social housing

Airtech helps landlords meet requirements of Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act

Law firm Shakespeare Martineau has been appointed to the panel of legal advisors at Orbit Group, a leading group of national housing associations.

One of ten firms appointed to the panel, Shakespeare Martineau will be working with Orbit Group for the next three years, providing full legal advice services including, development, sales, commercial, and governance. 

Founded in 1967, Orbit is one of the leading providers of affordable housing to buy and rent, managing a portfolio of 42,000 properties and serving over 100,000 people across the Midlands, the East and South East. 

One of the UK's largest and oldest housing associations has bought 55 affordable apartments worth nearly £17.4m. Durkan completed the sale of 55 residential units at the Britannia Music Site (BMS) in Ilford to Southern Housing Group.

Under the terms of the agreement, the apartments will be completed and transferred to Southern in September of this year.   The units are earmarked for shared ownership or for use under the London Living Rent Tenure developed by the Greater London Authority (GLA).  Following the transaction, Southern will own a total of 148 units at BMS having acquired 93 units in 2017.

Editor Victoria Galligan went along to the annual Housebuilding Forum to meet HAs, builders, architects and suppliers…

The Housebuilding Forum took place at the Slate conference hall in Warwick. As part of the university campus, the striking building – a BREEAM-certified design that boasts floor-to-ceiling windows looking out onto a lake – was the ideal venue to get some of the biggest names in housebuilding together.

As well as hosting expert speakers, the organisers Stable Events line up 15-minute meetings throughout the two-day event to ensure suppliers and delegates can take the time to discuss their work and potential collaborations. The speakers and delegates ranged from across the public and private sectors, and suppliers were on hand to display innovative products and services.

The PCA on plants such as Japanese knotweed

John Whalley, Managing Director of Nationwide Windows & Doors, leading fenestration partner to social housing landlords, looks at how RSLs and property managers can try to mitigate at least some of the uncertainties surrounding Brexit