Housing 2025’s Post

🔍 Exploring the Legacy of Margaret Thatcher's 'Right to Buy' Scheme Margaret Thatcher's "Right to Buy" scheme transformed home ownership in the UK, but did you know it also plays a crucial role in covering long-term care costs? 🏡📉 Our latest article delves into the strategic foresight behind this policy and its lasting impact on individuals' financial security. If you're interested in housing policy, estate planning, or ensuring your assets are protected, this read is essential. 👉 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dM-sDbXP #RightToBuy #HousingPolicy #MargaretThatcher #HomeOwnership #FinancialPlanning #EstatePlanning

Awaab’s Law, an important part of the Social Housing Regulations Act, will mandate landlords to act quickly to reported health hazards in their properties. It is vital that #housingassociations ensure their tenancy agreements capture and reflect these changes explains my colleague Bukola Obadun - Craigs in our latest blog. Shakespeare Martineau Louise Drew Ampa - Legal & Professional Services Byron Dixon OBE Emma Harris Emma Joy Smith Natalie Owen Rachel Gwynne #AwaabsLaw | #SocialHousing | #Regulations | #Government

Will Good Cause Eviction (GCE) allow for a softening of Rent Stabilization Law (RSL)? Instead of half of tenants having protections, now *virtually* all tenants will have protections against displacement and rent increases. How does this play out? * * * * In my view, having nearly all apartment units in NYC covered by rent controls of some kind may open the door for a gradual winding down of controls. See my additional thoughts. I wrote a piece in Crain's New York Business earlier in the year about what would happen once Good Cause passed. This is a response to that piece, in a way, now that Good Cause is in effect. https://lnkd.in/eHRNmNJJ

Does the housing association sector truly care about its tenants? My perspective as both staff and resident has made me cynical, writes an anonymous housing professional. External leaks tracking to internal spaces, damp-riddled bedrooms, and mould-covered ceilings. A depressingly familiar tale for housing association tenants up and down the country, including, as Inside Housing reports, for those who work at the housing associations themselves. Our litigation funding solution helps law firms bring housing disrepair claims against housing associations that fail to meet their obligations to their tenants. Whether you're a law firm looking to support your clients with housing disrepair claims or an investor looking for an alternative investment for your portfolio, get in touch to learn how we help tenants hold their social landlords to account. #UKHousing #HousingDisrepair #LitigationFinance

What are the Legal and Financial Considerations Associated with Multi-Generational Living Arrangements? https://lnkd.in/eD4SPazG #elderlaw #estateplanning #eldercare #aging #seniorliving #multigenerationalliving

I'm extremely intrigued by Matthew Bailes's proposal to solve shared ownership affordability problems by supporting buyers to own their homes outright at an earlier stage. Per Mr Bailes: “The main barrier in this respect has been the extent to which house price inflation has outstripped wage inflation. This problem could be addressed if shared owners were allowed to buy additional shares at a more affordable price. This could be the day one price, or a price linked to inflation or earnings growth.” I'm intrigued because I considered making this proposal in the report 'Shared Ownership: the consumer perspective' ('day one price' basis). I didn't because I assumed such a proposal would be a step too far for government and the housing sector. Instead, I made recommendations to make ongoing housing costs fairer on the assumption this might bring staircasing within reach and, if not, at least prevent shared ownership homes becoming increasingly financially unsustainable over time. There are clearly various policy routes to making shared ownership genuinely affordable over the longer term and/or a viable route to full home ownership. I would welcome scrapping of the 'current market value basis' for staircasing. #SharedOwnership

Another week, another housing disrepair claim story to highlight. This time, Southwark Council has paid out £5 million in one year due to disrepair issues, reinforcing the growing challenges tenants are experiencing with landlords across the UK. At Fenchurch Legal, we’re proud to support law firms handling these cases, ensuring tenants can seek justice without financial barriers. With the rise in claims, our funding plays an important role in upholding tenant rights. Read the full article here: ➡️ https://buff.ly/3zuTMDj #HousingDisrepair #HDRClaims #LitigationFunding #LitigationFinance

As the former Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Shared Ownership, I’ve long been passionate about this vital housing tenure. That’s why it was so inspiring to see over 100 like-minded shared ownership enthusiasts joining the Housing Ombudsman's Insight Report Webinar on this topic. A huge thank you to Chris Harrison and Victoria King for delivering such an engaging and informative session. For those who couldn’t attend live, don’t worry—a recording will soon be available. With over 211,000 shared ownership homes now across England (a number that continues to grow), this tenure is playing an increasingly significant role in tackling the housing affordability challenge. As shared ownership expands, it’s critical that shared owners understand their rights—especially their right to escalate concerns to the Housing Ombudsman. Equally, landlords must remain proactive in meeting their obligations, ensuring they deliver the high standards expected in this growing sector. Let’s keep the conversation going about how we can improve shared ownership for everyone involved! #sharedownership #housing #socialhousing

It’s a question that the sector comes back to often - what’s the optimum number of homes in an area being overseen by teams. Whilst it’s great to see Housing Today featuring the shift The Hyde Group has made to cut our ‘patch’ sizes by a third as part of our Neighbourhoods model, the change we’ve made is much more fundamental than that. Neighbourhoods is about serving our customers better, and doing so through building better connections. Of course, the way we organise and resource it is vital, but what’s more essential for us is the commitment to being more customer-driven, and providing homes and communities that people can be proud of. This sits at the heart of the shift, as well as the other changes we’re making, like bringing 95% of responsive repairs in-house. Much more to do to see this change through for customers, but it’s a much needed shift and we’re sticking to it. Massive well done to Neal Ackcral and Liz Oliver for making this happen, alongside hundreds of other colleagues too.

My column on Housing!