You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Morning Briefing: RICS survey highlights housing market concerns
A survey of estate agents by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has highlighted the industry’s concerns as Britain prepares to leave the EU
In the news
The industry has its gloomiest view of property values in 10 years, The Guardian reports this morning.
Government figures yesterday showed house price growth across the UK had slowed to the lowest rate since July 2013, with average prices up 2.5% in the year to December.
Meanwhile, housing secretary James Brokenshire has written a piece for The Daily Telegraph on the back of the government’s announcement of a deal for 10,000 homes on Ministry of Defence land.
Birmingham Live and Cornwall Live both run outraged stories focusing on the small proportion of affordable housing built in their areas which is for social rent.
The papers say that affordable rent now makes up 77% of new affordable housing in Birmingham in 95% in Cornwall.
Meanwhile, News Shopper reports that in Bexley, south east London zero affordable homes were built in 2017/18.
In welfare reform news, the I claims that 40,000 pensioners will be left worse off by £5,500 if their partner is still working age due to a Universal Credit change.
And Manchester Evening News has picked up the so-called “53 Mondays” issue threatening to leave tenants on Universal Credit a week short on rent next year, first reported by Inside Housing last month.
Elsewhere, Southwark News reports from an MPs’ debate yesterday where it was revealed that 27% people who went to prison last year were homeless.
Birmingham Live reports that enough families declare themselves as homeless in the city every month to fill four 20-storey tower blocks, while Planet Radio in Manchester runs a segment on a Housing First scheme run by Great Places Housing Group.
And Wales Online publishes a long piece on the ongoing debate in the city about the prevalence of tents on streets used by rough sleepers.
In Northern Ireland, the region’s top civil servant has told the BBC that some social housing may be “mothballed” if the political impasse at Stormont is not resolved.
And finally, technology news website Intelligent CIO reports that social housing residents of a block in Brixton, south London are pioneering new technology which allows them to trade renewable energy with one another.
On social media
I’ve been thinking about the term “involvement”. As in “service user involvement”, like we let people get involved with our services. When in fact we assume the right to be involved in their lives. Not a criticism of some great work. But the language is worrying
— Polly Neate (@pollyn1)I’ve been thinking about the term “involvement”. As in “service user involvement”, like we let people get involved with our services. When in fact we assume the right to be involved in their lives. Not a criticism of some great work. But the language is worrying
— Polly Neate (@pollyn1) February 14, 2019
What’s on
- BBC One’s five-part series on empty homes continues today, starting at 9.15am
- Channel 4 will also continue its documentary on Universal Credit, Skint Britain: Friends Without Benefits
