11th July 2012
The social housing sector is managing its key financial risks, according to the latest Quarterly Survey published by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA). This means that the sector is able to raise new debt through both the capital markets and banks.
Each quarter the HCA undertakes a survey of housing providers, to establish the levels of exposure to the risks faced by the sector. This report covers the period of January to March 2012 and is based on a survey of all Private Registered Providers owning and/or managing more than 1,000 homes.
The survey illustrates the increasing role of bond finance. For the first time, bond finance has been greater than bank lending - with £700 million coming from the bond market in the quarter, while traditional bank lending accounted for £500 million of funding.
This survey also includes an annual snapshot of Treasury management and the statistics and financial data is prefaced by a narrative summarising the state of the sector.
Key conclusions from the quarter’s survey include:
The latest Quarterly Survey is available to download from the HCA website.
19th July 2012
Families in the UK are among the worst off in Europe when it comes to housing costs. One in six people in the UK (16.5%) are overburdened by housing costs, according to findings published by the European Union.
This means they are spending more than 40% of their income on costs such as rent, mortgage payments and other living costs associated with their home.
The UK has three times as many people weighed down by housing costs than nearest neighbours France, where only 5.2% report they are overburdened.
Housing in the UK is so unaffordable that out of 29 EU countries analysed, only Denmark and Greece reported being worse off, placing the UK third from bottom for affordable housing costs.
Commenting on the finfings, Campbell Robb, Shelter's Chief Executive said:
"These figures are the evidence that the UK housing market is deeply dysfunctional.
"With so many families spending huge amounts of their income on their rent or mortgage, people will be making daily trade-offs between food bills, filling the car tank with petrol, and paying their housing costs.
"And this is not set to get better any time soon. While the situation is bleak at the moment, a succession of governments failing to provide much needed affordable homes means that the future facing our children and our children's children is only set to get worse.
"Housing is the largest monthly cost for most people, yet the affordability of housing is not getting the same attention as the monthly costs of other essentials such as food or fuel.
"We believe all political parties must recognise solving our housing crisis is as fundamental as health and education."
13th July 2012
More affordable homes are expected to be created in Scotland's rural communities with the launch of the Scottish Government's Empty Homes Loan Fund.
Ministers announced they would set up the fund with £2 million earlier this year. However, as the scheme opened for bids, the First Minister announced that double that amount would be available, with the extra cash being targeted to help rural communities in particular.
First Minister Alex Salmond said:
"Making more affordable housing available is a priority across the country, but the need is particularly acute in places like the Highlands and that's why we are doubling our investment in the Empty Homes Loan Fund.
"We are seeking bids for loans to help bring at least 160 empty homes back into use as much-needed extra affordable housing. This is part of our commitment to deliver at least 30,000 affordable homes over the lifetime of this parliament - with at least £730 million available for housing over the next three years.
"Doubling the Empty Homes Loan Fund is a major milestone towards achieving this aim and making more affordable homes available."
