Some of the country’s biggest housing associations are attempting to revive the housebuilding sector as the credit crunch bites into their funding. Associations forced to cut back on development programmes for rented homes want a new ‘intermediate’ form of tenure introduced, with varying rents for people on a range of incomes, to replace the push
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is putting forward new rules on lending and to prevent banks taking excessive risks. Chairman of the FSA Lord Turner wants banks to publish more and clearer information in their accounts about the risks they are taking, while a pan-European body has been proposed to set standards for other regulators
Shelter has joined forces with the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and Citizens Advice to urge the government to bring sale-and-rent-back schemes under the control of the financial watchdog – the Financial Services Authority. The FSA has previously argued that the schemes were property transactions, and as such did not fall under its remit. In
MORTGAGE REPOSSESSIONS will be 80% higher in 2006 than 2005, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. Forecasts published yesterday say 18,000 properties will be taken into possession this year, up from 10,310, meaning that the number of people losing their homes accelerated in the second half of the year. However, the annual total is
The average council home in England is more than a half a century old, junior housing minister Iain Wright has revealed. He was responding to a parliamentary question from the Conservative housing minister, and said the typical council house is 53 years old, almost a decade older that its housing association counterpart.
A RARE international perspective on the housing boom comes in today’s Financial Times. An analysis starts with the problems in the market in the United States, where prices are falling in many areas and sales of new homes have slumped, and then looks at the situation around the world. It quotes Alan Greenspan, former head
The Conservatives have warned that equality legislation could stop government plans to give local people greater priority for council housing. Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said the measures would be illegal and questioned if funding for the £1.5 billion cost of the programme would be diverted from the Decent Homes initiative, which aims to take
Gordon Brown is preparing to rush through plans for a huge programme of public spending and tax cuts before Christmas. The Prime Minister will claim that world leaders’ agreement with his ‘fiscal stimulus’ plan is proof that this is the way to kickstart the British economy. Mr Brown has come under pressure from the International
A Sunday Times investigations has found that members of the royal family have been granted ‘sweetheart’ property deals worth millions. The Crown Estate, which manages £7.3 billion of land and property owned by the crown, allowed several properties to be sold cheaply to Prince Andrew, who subsequently sold them on at substantial profit, while securing
Housing associations that perform poorly on development could face tough sanctions from the Housing Corporation, reports Inside Housing. The government is considering basing Communities England in the north of England, reports Inside Housing. An overwhelming 86% of tenants in Mole Valley have backed a stock transfer with a turnout of 72%. Papers including The Times