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Housing news

Housing associations could make localism happen, says think-tankThe government's localism plans could fail from lack of resources unless housing associations are included, the Respublica think-tank has warned. 27 November 2012
Local groups offered funds to end empty homes blightBidding has today opened for a £300m funding pot designed to get empty homes in England back into use. 26 November 2012
Councils want to borrow to build 60,000 homesHousing groups and councils have today called for borrowing powers to build 60,000 affordable homes, saying the investment would boost economic growth by 0.6%. 22 November 2012
Council finance changes could increase fraud risks, warns Audit CommissionNew Audit Commission chair Jeremy Newman has warned that reforms to local government finance could increase the risk of fraud to town halls. 08 November 2012
Housing Benefit cuts 'will create affordable homes crisis'Almost half of local authority areas in England could be short of affordable housing by 2017, auditors have warned. 01 November 2012
Local government pension funds 'should invest in housing'Local government pension funds should invest up to £10bn in new housing, a report from the Future Homes Commission said today. 26 October 2012
'Unsustainable' rent hikes threaten Housing Benefit reformsThe number of working people claiming Housing Benefit to subsidise their rent has almost doubled in the last three years, according to the National Housing Federation. 22 October 2012
Growth plan could 'undermine' planning system, warns LGACouncils have hit out at the government's latest proposals to reform the planning system, warning that moves to remove responsibility for decisions from town halls could 'undermine confidence' in rulings. 19 October 2012
Scrap planning relaxations, LGA tells governmentMinisters should scrap proposals to relax planning restrictions on house extensions, loft conversions and conservatories, the Local Government Association has said. 12 October 2012
PAC slams plan to pay for new homes through higher rentsThe government's welfare reforms could be undermined by plans to finance the construction of 80,000 new affordable homes through higher rents on the properties, the Public Accounts Committee warned today. 12 October 2012
Labour Party conference: councils should use HRA reforms to build more homesEd Miliband will lead moves to encourage Labour-led councils to build more homes under the new housing finance arrangements. 03 October 2012
Scots trust boosts affordable housingAffordable housing will be a priority for the Scottish Futures Trust in the next financial year, finance director Peter Reekie has told Public Finance. 02 October 2012
Build 100,000 more homes, says BallsShadow chancellor Ed Balls today called on the government to use the £4bn windfall from the sale of the next generation of mobile phone licences to build 100,000 new homes. 01 October 2012
Don't scrap affordable home deals in rural areas, says LGAThe Local Government Association has urged the government not to restrict rural councils' ability to extract affordable housing from developers. 12 September 2012
Affordable home quotas to be relaxedPrime Minister David Cameron today revealed a series of relaxations to planning rules to boost housebuilding, including removing developers' obligations to councils to provide affordable homes. 06 September 2012