London’s letting agents: sky high fees and rise in complaints
The mere mention of the words ‘letting’ and ‘agency’ amongst Londoners will prompt immediate groans, winces and moans of sympathy. The stress, panic and competition of the private rental market in the capital is…
Growing up renting in London
In a damning report published last week, the housing charity Shelter claimed that children are the “most badly affected by the volatility and uncertainty of the rental market.” Social Housing Watch spoke to young people…
London rents soar to a new all time high
Photo from Geograph.org.uk The cost of renting in London has reached a new all time record and has risen eight times faster than wages over the past year. The cost of renting in London…
The state of homelessness in London
London 2010-present: nearly double as many families with children need rehousing by the state, 5000 more people legally accepted as homeless, and 37,000 households in temporary accommodation across the capital. Have a look at Social…
The ‘Basildon man’ and the history of new towns
Basildon looks no different to hundreds of other towns across Britain. But during Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, it was arguably the most important place in the country. In the early Thatcher years, it became known for…
Featured
Migrant domestic workers: the UK’s modern-day servants?
On the surface, the ‘upstairs downstairs’ world of servants and their masters might appear to have been consigned to history, and to Sunday night dramas such as Downton Abbey. But across UK, and particularly in London, many households continue to employ live-in domestic staff. Modern…
News
Help to Buy Scheme Sparks Housing Bubble
The Government’s Help to Buy scheme risks inflating a new housing bubble, where average house prices would be over £300,000. Help to…
Social Housing Watch’s News Round-Up
Monday 29 April to Sunday 5 May 2013 Social Housing…
Rental market ‘having a damaging impact on children’s lives’
Children are the “most badly affected by the volatility and…
More Articles
Housing waiting lists from 1997 to 2012: visualised
As part of our series on housing waiting lists in London boroughs, you can now see how the numbers of households on local authorities’ housing lists have changed since 1997 through our interactive map. If a borough changes to light blue, it indicates a decrease in…
Owen Jones speaks to Social Housing Watch
We caught up with columnist and author Owen Jones for a quick interview at UK Uncut’s “Who wants to evict a millionaire?” protest. For more coverage of the day’s event, see our video, Storify post and photo gallery
Budget 2013: a housing overview
Another year, another Budget. But what did it have in store for the housing market? On Wednesday chancellor George Osborne announced plans to help people get on or climb the property ladder by extending home-buying schemes, known as the Help to Buy scheme. What is…
Should we regulate the private rented sector? Part 1 of 3
On Tuesday Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North, sponsored an Early Day Motion calling for more regulation of the private rented sector. In inner city areas as many of a third of residents live in the private rented sector and Corbyn argued that this area…
A brief history of social housing
Why do we have social housing? What trends did it arise in response to? And how has it changed over the years? Take at look at our brief history of social housing. Think we’ve missed something? Comment below. By Sid Ryan Edited By…
Three London boroughs slash housing waiting lists by over 75%
Last month Social Housing Watch looked at the the latest release of Local Authority housing statistics. Further analysis shows that three London boroughs, Bromley, Barnet and Westminster have drastically revised their council housing waiting lists, cutting them by over 75%. Nationally, between 2001 and 2008,…
‘Why I bought my council house’
Two million people across the UK are estimated to have bought their council homes. Social Housing Watch spoke to one of them. Mahilal Kottegoda, 67, a retired electronics technician, moved to his council house in May 1981. But just as Mahilal was entering the public…
Right to Buy: Thatcher’s first divisive policy
Housing was the first of Margaret Thatcher’s major reforms. In December 1979, six months after coming into power, her government published its Housing Bill. Its most striking proposal was that council tenants should be able to buy their homes at well below the market value.…