Section: Yesterday's News

Five Years Ago

In July 2002 we were reporting:

Frank Field MP's controversial Housing Benefit (Withdrawal of Payment) Bill ran out of parliamentary time. The Bill cannot now progress further unless the Government grants extra time for it to be debated before November. The Bill proposed the withdrawal of benefits from antisocial tenants...
The Government announced proposals that will require builders to test new properties and conversions, to ensure they are adequately insulated against sound. The Government intends to publish amendments to Part E of the Building Regulations in the autumn of this year. This will introduce a requirement in the Regulations for testing the sound insulation of a sample of new homes on each site...
To coincide with the new Homelessness Act 2002 coming into force, the Government announced £3 million of additional money for local authorities across the country to help them prevent and tackle the causes of homelessness. The new Act aims to provide stronger protection and help for homeless people. By this time next year, all local authorities will be required to have a proper strategy in place to tackle homelessness in their area...
New procedures setting out how people can obtain a legal right to drive over common land to reach their homes came into force during July. Until now, people who could only obtain access to their premises via common land would have to negotiate with the owner of the common to obtain an easement. The new rules provide for the creation of a statutory easement to which the owners of commons cannot object - provided the conditions are met and procedures complied with...
In his speech at the Labour Party's Rural Conference, Housing Minister Lord Rooker gave a clear signal the Government is considering the future of Right to Buy. The Minister highlighted the cost of Right to Buy, which over the past 20 years has seen the stock owned by local authorities fall from 4.2 million to 2.7 million homes. This he described as councils losing a valuable resource down the plughole...
A survey by Minster General HA found that residents who owned mobile phones were in favour of receiving text messages about such issues as repairs appointments. The survey also found support for improved use of the Internet as a landlord-tenant communication tool, especially for repair reporting and checking rent accounts...

One Year Ago

In July 2006 we were reporting:

The Welfare Reform Bill was published, which will provide more power to tackle benefit fraud. It will strengthen the two strikes rules, so that people who commit a second benefit offence within five years of their first one can have their benefit withdrawn...
Property management company Pinnacle PSG become the first private sector organisation to apply to the Housing Corporation to become a manager of government funded social housing. Pinnacle became the first ever non-registered body seeking to be accredited by the Housing Corporation, following powers granted by the Housing Act 2004, which first allowed private sector organisations to be accredited to manage new social housing...
Dr Mike Biles, the Housing Ombudsman, published his 2006 annual report. It shows that, for the first time since the inception of the service, how landlords handle complaints through their internal procedures has taken the pole position in the list of problems brought to the Ombudsman's attention...
New guidance issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government advises greater use of the private sector to tackle homelessness. The guidance recommends local authorities review the extent to which private sector landlords are offering assured shorthold tenancies to households in temporary accommodation...
Communities and Local Government Minister Ruth Kelly said she was looking closely at requests from city councils to have greater budget control over key spending sectors, including housing. As well as relinquishing central government control over budgets, the Minister also indicated her interest in developing a mayoral model of local government...
Councils were given new powers to enforce licensing of houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) and guidance on bringing long-term empty dwellings back into use. Landlords failing to licence their HMOs can be prosecuted by councils and face fines of up to £20,000. The new measures mean that if any HMO is occupied without a licence, a local housing authority has the power to seek an Order for the repayment of up to 12 months' Housing Benefit paid out while the property was let without a licence...
Improving social housing will save the NHS millions of pounds by cutting everything from mental health problems to household accidents, according to latest research by Sheffield Hallam University. The work, conducted in collaboration with Warwick University, looked at the impact housing improvements are having in Sheffield and the likely healthcare benefits. It found that the improvements to housing in the city will result in 300 fewer accidents in the home per year, saving nearly £1 million in hospital care alone. The report also pointed to a range of other likely healthcare benefits, including reductions in cold-related illnesses among the elderly...

Section: Yesterday's News

Five Years Ago

One Year Ago

Housing Monthly Diary

Reporting on July 2007

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