A version of this blog first appeared on the Huffington Post

Last weekend’s news was dominated by the political fallout from Iain Duncan Smith’s resignation and by signs of growing political unease around the latest proposed cuts to welfare.

For years we have warned that the government can’t just cut away the housing benefit that five million households rely on before building the hundreds of thousands of genuinely affordable homes we need. But could there be signs that the billions … MORE...

Official figures released today show that the number of homes started by councils continues to be outstripped by the number sold off through the Right to Buy scheme. Of the 38,479 council homes sold since 2012, only 4,594 homes have been started  – that’s 1 for every 8 sold.

Since announcing ‘reinvigorating’ the Right to Buy scheme, the government has rightly promised to replace homes sold through the scheme on a one-for-one basis. This was a welcome change to … MORE...

A version of this blog first appeared on Inside Housing immediately after the budget last week.

On the face of it, last week’s budget was promising news for homelessness. £115m has been pledged to help tackle rough sleeping – arguably the worst and most visible manifestation of our housing crisis. Today’s move by the government to try and stem the devastating and avoidable rise in homelessness is a welcome step. But it’s also long overdue considering the scale of the … MORE...

What can you do in a decade? Ask Shelter Scotland. For 10 years, they have campaigned to reform the private rented sector and last week, their hard work truly paid off. From 2017, tenants in the private rented sector will enjoy a secure home of their own. James Battye from Shelter Scotland explains just what happened – its inspiring stuff!

James Battye, Policy Officer, Shelter Scotland

Last week the Scottish Parliament passed landmark legislation to boost the legal rights that … MORE...

Unsurprisingly, Haringey are struggling to attract landlords to their new social letting agency scheme.

Because councils are restricted to finding properties which are affordable to tenants on low incomes, their challenge is reaching out to landlords who let out their properties well below average rent.

I’m not sure landlords letting out properties at the bottom end of the market always want to be visible to the state. A third sector organisation matching landlords with tenants recently confirmed to me that … MORE...