Common Wealth cited the example of the Warmer Homes consortium, led by Portsmouth city council, which was allocated 22m among 31 authorities over three years. This breaks down to about 450-650 homes per year, or 15-20 homes per local authority per year.
Riccardo and Simone Bertagna bought a 25% stake in a property valued at 440,000 through a housing association, feeling proud and accomplished. However, they later faced significant issues, including rising service charges and maintenance problems, which left them feeling trapped in an unsellable home.
It is absurd to let landlords drag their feet for an entire decade, denying renters the most basic standards in our homes. It will mean millions of renters, including children, trapped living in poor-quality homes with nowhere to turn. Homes are the foundations of our lives, but millions of renters are living in homes that are falling apart and dangerous to our health. This is terrible value for money as the rents we pay every month continue to soar.
Since 2017-18, local authorities across England had spent almost 1.5bn more on temporary accommodation (TA) than had been reimbursed in housing benefit from the government. Without intervention, this figure is set to balloon to 3.9bn in the next four years, the LGA said as it urged the government to take action to help councils facing soaring demand and funding pressures.
The government is to scale back new energy efficiency targets for social housing, after councils and housing associations warned about the multi billion pound cost of potential building upgrades. Labour plans to introduce minimum energy performance ratings for social homes in England, in a bid to cut tenants' fuel bills and meet climate goals. But ministers now plan to give social landlords more time and greater flexibility to show they comply with new standards.
