ROOF Blog

There is growing evidence and emerging consensus across the political spectrum that mutual ownership solutions not only work, but also should be actively encouraged by government, according to the Commission on Mutual and Co-operative Housing. Their recent report, ‘Bringing Democracy Home’, found that residents in co-operatives are more satisfied than other social housing tenants. They are happier with key services, such as repairs, and crucially tend to feel a strong community spirit, also reflected in high levels of civic engagement in roles such as school governorship.

Thousands of homeowners in municipal tower blocks are facing potentially huge bills, as councils rush to improve fire safety precautions in the wake of a blaze in London earlier this year which killed six people. Leaseholders in one high-rise building have already been asked to pay up to £15,000 each, after an emergency fire brigade inspection found a series of potential dangers and ordered immediate work including re-wiring the building and replacing fire doors. Experts on tower block fire safety believe that a significant proportion of high-rise blocks remain unsafe, in part due to a lack of maintenance of features such as fire doors, but also because of botched renovation work over decades.

Figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed almost 30,000 social homes are being left empty for more than six months, despite the 1.77 million families waiting for social housing. The Lib Dems have been calling on the government to cut VAT on repair works to make it cheaper to bring empty homes back into use. Recent Communities and Local Government figures indicate that there are 327,857 long term empty properties in England.

Most of England’s social housing could come under the control of housing associations within a few years because of the system for funding council housing, housing experts have warned. They are calling for reform to the housing revenue account (HCA) to allow local authorities to keep their rents and reinvest in existing or new stock and to have the same freedom as housing associations to access grants and borrow privately to build homes. Under the current system they argue that allowances for repairs are 43 per cent too low and management and maintenance allowances are 10 per cent short.

A quarter of Scottish council buildings are in ‘poor or bad’ condition, Audit Scotland has warned. It said many buildings were unsuitable for the services delivered for them, despite more than £130 million spent on maintenance last year. Audit Scotland estimates the cost of tackling the repairs backlog has reached £1.4 billion. It found that only half of councils have strategies for managing and maintaining property, and only a third think further ahead than the next five years about what services they will need.

Following a review of the private rented sector by the Scottish government Scottish tenants are considered marginally more happy with their landlords than tenants south of the border. It found 85 per cent of tenants were either very satisfied or fairly satisfied with their landlord and property, compared with 83 per cent in England. In Scotland, where problems do occur they tend to be related to response times for repairs, and issues on deposits, with only a small minority suffering from poor standards.

Scottish landlords could play a greater role in the country’s housing system, the Scottish government said, as the findings of the most comprehensive review on private rented housing are unveiled. The study has shown a marked increase in demand for private lets from students, young professionals and migrants, along with a high level of satisfaction with landlords, although issues were raised about repairs and tenancy deposits. Landlords too, were generally positive, but had concerns about the length and cost of legal action to seek repossession, and the administration of housing benefit.