The combined operating surpluses of housing associations has fallen for the first time since the regulator started publishing financial data, as spending on day to day running costs and major repairs rose. Although this was the second year of the... View Article

Research by the National Housing Federation and Shelter shows at least one in 10 rental properties in England is being advertised unlawfully by discriminating against people who rely on housing benefit to pay their rent. Analysis of around 86,000 letting adverts... View Article

Homeowners get a much bigger slice of Government help than renters, whether they are social or private tenants, according to a report published by the Chartered Institute of Housing. Contrary to widespread beliefs, an analysis of Whitehall spending, taxation and... View Article

The average price of student accommodation in the UK has jumped by nearly a third in the last six years, with campaigners warning of an affordability problem. The increase has been driven by the standard of accommodation shifting steadily upmarket,... View Article

Growing numbers of children as young as 16 are being housed alone in bed and breakfast rooms, bedsits and even caravans by councils struggling to cope with growing demands on the care system. A joint investigation by the Observer newspaper... View Article

Direct rent payments to social landlords for tenants claiming Universal Credit can be paid on a monthly cycle in future following a change agreed by the Work and Pensions Department. The DWP has agreed to alter the way it delivers... View Article

An influential think tank closely associated with the Conservative Party has challenged the Government to up its game and deliver on the Prime Minister’s promise to solve the housing crisis. Several times during the past year, Theresa May described housing... View Article

A landlord and building contractor have been fined after large quantities of asbestos fibres were released from the demolition of a conservatory at a rented property. Birmingham Magistrates Court heard the landlord commissioned a building contractor to replace a conservatory... View Article

A house owned by a housing association in the Hampshire town of Andover was destroyed in a gas explosion which also killed the resident, in the week between Christmas and New Year. Emergency services found the body of James Kirkby,... View Article

The number of dangerous gas appliances in our homes has risen to hit a five-year high, reversing an earlier improving trend. Tenants are more at risk than owner-occupiers with 1,674 dangerous appliances reported in rental properties compared to 1,037 dangerous... View Article

Two self-employed fireplace installers have been sentenced after carrying out unregistered gas work. Greater Manchester Magistrates Court heard that Karl Welsh and James Allen installed new gas fires in three North West domestic properties, despite not being Gas Safe registered.... View Article

A Glasgow based building contractor has been fined after an employee used a power saw to cut through a kitchen cupboard door, accidentally releasing asbestos materials. Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that between November and December 2015, City Building (Glasgow) LLP was... View Article

A privately owned care home in Scotland has been fined after an employee sustained severe injuries following a fall from height. Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard that the lift shaft at Abbotsford Nursing Home in Ardrossan had stopped between the upper... View Article