Evaluation of the Housing and Other Benefit Measures in the Social Rented Sector (social sector size criteria and the benefit cap)
The DWP announced this week that CCHPR, together with Ipsos MORI, has been commissioned by the DWP to evaluate housing benefit changes in the social rented sector.
Social tenants of working age who under-occupy will lose either 14% or 25% of their eligible housing benefit under the size criteria.
The evaluation seeks to understand the impact of the reforms on claimants, landlords and other stakeholders.
Reselling Shared Ownership properties after improvements
This short research project has been commissioned by Thames Valley Housing Association in order to examine the practice of reselling shared ownership homes after the owner has undertaken (and paid for) improvements to their home.
Exploring perspectives on market based mechanisms for development
This project is a collaboration between CCHPR, the Department of Geography and the Office of External Affairs and Communications at the University of Cambridge.
The role of the private rented sector in preventing homelessness: identifying good practice and the impact of policy change
The Oak Foundation has commissioned research that focuses on good practice that is demonstrated through Oak funded projects and looks more broadly at other successful practices and models.
Research into the future of the social rented sector
This project has been commissioned by East 7, a group of housing associations in the East of England, to inform their own strategy and policy development and to assist East 7 members in engaging in the policy debate with ministers and other opinion formers.
Support in the preparation of a housing strategy for Jersey
The States of Jersey wishes to commission CCHPR to provide support to its embryonic Strategic Housing unit in the preparation of an island wide, cross tenure Housing Strategy. The project comprises a series of papers for discussion with officers and the relevant Ministers between November 2012 and April 2013, leading to the production of a public Consulation Paper for circulation in May and a final Strategy Paper for debate in the States Assembly in June/July 2o13.
Fundamental review of housing allocations policy in Northern Ireland
The Housing Division of the Department for Social Development (DSD) has commissioned a research project which will make a significant contribution to a fundamental review of social housing allocations in Northern Ireland. The purpose of the review is to ensure that the processes of applying for, and letting, social housing make the most effective use of scarce public resources in identifying and meeting housing need within the context of broader government priorities.
Scoping study on service use of the Cambridgeshire D/deaf communities
The purpose of the research is to act as a tool for the D/deaf partnership to better understand its constituency, with a particular view to making an input into the revised Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
Evaluation of services for people with sight loss: Early Support in Essex
The Pocklington Trust have commissioned CCHPR to evaluate the Visionary Development Fund’s project: Early Support in Essex. This project aims to improve referral to services for elderly people with sight loss in Essex. The evaluation will complete by summer 2014.
CCHPR is providing specialist input to IPSOS MORI as part of an extended piece of work for the National Housing Federation looking at the impact of current welfare reforms on housing associations and their tenants
Maximising the performance of the new Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy Planning Framework with Local Authorities: Developing a Planning Gain Model
The Centre is currently developing a simple model to estimate the impact of charging different CIL and S106 rates on the economic viability of development. The model has huge potential to assist local authorities in modelling the impact of different CIL and S106 rates on the economic viability of development across their area. We propose a project to further develop the model for local authority use. We will work with a sample of local authorities to test and refine the model with a view to eventually making it publicly available for use by local authorities to assist in developing their new CIL and S106 charging frameworks. This will transfer our academic knowledge and expertise into a tool that can be used by local authorities in policy and practice.
Unfinished business –building an effective safety net for home owners and the housing market
This project with Steve Wilcox is aimed at reviewing the current safety net for home owners, how it might change in the light of government reforms and looking to the future whether a better and more sustainable safety net could be provided
Advice on assumptions used in planning for housing
This project aims to produce five short notes on the main drivers of demographic change that will support a basic excel ‘tool’ that local authorities can access freely to help understand the impacts on future housing requirements in their area.
Building Social Capital through Community Timebanking: an evaluation of the Cambridgeshire timebanking project
This research will be evaluating the development of a timebanking project in Cambridgeshire by Cambridgeshire County Council and the CHS Group. Timebanking is a community scheme which enables local people to exchange skills and support in a structured way around the swapping of units of their time. It can help to build social capital in local communities, but may also have the potential to generate cost savings.
The Pocklington Trust has commissioned CCHPR to undertake an evaluation of lighting interventions on quality of life and specifically on its impact on reduction of falls amongst recipients based on a case study of a scheme in Stourbridge.
Evaluation of lighting adaptations in group settings
The Pocklington Trust has commissioned CCHPR to undertake an evaluation of lighting interventions on quality of life and specifically on its impact on reduction of falls amongst recipients.
Evaluation of new lighting intervention schemes being undertaken by benevolent trusts
The Pocklington Trust has commissioned CCHPR to undertake an evaluation of lighting interventions on quality of life and specifically on its impact on reduction of falls amongst recipients.
Analysis of the private rented sector in Richmond upon Thames and surrounding areas
Richmond Council, together with Richmond Housing Partnership, jointly commissioned research in order to form the evidence base of their tenancy strategy. This work helped supplement this evidence base by improving understanding of the private rented sector in and nearby to Richmond with a particular focus on the availability of housing for low income groups.
Dementia and Sight Loss: Developing Social Care Practice in Different Housing Settings
This project, funded by the National Institute for Health Research seeks to develop best practice in social care and support for people with dementia and sight loss in a range of housing settings. The research is led by York University and CCHPR will lead the element of the study that looks at the costs of care in different settings.
This project is a short piece of research based advice for officials in the Department of Communities and Local Government. It is not intended for publication.
International review of land supply and planning systems
The JRF Housing Market Taskforce has identified land supply as a key reason contributing to housing market volatility and problems of housing affordability in the UK. This desk based research aims to assess which policy approaches to land supply and land markets are most likely to work in the English context.
Cumulative Impact of Housing and other Benefit Changes on People and Council Services
Sandwell Borough Council are producing a report on the likely impact of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, in respect to Housing Benefit and other benefit changes on people and council services in Sandwell. CCHPR have been commissioned to facilitate workshops and provide expertise around welfare reform and implications for the local housing market.
Housing wealth and wellbeing: understanding who uses housing equity release products and the impact they have on older people’s lives - scoping study
The UK population is ageing, placing pressure on housing, health and social care services. Most older people own their homes outright and prefer to remain in the same home as they age, which often requires financial investment, e.g. to pay for home adaptations and care. One way to meet these costs is to release equity from the home. This can be done by moving house, but it can also be done without moving by using equity release products. However, this is a practice about which we know very little.
Housing in Transition: Understanding the dynamics of tenure change
This short project explores patterns of tenure by household type, income group and region in England using SHE/EHS data and then develops a forecast of how tenure trends might develop over the period to 2025. It builds on existing work undertaken by Oxford Economics for the NHF.
The Commission for Rural Communities funded CCHPR to carry out research into rural housing. The project looked specifically at the issues of changing rent levels and housing quality, the impact of policy change on rural areas, and whether some people are unable to remain in rural areas.
Mapping the number of extra housing units needed for young people
Centrepoint, the youth homeless charity, commissioned CCHPR to carry out some work looking at the requirement for emergency homeless accommodation, supporting housing units, social housing and private rented housing with the use of Housing Benefit across England with a specific focus on the requirements for those aged 16-25.
Making best use of a scarce asset: Can we use social housing more efficiently?
This project will run throughout 2012 and will involve a series of six half-day workshops, to be attended by social landlords throughout the UK in order to share research evidence and help them to develop their policies and practice in making best use of their housing stock.
Understanding the second-hand market for shared ownership properties
Thames Valley Housing Association and the National Housing Federation commissioned CCHPR to carry out research into the secondary market for shared ownership properties. The research examined national data sources on resales and involved a survey of all major shared ownership providers on resales and staircasing behaviour. It also involved more detailed qualitative work with Thames Valley clients.
Qualitative Study on the Impact of Welfare Reforms on Riverside Tenants
Riverside is undertaking a study aiming to gain a more detailed understanding of the impact of welfare reforms and wider economic change on Riverside households. CCHPR is providing consultancy input into the study, advising on study methodology, staff training and interpretation of results.
The role of the planning system in delivering housing choice for older Londoners
This project is looking into the housing needs of older people in London for the Greater London Authority. It is being commissioned as a ‘think piece’ looking specifically at the role of the planning system in helping to ensure that older Londoners have a genuine choice of homes that they can afford and which meet their requirements for different sizes and types of dwelling in the highest quality environments.
The National Housing Federation in partnership with CCHPR is exploring possible models for investment in new affordable homes. This research contributes to that work.
This project involved conducting a cost benefit analysis of lighting adaptations for the Thomas Pocklington Trust, a charity providing housing, care and support for people with sight loss in the UK. This short publication compares the costs of lighting adaptations to estimates of the costs of falls by elderly people resulting from poor lighting.
Estimating the impacts of the changes in S106 with the
introduction of CIL on the quantity of affordable housing delivered.
This project, conducted jointly with the University of Sheffield, is estimating the impacts of the changes in Section 106 (S106) with the introduction of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) on the quantity of affordable housing delivered for the National Housing Federation.
FACING THE FUTURE – THE FUTURE ROLE AND FINANCING OF SOCIAL HOUSING
The Housing Futures Network has commissioned CCHPR to produce new work looking at the future of the social housing sector. The work will look at the future options for financing the sector, and also at the implications of the latest policy reforms including welfare reform, housing benefits and under-occupation.
This project involves research to assess the market intelligence that Orbit needs to develop in support of effective decision making over the coming decades in terms of asset management, investment and potential expansion.
This comprises six short papers to help address the questions asked in the Labour Party Housing Review. The papers are on Planning, Places, Housing Supply, Owner Occupation, Social Renting and the Private Rented Sector.
The impact of the recent financial crisis on planning for affordable housing in England
The impact of the recent financial crisis on planning for affordable housing in England – local authority responses and future pathways. This research will identify:
How S106 is being used in very different market conditions and whether it can still work to deliver sufficient affordable housing.
How preparations for new policies that will affect affordable housing delivery, such as the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), have been altered by the financial crisis.
What alternative approaches are being considered or used for the delivery of affordable housing.
Older people’s views of service provision in Cambridge
This project is a collaboration between CCHPR, the Department of Geography and the Office of External Affairs and Communications at the University of Cambridge. A study is being conducted on behalf of the Cambridge Older Peoples Reference Group (COPRG) to explore older people’s views of services in the Cambridge area.
Providing an assessment of affordability of RSL / LA rents that are pegged at given ratios of prevailing market rents within Cambridge City and the housing sub-market.
Providing the evidence base for housing needs assessments
This short project for Shelter seeks to explore the appetite of both representatives from the housing supply sector and local planning authorities for additional guidance in the current policy context. In particular PPS3 still requires an evidence base for affordable housing targets yet overall housing targets have been abolished along with the regional bodies. The work comprises telephone interviews with the major stakeholders, an email survey of local planning authorities and a round table discussion on how to take the work forward. The outputs will be a short report plus worked up costs of the different options proposed at the round table.
This project examined the affordability of rents set as percentages of open-market prices, as proposed in the HCA's Affordable Rents Framework. Principles and data on rent affordability in the social sector were reviewed. Estimated income distributions for components of the household population in five local authority areas were then compared to different potential rent levels in each area.
This project for the Local Better Regulation Office is essentially a review of the existing policy, practice and academic literature relating to the citizen in regulation, encompassing citizen involvement and participation, co-regulation and co-production. The intention is to highlight potentially fruitful areas for further exploration by the LBRO.
Under-utilisation of the housing stock: Eight local case studies
Shelter commissioned CCHPR to undertake eight local authority case studies into under-utilisation of the existing housing stock. The research looked at empty properties, second homes and under-occupation.
The Future of Inclusive Design: the success of initiatives aiming to reduce inequality in spatial planning and the built environment
The aim of this research is to explore the success of equality-related initiatives in the field of spatial planning and the built environment. It will work with Women’s Design Groups, Disability Access Groups and Inclusive Design Groups.
The Private Rented Sector in the New Century: a Comparative Approach
The objective of this research is to examine the extent to which different regulatory frameworks across Europe have generated different incentives to provide private rental housing; to live in private rental housing; and to fund that housing.
CCHPR were commissioned to carry out a study of under-occupation amongst social housing tenants in North Herts. The study included a survey of tenants as well as analysis of other data sources.
CCHPR has been contracted to provide a call-off contract for the Scottish Government. This is to meet some of the analytical needs which the Communities Analytical Services Division (CASD) will have in 2009 and 2010.
CASD provides analytical services to the Scottish Government in the areas of housing, regeneration, planning, and social justice (social and financial inclusion, poverty, and equalities). The call-off contracts enable CASD to obtain smaller analytical services of good quality at short notice and quickly.
Input into the consultation on the abolition of the Regional Spatial Strategies for the JRF
CCHPR were commissioned by the JRF to assist in submitting their consultation response for the inquiry into the abolition of regional spatial strategies. The consultation focussing particularly on the implications for house building.
Housing benefit changes and their effects on the private rented sector
The project looks at short- and longer-term influences on the supply of private rented housing to poorer households in Britain. The new government’s emergency budget of June 2010 proposed substantial reductions in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) payments made to private tenants who cannot afford their rent.
This project seeks to assemble a coherent evidence place on where deprivation is experienced in Suffolk, how it is concentrated and where it may be hard to identify. It builds on an assumption that deprivation can be material, physical or social. The aim of the project is to help Suffolk Foundation to inform their grant making activities.
This research project is evaluating the FirstStop information and advice service for older people, their families and carers that is funded partly by Communities and Local Government (CLG) and the Big Lottery Fund (BLF).
The contractors are asked to write a literature review on the subject of the social and economic impact of housing. The literature review should have 2 key sections: Economic and Social. A smaller third section should draw out the links between the two, and the review should note significant gaps in knowledge or understanding and how these might be filled.
Evaluating the Women’s Design Group project for the Women’s Design Service
This project evaluates the Women’s Design Group project for the Women’s Design Service, reflecting on the success of the project and making recommendations for taking the initiative forward.
Analysis of available data on affordable housing investment
Using existing data sources, the purpose of this project is to provide a strong evidence base to show what the current provision of affordable housing built over the last 20 years looks like in terms of location, type of housing and size, and whether it is significantly different compared with past provision. The aim is to demonstrate what has been achieved in terms of investment in affordable housing, and to link this with tenant satisfaction.
Developing a local development framework affordable housing evidence base
The purpose of the project is to produce a short, usable guide for local authority officers in the South East to help them develop a robust affordable housing evidence base to inform their Local Development Frameworks. The affordable housing guide will sit within the South East England Partnership Board’s current LDF delivery suite.
The use of place typologies in government policy has been actively promoted by CLG and its predecessor departments for nearly thirty years. A range of typologies currently exists, including deprivation indices, socio-demographic and functional classifications. However these have a number of limitations. It is also evident that different ways of conceptualising and creating typologies of places will be useful for different policy purposes. This research project will assist CLG in developing a ‘toolkit’ for developing policy-relevant typologies.
Housing Association Service Charges for General Needs Housing
This project looks at how service charges applied to general needs stock by housing associations (HA) vary between different property types and sizes, and between types of HA.
Comparison of Stock, rents and service charges among different types of social landlords
This project draws comparisons of stock, rents and service charges between four different types of social landlord; Traditional mixed funded Registered Social LandLords (RSLs); RSLs who have taken over local authority stock via Large Scale Voluntary Transfer; Local authorities (retention LAs); and Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMO).
The Contribution of Housing, Planning and Regeneration Policies to Mixed Communities in Scotland
This short study looked at whether and how mainstream housing, planning and regeneration policies in Scotland are contributing to "mixed communities ". In particular, it investigated the ways in which these policies are fostering neighbourhoods which have a mix of housing tenures, and are therefore likely to attract households with a range of incomes.
An Assessment of Current and Future Housing Needs and Demands in Wales
The Welsh Assembly Government is commissioning a ‘top down’ assessment of the future demand and need for additional housing together with current unmet need for affordable housing. This will underpin more detailed work to help local authorities and registered social landlords to assess conditions within their local housing markets.
The Minister for Housing & Communities requested a review to explore how Scottish Government policies that aim to create mixed communities are being implemented on the ground. The purpose of the review was to:
1. clarify what housing, regeneration and planning policies the Scottish Government have which should lead to the creation of mixed communities
2. identify whether and how these policies are being implemented and what impact they are having
Contributing to the Political Debate on Planning and Affordable Housing Round Table
The objectives of this project for the JRF are to understand in more detail the range of instruments that are proposed as means of achieving both local empowerment and higher levels of market and affordable housing and to clarify the potential benefits and costs of moving to a more incentives based system.
The NHF East of England has commissioned this work as part of a wider project to quantify the potential to meet housing need in the region and to provide landlords and other partners with tools to address the issue. The strategic aim of this work is to quantify the potential from tackling under-occupation in social housing. The study will collect data from social landlords in the region and carry out analysis to draw out key information.
LA CORE Imputation and Weighting Methodology Study
This research, commissioned by Communities and Local Government, considers how to adjust for missing local authority data within the Continuous Recording of Lettings (LA CORE) system.
The operation and dynamics of the housing market and the form and nature of regulation of the surveying profession
The RICS have commissioned this work from CCHPR to investigate in a detailed manner and make recommendations for action on some of the issues involved in the recent global financial turmoil and the linkages with the real estate profession.
UK Government National Carbon Reduction Targets and Regional Housing Market Dynamics: Compatible or Contradictory?
RICS is commissioning this research from CCHPR with the aim of raising the profile of RICS at a regional level in the policy debates on sustainability and climate change.
This project was commissioned by the Housing Department of the States of Jersey to review the need for social housing in Jersey, and to make recommendations on the future ownership and management of the States’ social housing stock.
Further practice guidance on using Section 106 agreements to secure affordable housing during the economic downturn
The economic downturn has raised serious questions about the delivery of housing targets and the capacity of the planning system to deliver affordable housing. The Welsh Assembly Government wishes to provide further guidance on the use of S106 agreements to secure affordable housing during the downturn.
Update Of Estimates Of Future Housing Demand And Need In The West Midlands, Incorporating The Revised Household Projections
WMRA has commissioned CCHPR to update estimates of need for affordable housing in the West Midlands from 2006 to 2026. The updates to the estimates, originally done by CCHPR in 2007, will take account of the revised household projections, and comment on the implications of the housing market downturn for the region's housing strategy.
Cyrenians book on the history of homelessness in Cambridge
A book on the 40 year history of Cambridge Cyrenians was launched on 19th October 2010. The book traces the history of the Cyrenians’ work with the homeless in Cambridge from their origins in the late 1960s to the current day.
Evaluation of Enhanced Housing Options Trailblazers
This project evaluated the implementation, operation and success of the Enhanced Housing Options Trailblazers programmes. These aimed to develop innovative approaches to delivering housing services, extending to wider client groups and linking housing advice to wider advice about a range of issues.
This work was lead by CCHPR, with involvement from Birmingham University (Centre for Urban and Regional Analysis) and Shared Intelligence.
This project for Communities and Local Government builds on two previous studies valuing planning obligations in England in 2003-04 and 2005-06. The study aims to estimate the total number of agreements and obligations in 2007-08 and their value. The research expands on the two previous studies as it also estimates the value of obligations actually being delivered.
Each year, the Housing Corporation and Dataspring produce a Profile of the Housing Association (HA) sector, consisting of a set of data tables and technical papers outlining HA stockholdings and changes within the sector over the year.
A Reality Check on the Capacity of the Planning System – Recommendations for Improvement
This project comprised a series of regional round table discussions in the North, Midlands, East, South, London and Wales to assess the capacity of the planning system to deliver the government’s housing targets in sustainable communities and to make practical recommendations for improvement.
The Ward Penalty in Birmingham (Additional Case Studies)
This project extends the previous research on race, place and poverty in Birmingham. This will primarily involve carrying out two additional case studies using the same methods as before, but this time in deprived neighbourhoods in more suburban locations, with a predominantly white British population.
The Barrow Cadbury Trust approached Land Economy and CCHPR to conduct an investigation into the relationships between race, place and poverty in Birmingham. The study begins from the observation that many of the highly deprived parts of the city, particularly the inner urban areas, are also those with large minority ethnic populations.
Assessment of Future Regional Requirements for Affordable Housing in the East of England
The aim of this ongoing project is to contribute to the evidence base that will inform the next review of the Regional Spatial Strategy (the East of England Plan 2008) and the second round of Regional Funding Advice. It will also inform the East of England Implementation Plan, which takes a longer view than the Regional Funding Advice and extends over a greater range of issues to ensure delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy and the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). The work is being conducted in collaboration with SQW Consulting, members of which have worked for CCHPR in the past.
Low Cost Home Ownership and the Credit Crunch: A Report on Regional Markets and Competition with Private Developers
The aim of this study was to expand upon research conducted for the Housing Corporation, Low Cost Home Ownership: Affordability, Risks and Issues, in early 2008. The specific aims of this research were (i) to explore the nature of regional markets for LCHO offered by Housing Associations (HAs) since the downturn, and (ii) to clarify the impact of private developer shared equity schemes on HAs and the degree to which HAs are competing with these schemes.
Domestic violence - assistance for adults without dependant children
Communities and Local Government have commissioned Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research to carry out research on housing support for people at risk of domestic violence.
The Working Neighbourhoods Fund was established by Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions in 2008. Replacing the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, it directs funding to 65 local authorities to help them tackle concentrations of worklessness. A team from the Department of Land Economy, under the direction of Prof Peter Tyler and including several members of CCHPR, led the scoping study and interim evaluation of the WNF.
This research, published by the energy consumer watchdog, examined the limits of competitive markets in the provision of essential services to low-income consumers. Separate chapters covered food, housing, water, telecommunications, public transport, financial services, and energy.
Housing Needs in England: Technical Report on Sources and Methods
This is a full account of the sources and methods used to produce Housing Needs in England: a New Analysis. It also includes a comparison with estimates of housing need in the previous report in the Shelter Housing Investment Project series (the 2005 Update) and a revised version produced the following year (the 2006 Revision – which was not published but circulated informally) that took on board the first fully post-2001 census household projection.
This set of estimates of current need for social rented housing in 2006, and the needs for social rented and intermediate housing in 2006-26. It is being produced for Shelter and is the most recent report in the Shelter Housing Investment Project series. It makes extensive use of official household projections, at regional as well as national level. It also provides new estimates of the backlog of current un-met need at national and regional level.
This project looks at the affordability in the housing associating (HA) sector. It also compares the position of HA tenants with those in the private rented and owner-occupier sector.
Low Cost Home Ownership: Affordability, Risks and Issues
The main purpose of this research was to analyse the impact of the recent housing market turbulence on the affordability of and demand for LCHO products, and to explore the risks that this might present to social housing providers.
Valuing Success: A Case Study of Emmaus Village Carlton
CCHPR were commissioned to update the evaluation of the success of the Emmaus approach, this time using Emmaus Village Carlton as a case study. The project's aim was to determine the cost effectiveness of the Emmaus Community including the economic value to participants, local communities and society and the economy at large.
Taking the Gender Equality Duty into Account in Regeneration: Identifying Good Practice
This study assessed the degree to which gender is taken into consideration in regeneration schemes in the light of the Gender Equality Duty and identified best practice that could be used to aid the success of schemes elsewhere.
Assessing the Impact on Annual Public Spending of Higher Density Housing in London
This project was commissioned by East Thames Housing Group to investigate the relationship between: increasing housing densities, dwelling mix and built form, and the incidence of service charges; the affordability of service charges to tenants and LCHO purchasers; whether particular service charges are associated with changes in built form and whether these can be linked to predictable ‘break points’ in housing density, to produce a ‘typology’ or archetypes for planning and financial feasibility purposes.
Each year, housing associations that are registered with the Housing Corporation are required to complete the Housing Corporation's Regulatory and Statistical Return. As well as providing the Housing Corporation with key data used in its approach to regulating the sector, the survey also constitutes an annual census of the sector. However, this data has not been held in a way that facilitates longitudinal analysis This data represents a potentially rich source for analysis or sector change, making rationalisation of the data into a relational database relevant for time-series analysis. Two linked databases, incorporating data from 1989-2001 and 2002 onwards (when the RSR was restructured) have bee created, to facilitate longitudinal analysis of this rich source of information about the HA sector.
Overview of availability and quality of Data Sources relevant to the work of the National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU)
The NHPAU Board has commissioned CCHPR to undertake research on the availability and quality of data sources relevant to the work of the NHPAU. This includes data on individual income, household income, earnings, house prices, mortgages, property characteristics, second homes, vacancies, rents, household characteristics, construction, planning, migration and population.
Guide to Rents, Parts I, II and III: together these publications provide the data to undertake comparisons of rents geographically for all three rented sectors, between individual HAs and between individual LAs. A summary of the key findings from the data are provided with the data tables. Part I includes cross tenure rents for LAs. Parts II and III include HA rent levels for individual HAs both nationally and locally, for general needs and supported housing respectively. The Guide also includes information about HA target rents.
Future Prospects for Housing Wealth and Inheritance
This work was carried out for the Council of Mortgage Lenders to study who owes owner-occupied housing wealth, and the implications for bequest and inheritance of housing wealth. It used estimates derived from the Survey of English Housing and official household projections to study the present number of older owner-occupiers and the value of the dwellings they own, and how the number is likely to increase in future years. It used deaths in future years as assumed in official projections of the population and proportions of owner-occupiers to estimate the number of estates with house property and the value of this property. The report on the projects was Prospects for UK Housing Wealth and Inheritance was published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders in July 2008.
Practice guidance on affordable housing clauses in Section 106 agreements for local planning authorities in Wales
Through this project the Welsh Assembly Government aims to provide practice guidance for local authorities in Wales on the drafting and application of affordable housing clauses in Section 106 (S106) agreements.
Communities and Local Government commissioned a two-stage research project to improve evidence on the dynamics of S106 negotiations for affordable housing and to explore what the best ‘common starting point’ (CSP) might be. The aim of this research was to explore current LPA practice to establish whether LPAs have CSPs and what these are, to evaluate the relative merits of different CSPs, consider issues such as a single CSP and identify whether the adoption of CSPs would be beneficial.
Comparative analysis of private and social sectors’ rates of return
These papers compare the findings on RSL sector and the private rented sector to provide a clear picture of the extent to which rent and rate of return differentials vary by area, type, etc.
Impact of worsening affordability on the demand for social housing
Literature review of the impact of worsening market housing affordability on the demand for affordable housing, private renting, new household formation, and regional variations in these impacts.
Detailed analysis of the current pattern of RSL rents
As a baseline of reviewing the rent restructuring regime of 2000, this paper will analyse the current pattern of key variables for registered social landlord (RSL) rents at detailed geographical levels. This paper will also assess the current RSL rent patterns in terms of size effects and local effects.
This paper will analyse the relationship between social sector rents and house prices in order to examine the viability of the sector in that rents are the only form of return available to the social sector landlord (unlike in the private sector where capital gains are relevant).
Estimating Rates of Return on Private Sector Rents: 1996/97 to 2005/06
This paper will analyse the relationship between private sector rents and house prices in order to examine the viability of the sector in that rents are the only form of return available to the private sector landlord.
The role of housing associations in the intermediate market
This study investigates the extent to which housing associations (HAs) are involved in the provision of homes on the intermediate market and the form of that provision.
Beyond the Affordable Housing Study Stage II: A review and analysis of changes in the intermediate housing market in the East of England 2004-2007
The purpose of the research is to identify the changes in the intermediate housing market since the Affordable Housing Study II 2004, in terms of need/demand and supply, and to consider the implications for regional policy formulation and investment in the future.
Good practice guide to delivering new affordable housing on S106 sites
The project aims to explore current local planning authority practice to identify what aspects contribute to the successful delivery of affordable housing on S106 sites.
This research focuses on HAs that have submitted data once or sporadically since November 2005. The aim is to find out the reasons HAs do not submit NROSH data on a regular basis and what can be done to ease the process. This follows Phase I of the research which focused on HAs that submit data on a regular basis.
Planning and Affordable Housing Member Training and Development Programme
This project was to deliver a training programme in negotiating affordable housing through S106 to elected members, particularly those with housing and planning portfolios. The work involved three seminars in North, Central and South Wales.
This project involved organising three training seminars in North and South Wales in May 2007 to inform local authority officers about the suite of material produced by the Welsh Assembly Government designed to improve their delivery of affordable housing through the planning system. A report on the seminars was produced for publication in November 2007.
Preventing Homelessness: Efficiencies in Lettings Functions in LA and RSL Stock
This project was commissioned by the Housing Corporation as one of a group of projects developing key themes of the Corporation’s ‘Tackling Homelessness Strategy’, published in December 2006. The project is intended to inform one of the key areas that underpin the Corporation’s approach to preventing and tackling homelessness, by analysing and promoting existing good practice among social landlords in their lettings functions at regional, sub-regional and local levels. It focuses on the use made by local authorities of nominations to RSLs, and the use of nominations to re-house households that are homeless and in priority need, for whom local authorities have a statutory duty to secure housing.
Promoting Mixed Communities through Balanced Lettings and Asset Management
The aims of the project, carried out for the Housing Corporation and Communities and Local Government, are to understand how to achieve a better balance between allocating social homes to the most needy, and preserving/improving the mix of the housing stock, in particular through balanced lettings and asset management policies. The project conducted 30 qualitative interviews with Chief Executives of RSLs and ALMOs and local authority Directors of Housing.
Official Projections of Future Numbers of Households in England and their Implications for Housing
This is an on-going project that analyses and comments on official estimates (projections) of the number of households in future years, the types of household, and the ages of household heads. The sources of the projected future increase in the number of households –ageing of the population and inward migration are analysed, and sources of uncertainty noted. A new and much higher projection of the population of England was published by the Office for National Statistics in October 2007. What it implies for the future increase in numbers of households will be studied, along with sources of uncertainty.
West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy revisions – Re-run of the affordable housing figures
CCHPR is carrying out a series of re-runs of the affordable housing calculations for the West Midlands Regional Assembly to support its work as Regional Housing and Planning Body.
This project has been commissioned by Cambridge University’s Estates Management and Building Service to advise on the housing needs of University staff. The project has carried out an email survey of all University staff in order to assess the current rate of recruitment, the extent to which newly appointed staff who are moving to Cambridge from elsewhere, and the difficulties experienced by staff in the Cambridge housing market
Choice Based Lettings Research in Yorkshire and the Humber
This project was commissioned by the Government Office for Yorkshire and the Humber, to undertake a study to inform stakeholders about the resource and service delivery implications of implementing CBL in high demand and rural areas in Yorkshire and the Humber, using Harrogate DC as a feasibility case study.
The Impact of a Pan-London Choice Based Lettings Scheme on Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
The Association of London Government commissioned a short research project in order to understand the possible implications of a Pan-London CBL scheme for the management of homelessness and temporary accommodation. The key objective of the project was to understand how the offer of different proportions of available lettings for inter-borough moves might impact on the ability of individual boroughs to meet their statutory responsibilities for homeless households, and how this might impact on homeless households themselves.
The Use of the Existing Housing Stock in the South East
This report was commissioned by the South East England Regional Assembly. It analyses the ways in which the existing housing stock is used presently and how this might change over the next twenty years.
Forecasting and Managing Planning Obligations for Developer Contributions to Affordable Housing: A Feasibility Study
This is a feasibility study to see whether it is possible to develop a better alignment of developer contributions to affordable housing through S106 with public subsidy from the Housing Corporation and loan finance from the housing associations. We are working in partnership with Roger Tym & Partners and Three Dragons.
Official Projections of Future Numbers of Households in England and their Implications for Housing
This is an on-going project that analyses and comments on official estimates (projections) of the number of households in future years, the types of household, and the ages of household heads.
S106 Affordable Housing Provision: What is Going On?
This project aims to find out what is happening on the ground to S106 negotiations and affordable housing delivery in a context of considerable uncertainty in the national and regional regulatory framework.
Modelling the future take-up of low-cost home ownership products
This is a two stage project. Stage 1 involves modelling tenure choice using a logit model and data from CORE pooled with Survey of English Housing over 6 years; Stage 2 involves entering the coefficients from the logit model onto an Excel spreadsheet in order to enable scenario planning and sensitivity testing. The outputs should allow DCLG to estimate the likely take-up of different low-cost home ownership products.
A Review of Low Cost Home Ownership Policies in Wales
The Welsh Assembly Government commissioned a review of Low Cost Home Ownership (LCHO) policies in Wales. The aims of the project were: to assess the effectiveness of LCHO schemes in meeting their stated policy objectives; to assess whether LCHO schemes have wider, or unforeseen consequences on local housing markets and problems; and to advise on whether LCHO schemes are meeting their stated objectives, or whether revisions to the schemes are required, within the policy flexibility available to the Welsh Assembly Government.
Estimating Rates of Return on Private Sector Rents
The original reason for this research was to assess the extent to which it would be appropriate to use lower quartile house prices as a surrogate for private rents in regional and local analysis in the light of the difficulties in obtaining Rent Officer Service data on the rents they determine for Housing Benefit purposes. Since the work was commissioned it has proved possible to obtain these data directly so the need for a surrogate is obviated. However the more fundamental issues of tenure choice among lower income households and the extent to which the two sectors act as substitutes in different markets remain as do the questions of whether the processes of rent determination for tenants on Housing Benefit distorts outcomes in different markets.
Housing Association Rents and Service Charges for Supported Housing and Housing for Older People.
Average housing association rents and service charges for the combined categories, supported housing and housing for older people (supported housing /HOP), by local authority area were collected by the Housing Corporation for the first time in 2005. This project looks in detail at these figures.
More Households to be Housed – where is the increase in households coming from?
Update of analysis of the Government's new 2006 Household Projections; examining the elements making up the growth; the robustness of the projections; and their implications for housing requirements.
A Review of Welsh Social Landlords’ Approaches to Maximising Choice in Letting
Accommodation
The Welsh Assembly Government commissioned a review of lettings systems currently in use by social housing landlords in Wales, which are either choice-based or in which choice is an important component part. The aims of the project were to provide an evaluation of how well CBL pilot schemes operating in Wales are achieving their intended outcomes and to use the research findings in drafting guidance on the law and good practice in relation to CBL schemes, suitable for issue by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The Impact of a Pan-London Choice Based Lettings Scheme on Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation
The Association of London Government commissioned a short research project in order to understand the possible implications of a Pan-London CBL scheme for the management of homelessness and temporary accommodation. The key objective of the project was to understand how the offer of different proportions of available lettings for inter-borough moves might impact on the ability of individual boroughs to meet their statutory responsibilities for homeless households, and how this might impact on homeless households themselves.
Evaluation of the Mixed Communities Demonstration Projects
CCHPR is part of a consortium evaluating the Mixed Communities Demonstration Projects. These aim to develop comprehensive approaches to neighbourhood renewal through major changes to the housing stock and tenure / income mix, improvements to the environment and action to reduce worklessness and crime. Whilst previous housing and regeneration programmes have included tenure and income diversification, the MCI aims to do this further and faster to achieve genuine and sustainable change in disadvantaged areas.
An Approach to Affordable Housing to inform the East Midlands Regional Plan
This project reviewed alternative methodologies for determining the proportion of new dwellings that should be affordable in order to select a preferred approach for the East Midlands. Once this was agreed, the project produced affordable housing targets for the region and for the sub-regional housing markets separately.
Understanding demographic, spatial and economic impacts on future affordable housing demand
The research will use both primary and secondary data to understand how demographic, spatial and economic changes will impact on affordable housing demand now and in the future (over the next 5 / 10 / 20 years). It will then use this understanding to inform key business and policy decisions and help develop the Housing Corporation’s market intelligence, in particular focusing on future investment decisions, viability of existing stock and future markets and options for potential new products.
CCHPR worked in a multi-disciplinary team with others across the university to carry out this piece of research looking at sustainable development in the Kent Thames Gateway.
The HA Sector Trends project brings together 15 years of data from the RSR, the annual census of HAs registered with the Housing Corporation, to form a cohesive relational database. This gives added value to the data as it can now be used for time series analysis to determine trends in the HA sector and relate these to changes in policy, finance and regulation. Such data is also useful for scenario planning for future directions.
Housing associations (HAs) are increasingly seen as having a role beyond the provision of Social rented housing. Many now own and/or manage non-social housing stock as well as being involved in non-housing activities. This project aims to provide a picture of the extent to which HAs are involved in these activities.
Almshouse charities have been active in providing social housing, mostly for older people, for centuries. This project looks at the profile of almshouse charities registered with the Housing Corporation
The evaluation of the changes relating to Sheltered and Supported Housing will take place from September 2005 to the end of January 2006. The first stage will be a quantitative analysis clarifying whether the changes are as expected and therefore whether what has been asked for is what has been reported. This is particularly important in relation to the time series data. In the second stage, any evidence of significant differences will the analysed through interviews with relevant HAs. Depending on the problems encountered there will be a third stage involving a series of interviews with associations where major changes in categorisation have occurred and those who have experienced little change to assess whether the new definitions reflect real differences; how demands vary between categories of housing; and HA attitudes to the definitions now they have been operationalized.
Dataspring has been providing assistance to the Housing Corporation evaluating the implications for data collection via the National Register of Social Housing (NRSOH).Currently data collected for regulatory purposes by the Housing Corporation is collected via their annual Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR), which all HAs are required to complete on a stock wide basis. The ODPM plans to introduce NROSH as a means of data collection on an individual property basis from both HAs and LAs in the near future. Dataspring have been commissioned to evaluate if NROSH alone will suffice as a means of data collection for the Housing Corporation’s regulatory purposes.
Low Cost Home Ownership in Different Housing Markets
The government has identified the need to concentrate investment, both public and private, in the provision of low-cost homeownership (LCHO) as first time buyers find it more and more difficult to access owner-occupation through traditional open market routes. New initiatives are concerned with increasing the role of private finance through equity mortgages as well as providing a range of shared ownership schemes aimed at key workers and pressure areas. This raises important issues for both private finance institution and government: the institutions are taking on new risks about which they know little, while government wishes to target assistance closely on those who cannot achieve owner-occupation in other ways.
The complementary roles of Social Housing Grant and affordable housing through the planning system in achieving additional affordable housing
This study compares the provision of new affordable housing via S106 with the 'traditional' approach whereby housing associations develop land with the aid of Housing Corporation funding. It looks at costs and additionality and finds that s106 is replacing the traditional approach, largely because it is an important means of accessing land for housing associations.
Delivering affordable housing through s106: outputs and outcomes
There is anecdotal evidence that what is finally delivered on the ground through s106 may be different from what was originally negotiated – for example, a large site may be broken up and sold to different developers who may re-negotiate the S106 affordable housing provision. The project aims to assess whether affordable housing is being lost or modified through negotiated changes to the initial agreed S106 as well as through non take-up of planning permission; and to gain an understanding of why this is happening and of patterns of behaviour. The project is joint with the University of Sheffield.
An Assessment of the Role of Foyers in Housing Association Provision
Foyer schemes began to be set up in in the climate of high unemployment during the early 1990s. They aim to provide unemployed young people in housing need with housing, training and employment as part of a single package. This project aims to provide a systematic analysis of the national position in terms of numbers, their geographical and size distribution and an assessment of how far they are achieving their stated objectives.
Additional housing supply: implications for sustainable communities
This is part of ODPM’s response to the Barker Review of Housing Supply’s recommendations that many more dwellings are needed to reduce house price inflation. It draws on the results of a model of house price response to additional supply developed in a parallel project at Reading University. The aim of the project is to assess the sustainability impacts of building more houses using three growth scenarios and three regional distributions of that growth. Our input was to assess the social and economic impacts which is a very under-researched area but is nevertheless a vital aspect of long term sustainability.
Defra commissioned CCHPR and Land Use Consultants to carry out research to understand the nature of 'housing need' in rural areas and the implications of an under-supply of affordable housing for individuals, communities and economies.
This is the 2005 update to the previous Shelter project to enable them to contribute to the latest Spending Review. Since only certain datasets have actually been updated, it is a partial update, although it specifically takes account of the findings of the Barker Review of Housing Supply (2004) and recent changes in Government policy, particularly the treatment of households requiring temporary accommodation.
Value for Money of s106 in Providing Additional Affordable Housing
This study was commissioned by ODPM as a parallel to the work on s106 and SHG funded by JRF and the Housing Corporation. The work involved analysis of Housing Corporation and ODPM data, case studies, interviews with developers and housing associations and analysis of site specific financial information. The interim report fed into the consultation on an optional charge for affordable housing. Like other projects on s106, Sheffield collaborated on the work. The report has been published both in hard copy and on the ODPM web site.
Shelter commissioned an update of their major Housing Investment Project originally completed and published in 2000. The findings were used to feed into government consultation on the 2004 Comprehensive Spending Review. The report was published by Shelter.
This is also a follow up to a previous study which produced an estimate of newly arising demand and need for housing in the East of England. The current study produces an estimate of unmet need and of key worker housing requirements in the region. Part B of the project provides a template for districts and sub-regions to produce their own assessments of key worker housing. Both reports are available on the Assembly’ web site.
A major research project for ODPM which is joint with the universities of Glasgow and Heriot Watt. It is organised under five themes, but includes a cross cutting overview summary report which will be widely disseminated as well as a defined, structured analysis of the period. The project involves considerable consultation with experts in addition to the research team. The overview has now been published both on the ODPM web site and in hard format; the theme reports and the individual policy evaluations are expected to be available on the web site in the near future.
This research developed a methodology for estimating the future need for intermediate market housing – housing that is affordable to those who cannot access market housing but who could afford to pay more than social housing rents. Not all households in the relevant income bracket would want intermediate housing, so estimating the need using secondary data was challenging. The report is available on the Assembly’s web site.
This is a follow on to a previous study which outlined a methodology for assessing housing need in the South East region. There are two small projects: one producing an estimate of newly arising demand and need and one an estimate of unmet current housing need. It covers sub-regions as well as the region as a whole. The reports are on the Assembly’s web site as part of the evidence base for the South East Plan.
This short piece of work was conducted for Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority to help them to think imaginatively about housing as a barrier to further economic development and how to overcome this. Focus group discussions were held with employees of major companies and a brainstorming session involved key local stakeholders.
These two short projects looked at the crisis in the recruitment and retention of key workers in these highly pressured housing markets on the edge of London. Interviews with employers and staff representatives were undertaken to explore how far the problem could be resolved by the provision of designated key worker housing. The study found that many key workers do not wish to live close to their workplace, and others do not wish to live in specially designated ‘health service’ or ‘education’ housing, making it a difficult problem to address.
This small project was commissioned by ODPM to assist their thinking in terms of responses to the recommendations of the Barker Review of Housing Supply (2004) which suggested that planners take more notice of market signals when developing their housing policies. it took the form of answering specific questions raised by ODPM. Methods included literature reviews and interviews with key stakeholders.
As part of a suite of research to understand regional housing markets, this study was commissioned with the intention of demonstrating the importance of social rented housing to help to sustain services and community in rural villages. A sample of households living in social rented housing was matched with a similar sample of home owners. The results, contrary to the Assembly’s expectations, showed very little difference in service use and community participation between the different tenure groups. The conclusion is that more housing of all types is required to sustain rural communities, including both market and social rented housing.
University of Cambridge staff housing requirements
The University is preparing its long term plans for the development of land in the north west of the city. Part of the proposals include new housing development, and this study was commissioned in late 2004 to find out about staff housing needs and past behaviour. The survey was web-based with the aim of repeating it in the future, perhaps on an annual basis.
Input into Strategic Housing Needs Assessments Draft Guidance
CCHPR carried out research for the ODPM to produce guidance to local authorities and sub-regions on understanding their local housing market. It updates previous guidance on housing needs assessments and builds on a manual for undertaking housing market assessments.
Review of methodologies for estimating social housing demand in Glasgow
This is an assessment of seven different approaches to estimating the future demand (or need) for social housing, with the aim of recommending a preferred approach an providing input into the research brief which went out to tender in 2004. As part of this contract, we were not able to tender.
This short project using secondary data to analyse the role of the social sector in different kinds of housing market was part of a suite of secondary projects commissioned by JRF to inform their thinking about housing markets. The results were presented to the JRF at a special event in York.
Housing Association Service Charges and their Relationship to Rents
Understanding the relationship between rents and service charges is important for all stakeholders in the HA sector. Tenants need to budget for their housing costs by understanding what elements of those costs relate to rent and service charges and which elements of these costs can be met from housing benefit payments. HAs must determine their overall incomes in such a way that costs can be covered from this income. This paper aims to clarify the relationship between service charges and gross and net rents; and how they vary between different property sizes, areas and types of housing association (HA) - Large Scale Voluntary Transfer (LSVT) HAs, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) HAs and mainstream HAs.
The growing importance of group structure arrangements in the housing association sector in England
This briefing paper reviews the nature and complexity of HA group structures and their activities in terms of what was learnt about their operational realities, their impact on the current statistical profile of the sector and the implications of this for the Housing Corporation in any review of their approach to groups.
Residential mobility of social tenants and households entering Low Cost Home Ownership (LCHO): A comparison of London and the Northern Regions
This report compares the residential mobility of social tenants and households entering LCHO in London with mobility in the northern regions of England.
Regional and Sub-regional Analyses: Residential Mobility of Social Tenants and Those Entering LCHO in the North Regions
This study concentrates on four aspects of household mobility in the northern regions:The results reflect a generally immobile sector across all regions in the north with very little systematic pattern in terms of the mobility that does occur.
This project was commissioned by Sunderland Housing Group, to evaluate the Group’s Choice Based Lettings scheme. The CBL scheme operated by Sunderland Housing Group is of particular interest because customers can apply for ‘Excellent Customer Status’. A bid by a customer with this status will override a bid from a customer without. While only 20% of customers have ECS, they are more likely to make bids than those without, and are over three times more likely to make successful bids than customers without ECS. The project report is internal to Sunderland Housing Group.
This project was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government to collect data on the actual rents and service charges charged by every significant social landlord in Wales (22 local authorities and 33 housing associations), to establish the basis of each landlord’s policy for setting rents and the factors which the policies took into account, and to set rents and service charges in the broader context of affordability, including the heating costs of homes. The project report is published by the Assembly as Housing Research Report HRR105 at: http://www.housing.wales.gov.uk/pdf.asp?a=z10a
Evaluating the Choice Based Lettings Pilots in England
This was a major project commissioned by ODPM to evaluate the 27 Choice Based Lettings pilots in England. The project was led by the School for Policy Studies at Bristol University, and the project report was published by ODPM.
A Review of Low Cost Home Ownership Policies in Wales
This project was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government in order to assess the effectiveness of LCHO schemes in meeting their stated policy objectives. The project will also assess whether LCHO schemes have wider or unforeseen consequences on local housing markets and problems. The project will advise the Assembly on whether revisions to the schemes are required, within the policy flexibility available to the Assembly.
A Review of Welsh Social Landlords’ Approaches to Maximising Choice in Letting Accommodation
This project was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government in order to provide the Assembly with an evaluation of how well the Choice Based Lettings pilot schemes operating in Wales are achieving their intended outcomes. The project is also intended to use the research findings in drafting guidance on the law and good practice in relation to CBL schemes, suitable for issue by the Assembly.
This project was commissioned by Tower Homes and Metropolitan Home Ownership, two of the largest providers of Low Cost Home Ownership in the London area. It involved a survey of clients who had purchased on a shared ownership basis in the previous twelve months and a second survey of those who became shared owners between three and four years ago. The research looked at the longer term affordability and sustainability of Low Cost Home Ownership. Affordability was explored both by considering objectively the monthly outgoings incurred related to income, and subjectively as revealed in the surveys.
This work uses secondary data sources to understand who is currently living in social rented housing, their characteristics including their former tenure, entrants and leavers, and who is likely to be living in the social rented sector in the future. It was carried out by Alan Holmans, Sarah Monk, Michael Jones, Diane Lister, Christina Short and Christine Whitehead. The research was funded by ODPM for whom an internal policy related paper was also produced.
RSL Rents: Evidence from the Existing Tenants Survey 2000: Dataspring Discussion Paper 6
This report draws on the Existing Tenants Survey to examine rents in the social housing sector. Variations are primarily explained by size of dwelling and location, with rents in London highest, and set to rise further to meet target rents. However, there are also differences between new and existing tenants and working and non-working households. The authors note that local average rents should be treated with some caution as the survey points to considerable variation in the rents faced by individual tenants within local areas.
Mobility and moving aspirations of social housing tenants in London and the North
This study aims to assess evidence on the extent to which households in the social sector in London are prepared to move together with the attributes of households and dwellings that help to determine their attitudes and requirements. The results show that mobility in the social sector in London is far less than in other sectors and is clearly less than those living in the rest of the country. The vast majority of moves are within the same districts. Their reasons for being offered a move are generally to do with their current housing conditions and relatively few involve significant choices in relation to location. However, those moving into low cost home ownership, although they are still more likely to move within the district, have a slightly greater choice of locality and tend if anything to move to lower cost areas.
This report uses Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) data for 2002 to provide some base data on the number of Housing Associations and units involved in this type of stock management. It breaks data down between types and sizes of HA to examine which HAs are most involved in this type of stock management.
Adapt and Survive: Housing Associations' response to changes in housing policy at the beginning of the new century
Using data from the RSR and CORE, this paper examines recent changes in the Housing Association (HA) sector and interprets these in the light of changing emphases in government housing policy. The specific focus is on changes in the distribution of HAs across England and the emergence of particular cohorts within the sector, notably the new HAs set up to receive units transferred under the large-scale voluntary transfer (LSVT) programme, the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) HAs and the move towards the provision of housing for shared ownership
Multiplication and division: the distribution of stock between landlords in the housing association sector
This Sector Study builds on the earlier report 'Sector Study 10: The spatial distribution of general needs housing associations and their stock'. This report uses the same measures of concentration to compare distribution of all social housing stock between social landlords within local authorities. It therefore provides a measure of the effect of large scale voluntary transfer on HAs and tenants in transfer LAs in terms of stock distribution and choice.
Land Use Planning and the Production of Affordable Housing
This project, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Housing Corporation, Countryside Agency, RICS and RTPI, explored the operation of s106 in producing additional affordable housing. It was the first in what has become a series of research projects into s106 and affordable housing, and like the others it was conducted jointly with the University of Sheffield’s Town and Regional Planning Department. The research methods included a national survey of local authorities, sixteen case studies and four regional stakeholder discussion meetings. The final outputs were published by JRF in 2002 and are available on their website.
The impact of the large scale voluntary transfer of local authority housing stock on the HA sector
There is a trend for an increasing volume of local authority housing stock to be involved in large-scale stock transfer (LSVT) each year. Although initially favoured by districts with sound stock and low levels of housing debt, policy changes have now encouraged more metropolitan areas to make partial transfers of their poorer stock. This Sector Study examines the growth and spread of LSVT associations, their effect on the HA stock profile at district level, the changes in vacancy rates associated with the transfer of stock needing renovation and the difference in tenant profiles of LSVT and non-LSVT HAs.
The spatial distribution of general needs housing associations and their stock
Most Housing Associations operate in just one local authority area but a handful of the largest operate in over 100 districts in England. Meanwhile local authorities are encouraged to transfer their stock to Housing Associations through large scale stock transfer, creating a new form of housing association, the large association with all its stock in one local authority. This Sector Study examines the distribution of RSLs and their stock at the local authority level. It finds some areas where the fragmented distribution of stock between many HAs could inhibit efficient local provision, while in other areas the domination of local provision by one or two associations could diminish tenant choice, another important factor in current housing policy.
Comparing the Costs of Owner Occupation with RSL Rents: A Geographical Analysis
This study examines changes in house prices, RSL rents and the comparative costs of low cost home ownership and RSL renting over the decade 1989/90 to 1998/99. A simple comparison using house prices is not sufficient because even when house prices are rising, the weekly costs of a mortgage and insurance may be falling. The study shows that in some areas it is as cheap to buy a house at the lower end of the market as it is to rent from an RSL. At the other extreme, there is a growing group of households who are not eligible for assistance with their housing costs, yet cannot afford to rent or purchase in the private sector. RSLs need to look at the weekly costs of owner occupation as well as comparing their own rents with those in the private sector, the local authority sector and other RSLs.
A matter of choice? RSL rents and home ownership: a comparison of costs
In the past RSLs have tended to compare their rents with those in the private rented sector to ensure competitiveness. Yet in some parts of the country there is now little difference between the weekly costs of home ownership at the bottom end of the market and renting from RSLs. Given the preference for home ownership and the recent expansion in the sector, this has implications for RSLs who may find themselves facing problems in terms of marketing and maintaining balanced communities. This Sector Study examines the gap between the weekly costs of home ownership and RSL rents over the last decade and how this varies across the country and the implications for RSLs when setting their rents.
The third annual analysis of registered social landlords' performance in limiting rent increases. It is also the first in the series of Sector Studies (Research and Good Practice).
The main purpose of this study was to assess the use of the Continuous Recording system of lettings and sales (CORE) by RSLs as a tool to use when measuring affordability. The study aimed to determine how RSLs take account of affordability in their rent setting policies, to clarify which factors should be taken into account to achieve affordability, and to assess the potential of CORE and other data to assist RSLs in setting affordable rents. The analysis found that current practice among RSLs is often limited to qualitative understanding or to the comparison of rent levels with those of other RSLs. There is little clear guidance on the definition of affordability and a lack of appropriate incomes data. This hampers RSLs' ability to assess the affordability of their rents. Much can be done using existing data sources, particularly CORE data, which will remain the most important source of incomes data. Finally, monitoring affordability at the local and individual RSL level will remain important even if Government recommendations on rent determination are fully implemented.
