Inside Housing’s Post

I'm extremely intrigued by Matthew Bailes's proposal to solve shared ownership affordability problems by supporting buyers to own their homes outright at an earlier stage. Per Mr Bailes: “The main barrier in this respect has been the extent to which house price inflation has outstripped wage inflation. This problem could be addressed if shared owners were allowed to buy additional shares at a more affordable price. This could be the day one price, or a price linked to inflation or earnings growth.” I'm intrigued because I considered making this proposal in the report 'Shared Ownership: the consumer perspective' ('day one price' basis). I didn't because I assumed such a proposal would be a step too far for government and the housing sector. Instead, I made recommendations to make ongoing housing costs fairer on the assumption this might bring staircasing within reach and, if not, at least prevent shared ownership homes becoming increasingly financially unsustainable over time. There are clearly various policy routes to making shared ownership genuinely affordable over the longer term and/or a viable route to full home ownership. I would welcome scrapping of the 'current market value basis' for staircasing. #SharedOwnership

Excellent article by Kate Still FCIH FRSA on unlocking the top of the Housing Market. With ongoing planning issues, materials and capital costs creating high hurdle rates for new developments it makes absolute sense to concentrate efforts to entice older clients to ‘right size’ and release larger property into market and applies equally to every Tenure type. #IRC are a great solution with overwhelming feedback from ‘Right Sizers’ who consistently state “We wish we did it sooner” #GettingOn Article is here https://lnkd.in/eQQuCYrY

The Housing Ombudsman has set out nine key tests for improving fairness in shared ownership complaints. Stephen Delahunty reports, with comment from Richard Blakeway https://lnkd.in/eWYYZ9AK #ukhousing #housing #socialhousing #sharedownership #complaints #landlords #tenants #assetmanagement #housingpolicy #governance

Universal Rent Control Advocates Try Again - advocates use new name for law: “Prohibition of Eviction Without Good Cause”. Studies have shown - rent control discourages new housing investment for the very populations needing housing the most. Example - recently, the City of St. Paul, MN introduced rent control. The result? Virtually all new housing developments moved across the river to Minneapolis, which has no rent control. https://lnkd.in/diyPbVFb... Who would want to invest and build new housing only to have it immediately rent controlled? No tenant today can be evicted without just cause together with a judge’s order. Ulster Strong supports affordable housing in Ulster County, but rent control isn’t the solution. Look no further than NYC. https://lnkd.in/guMyTEa It has had rent control for many decades, yet remains unaffordable and one of the world’s most expensive places to live. https://lnkd.in/dRMb3VuF

It's no secret that we have a serious lack of #affordablehousing in New Jersey. But as housing costs continue to rise, it makes sense to also tackle obligations through existing stock. 🏘 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gdkgjm2R #njhousing #njaffordablehousing #housingpolicy

**Understanding the Realities of Proposed Housing Reforms: A Balanced Perspective** As the Director at Empowerment Training & Consultancy and a property investor, I feel it's essential to keep our community well-informed with accurate and reliable information, especially on matters that significantly impact the property sector. Recently, people have raised concerns about a rumoured "hardship test" for landlords within Labour's housing proposals. However, my colleague and industry expert Julie Ford CCPM has responded to one such post and correctly pointed out that this claim is unfounded. The misinformation seems to have originated from misinterpretations that spread quickly through various media channels. Julie clarified that Matthew Pennycook has not introduced any such amendment to the Renters Reform Bill. Moreover, the claim that France has a hardship test for evictions and that Labour plans to adopt similar measures is simply not true. Julie also explained that councils are not legally required to provide temporary accommodation to all evicted tenants—only under specific circumstances as defined by the Housing Act and the Homelessness Reduction Act. It's also important to address the ongoing concerns regarding EPCs. Julie rightly noted that while reaching an EPC rating of C by 2030 has always been on the agenda, the introduction of the Home Energy Model and potential updates to exemptions—such as increasing the high-cost exemption to £10,000—may provide some relief to landlords. Furthermore, the issue of Section 21 is crucial. Angela Rayner has been clear that Section 21 will not be scrapped until the court system is adequately prepared and additional possession grounds have been introduced. This commitment ensures that the legal framework will be ready to handle the changes without causing undue harm to landlords or tenants. In these times, it’s crucial to approach such discussions with a clear understanding of the facts. I encourage all landlords, tenants, and stakeholders to stay informed and engage with verified sources. The 'rumour mills' are running at full speed at the moment, so it is easy to get misled, do your due diligence. #PropertyLaw #HousingReform #LegalInsight #EmpowermentTrainingConsultancy #LandlordAdvice #TenantRights #Section21

New Blog: Rent Stabilisation in Jersey Jersey's housing market is potentially at a crossroads with “rent stabilisation” measures being discussed. Please see our latest comments regarding the potential impacts of such a step. We would be interested to see your thoughts on this in the comments below! #RealEstate #RentStabilisation #Jersey

Alex Schafran argues, ". . . We must start digging more into property ownership, and building a housing ownership system that allows people and organizations to own homes safely and securely, with clear rights and responsibilities for all parties involved in a home . . ." Learn more about why he supports housing legislation that challenges the investor-ownership model today: https://bit.ly/45aNxQ4 #InvestorOwnership #CorporateLandlords #AffordableHousing

A combination of increasing regulation, planning and input costs and the Great Financial Crisis have meant that the small and medium sized independent housebuilders which used to form the backbone of the sector have largely been lost to acquisition or insolvency, leaving an oligopoly of large organisations. In 1988 there were more than 12,000 smaller housebuilders who were responsible for nearly 4 in 10 homes completed. Now, there are only around 2000 of those companies, responsible for just 12% of new builds https://lnkd.in/eKrcWFZM

The publication of the draft new housing law 'killed off all interest in build to rent housing in Scotland for the foreseeable future', senior industry figures have said. In the final part of our exclusive special series, investors and industry chiefs have said damage is already done to Scotland's housing stock with new investments worth billions shelved. It comes as Living Rent, the tenants' union, said that 'effective rent controls are a crucial part of the solution to Scotland's housing emergency'. EXCLUSIVE SPECIAL SERIES 📈 Part Three: SNP housing law ‘killed off all interest’ in building homes to rent Article: https://lnkd.in/eQK3TnMh More Homes More Quickly Scottish Association of Landlords Scottish Land & Estates Scottish Property Federation Propertymark The Association for Rental Living Hearthstone Investments Rettie #rentcontrols #housingbill #specialseries