Housing Narrative Lab’s Post

It’s Friday, and time for our round-up of the main #UKHousing policy news and events from this week 🏘️ 📰 ◾Govt has issued its updated planning reforms with the NPPF ➡️ https://ow.ly/MNye50Uqrph Read our reaction here ➡️ https://ow.ly/8XGP50Uqrp4 ◾The Housing Secretary has proposed an overhaul of planning rules and the role of council committees ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e-B2qWd8 CIH’s reaction here ➡️ https://ow.ly/VhWT50Uqrpi And MHCLG’s consultation on the proposals is here ➡️ https://ow.ly/MyUf50Uqrp9. ◾Govt’s consultation on Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) reform released ➡️ https://ow.ly/mk8c50Uqrp0 Look for CIH’s member guide in the new year. Initial feedback to policyandpractice@cih.org ◾Homes England stats show a 12% increase in affordable housing starts, with a 148% increase for social rent ➡️ https://ow.ly/pa1B50Uqrp1. ◾Housing Ombudsman releases a new report on dealing with HHSRS hazards ➡️ https://ow.ly/EVcZ50Uqrpc ◾Resolution Foundation’s Housing Outlook for Q4 2024 looks at families with children whose housing costs push them below poverty line ➡️ https://ow.ly/9Byp50UqroX ◾Centre for Cities’ latest report is ‘Restarting housebuilding III: New towns and land value capture’ ➡️ https://ow.ly/JHOx50Uqrpb ◾Latest ONS data shows house prices increasingly higher than household income (8:6 in England, 5:8 in Wales, 5:6 in Scotland and 5:0 in Northern Ireland)➡️https://ow.ly/W6tX50Uqrp3 ◾Latest briefing on Migrants and Housing in the UK from Migration Observatory ➡️https://ow.ly/GNy050Uqrpf ◾IFS presentation looks at how tax is damaging the housing market and how can we fix it? ➡️ https://ow.ly/peWl50Uqrp8 ◾Building Safety Regulator to review how building regulations guidance, including how Approved Documents, are produced and communicated ➡️ https://ow.ly/IKVe50Uqrpj ◾CIH Northern Ireland endorsed the new cross-departmental housing supply strategy ➡️https://ow.ly/YEsU50Uqrpa and called for adequate funding in 2025/26 https://ow.ly/3SAr50Uqrpe ◾CIH Cymru’s member briefing on Senedd’s local govt and housing committee inquiry report on social housing supply in Wales is available in English ➡️ https://ow.ly/Cht650Uqrp7 and in Welsh ➡️https://ow.ly/NIHK50Uqrp6 ◾CIH Cymru’s member briefing on Welsh Govt’s 2025/26 draft budget in English ➡️ https://ow.ly/bevu50Uqrpk and in Welsh ➡️ https://ow.ly/iPyh50Uqrp5 ◾Scottish Govt amended building standards regulations to support the introduction of a Scottish equivalent to passivhaus for new build homes expected to be mandatory by 2028 ➡️https://ow.ly/xPYM50UqroZ ◾Scottish Housing Regulator reports weakening RSL finances, but future forecasts suggest improvement ➡️ https://ow.ly/XrJX50Uqrpl

AUSTRALIA needs to build 750,000 #socialhomes over the next two decades if it is to go some way to addressing the national #housingcrisis, according to the final People’s Commission’s report, and the federal government will need to end investor tax concessions and coordinate national rental reform to halt the crisis affecting more people up the income ladder. #auspol #homelessness #affordablehousing #socialhousing

The discussion about 'adequate housing as a human right', and what that means, is an important one. We all need a safe, secure and affordable place to call home and build our lives from, and currently we just dont take #homelessness seriously enough. I commend independent federal parliamentarians Kylea Tink and David Pocock for introducing this bill and trying to shift the dial on this important issue, and hope that in the near future we will see a more robust debate. https://lnkd.in/gryvfWDv

Pandemic "boom towns" in the #midwest and south are poised to suffer severe economic crisis as the 15 year #housing bubble unwinds. The upcoming shortfalls in property #taxes and infrastructure payments will be enormous especially given rising #debt costs from #inflation and #interestrates.

Interesting stats from the Private Rented sector review published by the Dept of Housing. 1.Number of people renting in the private sector has doubled from145,000 in 2006 to 330,000 in 2022. 2. 40% of those households have children 3. Number over 65 has also doubled to 17,000 We are not fixing the housing problem if we keeping pushing the solution of more rented accomodation. Looking to the future it means growing inequality and poverty especially for families and older people. Families who have a mortgage have more stability in outgoings and are protected in old age We need serious debate before the next election re what type of society we are creating into the future with our current housing problem.

Today, Everybody's Home Campaign released ‘Voices of the Crisis’, the report from Australia’s first ever People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis. 1,500 submissions from community members show the severity of the housing crisis – renters overwhelmed by extreme rental stress, poor-quality homes causing illness, people waiting years for homes they need, and forced to live in tents or vehicles. The report recommends the Federal Government create at least 750,000 social homes within two decades, end tax concessions for property investors, coordinate strong national rental reform, and increase JobSeeker and related income support. Check out the report here: https://lnkd.in/gYt_gt7y Take action! Join the Everybody’s Home Campaign: https://lnkd.in/g-_6EfSP Email your MP: https://lnkd.in/gE6Y76Qj #auspol #BuildSocialHousing #FairHousingFuture #housing #Homelessness

In case you missed it, yesterday Everybody’s Home Campaign released the final report of the People’s Commission into the Housing Crisis. This report serves as a stark reminder of the escalating housing crisis. It highlights the growing number of people overwhelmed by skyrocketing rents, forced into substandard housing that jeopardises their health, or left with no option but to reside in tents, caravans or on couches. There’s a way out of this crisis. Earlier this month ACTCOSS and ACT Shelter released A secure home or all, a 2024 ACT election platform calling for transformational investment in social housing. You can read the full platform here: https://lnkd.in/gGzNpurS #ACTElection2024 #BuildSocialHousing #FairHousingFuture #housing #Homelessness

Too many people don’t have a place to call home. But it doesn’t have to be this way. One of the solutions is simple: get building genuinely affordable homes. Building more affordable housing will give more people a chance at having a safe and stable base. Many people are stuck either in poor rental properties or supported housing. By signing this petition, you will be showing the Government that we must enter a new era of house building to equip the UK with the safe, warm, affordable homes that our communities need. We will be handing the petition to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities at the beginning of tomorrow. At YMCA, we have the potential to build genuinely affordable homes, but there are currently too many barriers. Small adjustments from the Government would change that and allow young people to get the homes they so desperately need. The more people that sign, the more we can show those in power there is a need for change. Now's our chance. #nowsourchance #derby #derbyshire #homelessness #poverty #costoflivingcrisis

For an interesting look at why the UK’s #housingcrisis has become a key election issue, check out the article below by Isabella Ward, published today by Bloomberg News and featuring comment from Alma Economics’ Managing Director, Nick Spyropoulos. Bloomberg writes: “Housing has become a flash point after a surge in mortgage rates and a slow drip of new construction made buying a property increasingly less affordable. It’s one of the four top issues for voters, according to polling by YouGov, and has recently overtaken the environment as a concern.” The article notes that, while both parties have promised the construction of hundreds of thousands of new homes over the next five years if they are elected, neither has provided much detail as to how they will achieve this. Meanwhile, the piece notes that “soaring” waiting lists for social housing have forced people into private rental arrangements they can barely afford. “By pushing the most vulnerable tenants into the private sector, the shortage has left a growing segment of the population already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis fearful they’ll soon have nowhere to live – one of the reasons polls show voters angered with the Conservative government. “’There’s a large number of people who simply don’t earn enough to be able to afford the prices that currently prevalent in the market,' said Nick Spyropoulos, Managing Director at Alma Economics. 'Fundamentally you have someone in a home they cannot afford.’” To read the full (paywalled) article, visit: https://lnkd.in/eZQe5Zvz

💔 Families across Europe are forced to spend half their income on housing costs. Is the EU doing enough to support affordable housing? #euhousingcrisis #socialjustice Read more 👉 https://lttr.ai/AYqYO #euhousing #housingcrisis #unaffordablehousing