next year – with just 18% planning to buy additional properties to rent.

The new data, published in the Residential Landlord Association’s (RLA) latest quarterly research, finds also that 33% of landlords have seen an increase in demand for homes to rent over the past three years.

The ‘storm warning’ comes as property prices in many parts of the United Kingdom are stalling – with the average price of a home rising in July by 0.3% following recent declines in May, April, and March.

24housing

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The other Waitrose effect: rapidly increasing evictions

The analysis, conducted by Oxford University academic David Adler for Generation Rent, found the arrival of a new store was associated with an increase in the number of evictions of between 25% and 50%.

According to the Generation Rent report, ‘Causes and Consequences of Evictions in Britain,’ published in October 2016, rising house prices encourage landlords to evict their tenants in order to free up their property for sale or a rent hike.

By 2015 Q1, areas with a Waitrose had nearly twice as many Section 21 evictions, on average, as areas without one.

24housing

Welfare

Families in Wales require most financial help to meet basic needs of children

Recent figures from the Institute of Fiscal Studies show that as many as two thirds of children classed as living in poverty have at least one parent working.

This is hugely significant; it has major social, political as well as economic implications. Put bluntly, it suggests that the opportunity of employment alone is not necessarily the way out of poverty.

ITV

Welfare reform and Universal Credit: the impact on the private rented sector

Senior Researcher, Tom Simcock’s report focuses on the impact of welfare policy changes and collected data from a large sample of 2,974 landlords and recommends that the freeze on LHA rates and HB rates are ended by the Government to remove these barriers for vulnerable tenants to the private rented sector.

Residents Landlord Association

Read the full report here

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Finance

Too much hinges on house prices: but Britain may yet avoid a crash

Larry Elliott reports there is little to suggest that the property market is about to go though the agonies of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when prices fell in real terms for more than half a decade and record numbers of homes were repossessed.

But the market has weakened since the start of the year and will remain weak for the foreseeable future. And that will have consequences for the wider economy. There are a number of reasons for the slowdown. The buy-to-let sector has gone cold since more a more stringent tax regime was introduced last year. Households have seen their real incomes squeezed by rising inflation and this has made them risk-averse on big financial decisions.

The Guardian

Nationwide mortgage lending hit by fall in buy-to-let loans

Nationwide has reported a sharp fall in mortgage lending, mainly due to making fewer buy- to-let loans. Net mortgage lending fell to £2.4bn in the April-to-June quarter, down from £3.5bn a year earlier.

The BBC

Barclays Bank claim housing transactions are in structural decline

Barclays Analyst Jon Bell argues there are simply fewer houses available to buy at any one time, and that restricted supply keeps prices high. It also funnels demand into the rental market. With fewer houses for sale and prices high, landlords can command higher rents. Those rents give landlords an incentive not to sell because the cashflow is so valuable.

The result is that home ownership in England has declined from 71% in 2004 to 64% in 2015. The building of new stock in both public and private sector has also declined since the 1960. Public housing built by local councils today is a tiny fraction of what it used to be. While the private sector is more robust, it still builds fewer houses today than it did 50 years ago.

Markets Insider

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Energy and environment

Japanese Knotweed found to be an unexpected influence in house sales

New research by YouGov has revealed that Japanese Knotweed would stop 78% of people from buying a house if the invasive plant was found growing in the seller's garden.

Zoopla

Useful reports

Leasehold and commonhold reform

This Commons Library briefing paper considers recent trends in leasehold ownership and on-going problems associated with the sector. Areas identified for possible reform are summarised, including Government proposals which are currently subject to consultation.

Parliament

Blogs and opinion

Owen Jones' assessment of the housing crisis in Britain

The Guardian Columnist said

"The housing crisis in Britain is something I'm so passionate about, because so many other social evils come out of it...They put off having a family, they worry they can't have the security for their kids. The idea of a home that they can buy is a fantastical notion, and because the council homes aren't built they can't get those either.

This is a rich country. We can afford, surely, to solve this crisis. It's willpower that's lacking, not money, not resources."

LBC

Will Grenfell be a game changer for housing, bidding and contract management?

Andrew Morrison of AM Bid Services Ltd ponders the effect Grenfell will have on social housing contracts, procurement teams, council committees, boards; main contractors, sub- contractors, suppliers, housing regulators and. crucially, the residents themselves.

Scottish Housing News

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Diane Abbott claims Grenfell fire victims are still being betrayed, two months on

The Shadow Home Secretary and Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington claimed that while 175 offers have been made, only 14 households have been permanently rehoused and only 48 households have new temporary accommodation as of this week.

The Guardian

Tony Devenish hit back at Diane Abbott over rehousing figures

Conservative Party politician and member of the London Assembly for West Central. Claimed of the Grenfell survivors, there has been 178 first offers of housing, 55 accepted, and 23 rehoused.

The Guardian

Eda Kutluozen proposes affordable housing above tube stations

The Royal College of Art architecture graduate’s project proposes inserting dense affordable housing and public spaces into disused sites across London.

Kutluozen proposes vertically stacking highly compacted public and domestic spaces into disused infill sites across the capital, such as the dead space above tube stations and suggests densifying the city centre while also improving its social, cultural and "city-like qualities".

Other graduate projects this year included low-cost cantilevered homes for London's undeveloped brownfield sites to combat the housing crisis.

Dezeen

Yes in my back yard

John Myers ponders how to end the housing crisis whilst boosting the economy and winning more votes

Housing Net

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Have we gone too far in vilifying landlords?

Patrick Collinson comments on Buy to let schemes and vengeful ad hominem attack on decent landlords.

The Guardian

‘’I make no apologies for my council's controversial new housing strategy’’

Mayor of Hackney, Philip Glanville explains the reason why a picture went viral on Twitter, positioned in front of a construction site, reading:

“28 new council homes for social renting, 39 for shared ownership and eight for private sale to help pay for them all in the absence of Government funding.”

The Independent

Other news

Next Labour government will tackle housing crisis

Jeremy Corbyn is hitting the Home Counties with a promise to tackle the housing crisis as he continues his blitz of marginal parliamentary seats. Mr Corbyn will highlight rocketing house prices and attack the Government for “giving tax breaks to the wealthy”.

Peebleshire News

Rent arrears and the sweet science

Housing Quality Network members Hackney Council have kicked off a data science project to identify tenants most at risk of falling into rent arrears so that interventions can be targeted to prevent the problem before it occurs. The project is scheduled to run until 7 September 2017.

Medium

The future of housing: seven big ideas

From 3D technology to going underground and a new NHS, The Big Issue (and architect George Clarke) delve into the potential solutions to Britain’s housing woes. Welcome to the future.

The Big Issue 7

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Half of landlords in one London borough fail to declare rental income

Members Newham Council have found half its 27,000 landlords failed to register for self- assessment which is generally required if a property owner receives £2,500 a year or more in rent.

The Guardian

Sunderland house explosion caught on camera

The moment a massive gas blast reduced a house in Sunderland to rubble and wrecked another was caught on camera.

The footage, captured from a camera at Ryhope resident’s house, shows the explosion and debris flying through the air.

The BBC

Some Right to Buy owners now ‘property millionaires’

KIS Finance have released a report that cites an example of council tenants in a nine- storey block in Clarendon Place, Westminster – a three-bedroom flat was bought for £180,000 in 1995 and is still owned by the same person. Similar properties in the block have sold recently for £2.25m and £1.8m.

24housing

Study shows social benefit of housing investment

Research carried out by Housing Plus Group has revealed that local communities benefit by up to £11.00 for every £1.00 invested in affordable housing and retirement living accommodation.

Research measured the financial return on the project for the local economy in factors such as increased employment and a reduction in hospital stays and GP appointments. The study found that every £1.00 invested produced a social return to the community of £11.01.

The study also looked at the impact of a new rural housing scheme and found that every £1.00 invested in the construction of the new development produced a social return of £8.54.

24housing

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Birmingham tops list of hipster hotspots

Property values in Harborne, Birmingham have jumped by 3.04% since the start of the year, significantly above British average of 0.67%. Birmingham is home to five of the top ten areas that have seen big price jumps as a result of ongoing gentrification

Zoopla

Stamp duty rise was a 'mistake' and must be reversed

Chief Political Correspondent, Christopher Hope has said the controversial increase in stamp duty was a "mistake" and must be reversed so the Conservatives can demonstrate that they are the party of home ownership and can win the next election.

The Telegraph

Young carers are valuable and need proper housing of their own

Sarah Woolley, Fundraising Officer at Quaker Social Action aims to ease the burden faced by young carers by opening a small, holistic housing project in east London.

‘Move On Up’ will house 12 young adult carers for up to two years. Living with flatmates, young carers can build friendships and share responsibilities while paying affordable rent set at the local housing allowance. The aim is to enable people to develop and thrive in their own communities.

The Guardian

Gary Barlow attends public meeting regarding new housing development

The Take That singer is backing his neighbours in the fight to not have 54 new properties built in their remote West Oxfordshire village. Gary attended a public meeting earlier this month where residents are said to have shared their worries about the developments in Alvescot.

Hello

House used in Harry Potter for sale for £995,000

The Suffolk property is officially known as the de Vere House, named after the influential de Vere family, the richest in the country after the royal family.

Refinery 29

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