Features
Triumph or disaster?
14 January 2010
The right to buy divided opinion from its introduction 30 years ago in December. The Thatcher government’s aim to turn council tenants into property owners was a huge success, argues Peter King
... but what about the losers?
14 January 2010
With some 2.5 million homes wiped off the stock of social housing by right to buy, the policy’s knock-on effects cannot be ignored. By Nicola Hughes
Babes up in arms
12 January 2010
New research sheds light on the plight of homeless teenage mums and their strong desire to create an independent life for themselves and their children. Joanne Newton reports
Direct pressure
12 January 2010
The local housing allowance is nearly always sent directly to tenants – even when they want it paid to their landlord. For vulnerable people, this pressure to manage their finances can be too great. Rob Stares reports
Cooperative dividend
12 January 2010
Cooperative and mutual housing in Europe is up to 20 times larger than in the UK. The benefits include better quality and accountability of housing delivery. So why is it so under-developed in this country, Chris Handy asks
The gentle touch?
12 January 2010
Are government plans for a landlord register enough to protect tenants or should landlords be left to get on with it? ROOF reports from this year’s conference on private renting
Backs to the wall
11 January 2010
More than a million householders are using credit cards to stave off repossession and eviction. But the debt they run up can put their homes at greater risk – and the well-off are being hit for the first time. Tony Marshall reports.
Loan danger
22 October 2009
The banks have promised to act responsibly to ease our way out of the housing crisis, but first-time buyers are being offered loans that could push them to the brink of disaster. Report by Tom Marshall and Bill Rashleigh
Living in fear
22 October 2009
A recent blaze in a tower block in South London has brought the issue of fire safety to the forefront and exposed the perilous state of many residential estates. Robin Stares investigates
Over the age limit
22 October 2009
Meeting the needs of a rapidly ageing population places a huge burden on public finances. But a demographic timebomb could jeopardise government housing strategy. Tony Marshall reports
Never had it so good
21 October 2009
It was the tenure of choice in the early 20th century and one to be avoided in the 1990s. Now it’s growing in popularity again. Peter Malpass charts the course of private renting through the decades
I need a shower!
21 October 2009
There is little incentive for landlords to spend money creating a pleasant environment. But Penny Anderson argues that the poor standard of furnished or partly furnished accommodation is cause for real concern
Not fit for purpose
21 October 2009
It’s not just tenants who are unhappy with the workings of the local housing allowance scheme, landlords are also clamouring for change, reports Vincenzo Rampulla
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At the extremes
21 October 2009
Architects are looking to house people in some of the planet’s most inhospitable regions. Ruth Slavid’s new book sets out the most challenging examples of how to house a growing population
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The practitioner’s friend
21 October 2009
A review of Making Legal Aid Work: a handbook for practitioners