housing

Social housing tenants face £1,000 a year average rent rise

The Local Government Association is urging new ministers to rethink the Pay to Stay policy which will require councils to charge some of their tenants higher rents from April 2017.

It comes as new analysis reveals today that more than 70,000 social housing tenants could face rent rise bills of an average £1,000 a year from next year under government plans to increase rents for those...

Work starts on Veterans’ Self-Build project in Plymouth

Planning permission was granted in April 2016 for the new development of 24 affordable homes on the site of the former St George’s Day Centre at George Place, Millbay. Interserve, the International Support Services and Construction Group, with a local office in Plymouth, have been appointed as main contractor and work is now underway. The affordable housing development will include 12 self-build...

Demand for land falls sharply in SW

A significant drop in demand for rural land was reported in H1 2016, and with continuing modest supply increases, expectations have been pushed further into negative territory. Across the country, 49% of contributors now expect prices to fall across all farm types over the coming year. Anecdotal evidence from respondents suggests that several factors are combining to dampen sentiment in the...

Third of working families in SW one pay cheque away from losing their home

Over a third of working families in the South West could not afford to pay their rent or mortgage for more than a month if they lost their job, new figures from Shelter reveal today.

With little or no personal savings to fall back on, the Shelter and YouGov study found that this means a staggering 318,000 working families in the region could be just one paycheque away from losing their...

Why a townhouse is the perfect place to live

While many different styles have come and gone over time, there are some things that simply stick around for a long period of time because they work - plain and simple. People like certain things not only because they make sense, but they are convenient, functional, and don’t need to be improved on. Those are the items that everyone continues to seek out, and they not only are highly desirable...

Housing Plymouth event returns

Housing Plymouth, Plymouth’s biggest housing event is coming back to the Piazza for a second year.

Housing Plymouth is a free open event, for anyone to come along and explore their housing options.

The housing market used to be simple, you either rented or you bought. However, there are new schemes and initiatives such as Help to Buy, Shared Ownership and Rent to Buy, which are...

Joined up approach by councils to plan for development

Three councils have teamed up to work on a Joint Local Plan to ensure future developments meet the needs of all residents.

Plymouth City Council, South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council are working together to prepare the Plymouth and South West Devon Joint Local Plan.

It brings together work that has previously been carried out separately by the three...

SW house prices set to falter

Near term expectations for South West house prices turned slightly negative for the first time since 2013 according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey.

The survey shows house prices in central London falling while prices are continuing to climb modestly across the rest of the UK. In the South West 25% more respondents said prices had...

Charity receives funding to help city homeless

A charity dedicated to helping the homeless will be able to provide homes to rent thanks to Plymouth City Council’s innovative Social Enterprise Investment Fund.

PATH, Plymouth Access to Housing has been awarded £127,500 under the fund to enable the charity to buy and lease properties.

The fund means the charity can expand its offer to help the homeless in Devon by providing...

SW housing market dips for first time in 13 months

Interest from South West house buyers has dropped for the first time since February 2015 according to the latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Residential Market Survey.

Following the buy-to-let rush that preceded the 1 April tax rise deadline and with increased uncertainty surrounding the upcoming EU referendum interest from buyers dropped in April with 17% more...

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