The hostile environment: what social landlords need to know
The problems experienced by the Windrush generation highlight the effects of the “hostile environment” created by Theresa May when she was home secretary. Anyone needing rented housing is affected, alongside those going to hospital or applying for a job or bank account. Social housing applicants have long had to comply with eligibility rules but landlords […]
Another housing privatisation disaster
When the Ministry of Defence sold its armed forces housing in 1996, it already looked a bad deal: 57,000 houses were sold for £30,000 each, well under half the average house price at the time. Overnight, the sale created Britain’s biggest private landlord and gave it a blue chip tenant – the MoD. Yet the […]
Is Britain about anything other than battles?
How old was Mary, Queen of Scots, when she took the throne? Who won the Battle of Killiecrankie? Unless you know the answers, you’re not fit to be a British citizen. Well, of course you may be one already, but for people who take the Home Office’s Life in the UK test in the hope […]
If the government wants to tackle racial inequality it must act from the top
The government’s race disparity audit presents some basic facts about ethnic minorities and their position in the housing market. But incredibly, it says almost nothing about why the “disparities” with white British people occur. For example, the problem of discrimination is mentioned only once in the report, and then in relation to jobs. You can […]
Housing in Europe: How does Ireland compare?
Europe has become a continent of owner-occupiers. That might be the conclusion from looking at the article in this year’s UK Housing Review on the state of housing in Europe. But the real picture is more complex, revealing some interesting comparisons between Ireland and its EU neighbours. Whereas some time ago both Ireland and the […]
The election result may have more to do with housing than we think
Housing is often ‘the dog that doesn’t bark’ in elections but last week could it have been nipping away in the background? One of the most striking pieces of analysis of how Britain voted came from the Financial Times, which showed how pro-Conservative or pro-Labour voters were divided by age group. Those in their middle […]
Government plans to extend ‘right to rent’ document checks face legal challenge
For several months the Home Office has been considering extending to the rest of the UK the document checks that are now compulsory when a new letting takes place in England. Since February last year, English landlords (with exceptions like lettings by councils and through nominations to housing associations) have had to make document checks […]
Brexit means we have to build fewer houses… or does it?
Ahead of the launch of the UK Housing Review, CIH is running a series of blogs trailing its content. In the first of these we look at whether some of the claims made about the likely impact of Brexit on housing demand stack up. It’s a claim already made by some newspapers opposed to building […]
Right to rent immigration checks put vulnerable people at risk
One year ago, on 1 February 2016, the government implemented its “right to rent” scheme, requiring landlords who let property in England to carry out checks on the immigration status of potential tenants, as part of a government drive to create a “hostile environment for illegal migrants”. The government plans to extend the scheme to […]
From rent to buy
There are signs the government may drop its focus on homeownership in response to the referendum’s economic impact and the apparent slowing down of the housing market. But is the real choice between assisting homeowners and helping tenants? Or might we get the best of both worlds? As recently as 2008, a quarter of the […]
John Perry lives in Masaya, Nicaragua where he works on