Housing

Councils have warned that up to eight thousand Afghans who came to the UK seeking asylum after the Taliban seized power are at risk of becoming homeless.

Tenants could be guaranteed minimum three year contracts – under new government plans to give people who rent their homes more security. The vast majority of tenants currently have agreements of 6 or 12 months, but ministers say longer terms would benefit both renters and landlords. Campaigners have urged them to go even further –…

Over a million families in England were stuck on waiting lists for social housing last year and a quarter of those have been waiting for more than five years. The government says it IS tackling the problem, committing 9 billion pounds to build more affordable homes. But the housing charity Shelter, which compiled the figures,…

In our latest ‘So What’ video, we explain the issues and talk to experts to try to get to the bottom of it.

Tenants could be given stronger legal powers to force landlords to ensure their properties are safe, after the Government announced it is to back new laws proposed by a Labour MP. Labour’s Karen Buck wants to bring in rules which will make it easier for tenants in the social and private rented sectors to take…

Housing is already dominating the headlines, but not necessarily for the reasons the Chancellor would have hoped for.

For anyone hoping for council housing across England – it’s an almost impossible struggle. There’s a 1.2 million strong waiting list, and more than half of the households waiting are currently living in overcrowded or  insanitary housing. In London, where private rent is high, those at the sharp end are often the city’s newest arrivals…

One of the key issues in this week’s elections was housing – or rather the price of it . And nowhere more so than in booming Manchester – considered the engine of the northern powerhouse.

A million new homes: the ambitious promise by the Government to help the growing number of people who can’t afford to buy or rent their own.

Ministers say it is a serious attempt to help get first-time buyers on to the housing ladder: 2017 will see the launch of new plans to create thousands of discounted starter homes across England.

A new wave of garden towns and villages across England has been given the official go-ahead. Three new towns will be built – near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, Taunton in Somerset and Harlow in Essex – along with the first 14 garden villages, which will offer 48,000 new homes to help meet the country’s housing crisis.

The Government says the number of new homes built has risen by more than ten per cent in a year to nearly 200 thousand. But the new figures show that the number of those houses which are classed as affordable is at its lowest in 25 years. The total – 32,110 – was less than…

Animator Stef Roberts has been living rent-free for over a year, sleeping wherever he can hang his hammock. He says he was feeling “up for a challenge” when he adopted the nomadic lifestyle.