In the coming months, the government is due to report the results of its consultation on longer private tenancies. It will be our first chance to see whether the government will stick to its guns and change the law, so that all private renters get a longer tenancy and genuine security from no-fault ‘Section 21’ evictions.
In this post we’ll consider what will happen if the government loses its nerve by opting for a non-legislative, voluntary approach. If it … Read more
New analysis sheds light on the impact of a social housing get out clause in England. Our research estimates that urban authorities have missed out on over 10,000 affordable homes between 2015-16 and 2017-18.
In 2018, Theresa May promised a ‘new generation of council homes to help fix our broken housing market’. We welcome this, and the announcement of an additional £2 billion for housing associations to help deliver on it. With just under 6,500 socially rented houses delivered in … Read more
As a service delivery organisation, we face constant demand pressure on our already overstretched services. This isn’t going to change any time soon – so it’s essential we optimise and improve the way our clients engage with our services.
Previously, we talked about redefining what ‘urgency’ means to different people, and how it could impact their experience of using our housing helpline service. We introduced our emergency helpline number, which gives service users the option to decide how important their … Read more
At Shelter, our solicitors and many other legal aid housing lawyers frequently represent families who are struggling in unimaginable ways under the household benefit cap. This policy, introduced in 2013 and revised in 2016, caps the amount in state benefits that an individual household can claim per year. Many families affected by the cap are now at breaking point.
A grandmother who gave up work to care for her five grandchildren, only for her benefits to be capped because … Read more
An older, wiser friend of mine recently said: ‘I can’t help feeling sorry for young parents these days. First there’s advent calendars with a present for every day of December, then there’s Christmas Eve boxes full of presents, then stockings, then the big presents on the day itself, and on top of that, some bright spark has come up with Elf on the Shelf’!’
She might just have a point. But it isn’t just parents who feel the pressure. From … Read more
We’re campaigning against discrimination faced by renters receiving housing benefit. So-called ‘no DSS’ policies are unfairly locking hundreds of thousands of people out of homes they could otherwise afford, pushing them closer to homelessness. You can join our campaign here.
Stop by this blog regularly for the latest updates on the campaign!
15 March: Victory!We’re celebrating a major win today as Zoopla announced that it … Read more
Guest blog from Thomas Aubrey – Advisor, Centre for Progressive Policy
In his Budget, the chancellor announced plans for a simpler system of developer contributions, enabling local areas to capture a greater share of uplift in land values for infrastructure and social housing on large schemes. The supporting budget documentation is highly critical of the current system of developer contributions, saying it ‘is acting as a barrier to the delivery of housing’.[1]
Philip Hammond’s statement indicates that the current … Read more
So, there we have it. The final Budget before Brexit.
An interesting one. Or was it? Well, there were a few terrible jokes (mainly about toilets), and an interesting display of the most pantomime aspects of politics – boos, heckles, cheers, and jeers.
But what does it all mean for Universal Credit? Broadly speaking it means an acknowledgement of errors, more time, and a bit more money. This is still not even close to the money that was cut from … Read more
Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being ripped off? The answer is probably yes; everybody occasionally thinks they’ve overpaid or haven’t been getting their money’s worth. Hopefully, that’s a rare feeling for you. But if you’re a private renter, then there’s a good chance it’s all too familiar.
New analysis from Shelter shows that renters have every reason to feel this way. The average private renter is now paying over £1,600 more per year on housing than a … Read more
For the last two months we’ve been leading the fight against ‘DSS discrimination’, where renters receiving housing benefit are unfairly banned from renting homes they could afford. This prejudice isn’t just wrong – we also think it’s unlawful.
The campaign kicked off with the results of our joint investigation with the National Housing Federation into housing benefit bans in the lettings industry. This suggested that several leading letting agents are turning people on benefits away.
We’ve written to the … Read more
Laura’s mouldy council flat was putting her son’s life in danger until Shelter’s Hospital Discharge Team took on the family’s case.
Imagine wanting to take your much-loved child home from hospital but being unable to do so as the conditions there would make him ill – or even endanger his life. That’s the horrible catch-22 that Laura faced until our hospital discharge team in Birmingham stepped in to help.
When we first met Laura, she was living in a damp … Read more
Tom’s landlord was exploiting and abusing his vulnerable tenants. Tom, with Shelter’s help, took legal action.
‘In December 2016, I moved into a new place. It was the kind of house that people move into when they’re desperate, the landlord knew it and he took advantage.
The oven was leaking gas when I moved in. The landlord had blocked off the boiler so the tenants couldn’t turn on the heating and the shower had rotten floorboards under it; you could … Read more