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Research carried out across more than 300 local authorities in England and Wales has revealed a 12% tenant complaint rate relating to mould, damp and condensation.

The dangers of damp

If you have damp and mould in your home you're more likely to have respiratory problems, respiratory infections, allergies or asthma. Damp and mould can also affect the immune system.

A group of housing associations responsible for almost 600,000 homes has pledged to form a “united front” with London’s councils to build more affordable homes and launch a new assault on the housing crisis.

Announcing a series of pledges to the capital’s 32 local authorities, the G15 group has renewed its commitment to work with councils to deliver more homes at social rent levels, tackle homelessness, and weather the challenges presented by Brexit.

Louise Drew, head of real estate at law firm Shakespeare Martineau, gives her insight into Voluntary Right to Buy…

The Voluntary Right to Buy (VRtB) pilot has now launched across the Midlands, giving social housing tenants the opportunity to purchase their homes at a discounted price, while enabling registered providers (RPs) to renew their stock. The scheme is widely seen as a positive step, providing welcome rejuvenation for the social housing sector, which has been suffering from a dramatic lack of supply. However, there will likely be a learning curve for RPs, so how should they prepare themselves in order to make the most out of the scheme?

Vortice is striving for a greener tomorrow and is asking its customers to participate! As part of this, the company will be gifting Christmas tree seeds this December. Clean air cannot be taken for granted and as air experts, Vortice’s mission is to improve the quality of the air that we breathe and to work towards maximum well-being in the buildings we inhabit. Assisting in this mission by providing additional trees to improve outdoor air quality, is a long standing tradition of the company.

Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow and also help to reduce ozone levels in urban areas.  During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen that we breathe.  In the same way, house plants can improve oxygen levels indoors.  Their leaves also help to collect dust and debris from the air, allowing the householder to wipe them clean and remove the dirt.

At least 1 in 10 rental properties in England are likely to be advertised unlawfully by explicitly discriminating against people who rely on housing benefit, new research from the National Housing Federation and Shelter shows.

The analysis of around 86,000 letting agent adverts on Zoopla shows that 8,710 adverts for different residential properties in England say ‘no DSS’ or ‘no housing benefit’.

In January this year, the Regulator of Social Housing was borne out of the ashes of the Homes & Communities Agency. The new editor of Housing Association magazine, Victoria Galligan, asks: what has been done so far in 2018 to increase the number of social and affordable properties available?

There’s no doubt that demand for affordable housing has far outstripped supply, especially over the recent years of austerity. And with homes being taken out of local authority control through disposals, Right to Buy (RTB) sales and town regeneration schemes, the need for new social housing has arguably never been so high.

The Town and Country Planning Association has warned that the government’s planned expansion of permitted development will deprive local authorities of essential funding and risks creating poor living conditions for vulnerable people.

Announced in the recent autumn budget, new planning rules will give developers permission to convert high street shops into homes without first seeking planning permission, and so bypassing requirements for affordable housing, local infrastructure or minimum housing space standards.