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Nouse News
Spring 2021




*Note: this bulletin was sent to subscribers on 19.03.21 incorrectly entitled draft. Apologies for any confusion caused.*

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Welcome to the Spring 2021 edition of Nouse News, the quarterly newsletter of the Nottingham housing network, facilitated by Nottingham City Council's Housing Strategy team.

If you're a local organisation with an article you'd like us to share in our next issue please email [email protected]?

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Budget takeaways for housing

budget

All eyes were on a Covid-related budget earlier this month and support for housing was in the mix.? The two key takeaways were:


* Extension of the Stamp Duty holiday to 30th June 2021 ? a nil rate remains in place for property purchases under ?500k tapering down to ?250k by 30th September
* Mortgage Guarantee Scheme ? the government-backed scheme will help banks lend to more customers with a 5% deposit with many large banks already signed up.

Welfare policies that could play a part in helping people afford their housing also saw extensions including the Universal Credit uplift and furlough schemes.? Here?s the full list of measures announced Budget 2021: What you need to know - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) [ [link removed] ]


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Domestic Abuse Bill continues journey

The Domestic Abuse Bill has taken a step closer to becoming an Act of Parliament, moving to report stage at the House of Lords last week. The Bill will receive a third and final reading before any amendments are made and Royal Assent given.

The Bill places?legal duty on local authorities?in England to support survivors of domestic abuse and their children, and commissions safe accommodation and refuge. The duty will also ensure local authorities?prioritise homeless survivors?of domestic abuse when providing homelessness assistance.

Juno Women's Aid [ [link removed] ] are publishing fortnightly briefings on the Bill?s progress ? click here [ [link removed] ] to read them.

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Eviction ban extension announced

Eviction ban

An extension to the ban on evictions was announced last week with nearly all evictions paused until at least 31st May.? All section 21 evictions are on hold until after this date with the exception of cases where courts have already made orders due to rent arrears of at least 6 months or anti social behaviour.

Only a bailiff can legally carry out an eviction, even if a Section 21 notice ? the most common route to eviction - has expired. Read the government announcement of the ban extension here [ [link removed] ].



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Accreditation ? recognising good landlords, giving confidence to renters

Accreditation

Nottingham has two thriving rented accommodation accreditation schemes: Decent and Safe Homes (DASH), and Unipol, which applies to student housing.

Being accredited enables a landlord to show that they are managing and maintaining their properties well. Members of the schemes are able to access training and support which can help to navigate the very complex business of renting out homes. It gives confidence to renters that their home is safe and well managed.

Both schemes work alongside the City Council?s licensing schemes. If a landlord is accredited it means less work for the licensing teams when it comes to compliance and enforcement, and because of this it is possible to offer a reduction on the licence fee.

Membership of either scheme means that a landlord is achieving the Nottingham Standard for private rented housing.? Visit the following pages to find out more:
[link removed] [ [link removed] ]
www.unipol.org.uk/code [ [link removed] ]


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Good performance on EPCs for Nottingham

epcs

Back in September the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government?released local authority level data [ [link removed] ] on the percentage of homes with an Energy Performance Certificate with Nottingham coming out third highest of all areas in England and leading core cities with 71% of homes having an EPC.

The table above details ratings of the last batch of EPCs issued in the PRS (September) which saw over half rated C or B and only 1 in 10 rated below a D. The Minimum Energy Efficiency Standard for renting requires properties to have A-E ratings, unless specifically exempt, and is currently being reviewed by government for?potential movement up to a minimum C or D.


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National fuel poverty level reduces

According to recently released government data for 2019 fuel poverty fell to 13.4% nationally, but to only 13.9% in the East Midlands. 2.6% of those experiencing fuel poverty lived in homes rated F & G (very poor) for energy efficiency.? Local authority level information will be published on 29th April.

Fuel poverty for 2019 was determined by a new Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) methodology therefore is not directly comparable with previous years. Click here [ [link removed] ] for the government report.

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VRTB Midlands pilot report published

vrtb

The Voluntary Right to Buy Midlands pilot ended in April last year and government recently published its final evaluation report. Nearly 2,000 Registered Provider (RP) homes were sold through the scheme with rates highest in the urban areas of Leicester, Derby & Nottingham.?

Less than 1.5% of stock belonging to RPs operating in the city was sold. Challenges include the suitability of ?ported? properties, which were less likely to proceed to sale, and the identification of land on which to build replacement housing.

Click here [ [link removed] ] for the full evaluation report.


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Tuntum helps residents stay safe, well & happy

BAME tuntum

Local social housing provider Tuntum [ [link removed] ] have been awarded nearly ?100,000 from the Lottery Coronavirus Community Support Fund to deliver its Stay Safe, Stay Well, Stay Happy project.

The funding will be used to deliver vital support services to the provider?s older Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) residents in Nottingham, helping then to effectively manage anxiety, depression and other mental health problems associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, stay physically active, and connect with other people to maintain or improve their health and wellbeing.

The project will be delivered in partnership with a range of local services including Radford Care Group, Willows Day Service, Albany House Day Service, and Ukrainian Day Centre. Full article here [ [link removed] ]


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Clarion recognised for LGBTQ+ work

Clarion Housing Group [ [link removed] ],?a registered provider of social housing in Nottingham, has been accredited by the highest possible Pledge Status by HouseProud [ [link removed] ], the network group for LGBTQ+ people working in social housing.

Clarion was one of two housing associations to achieve Pledge Plus status and secured this by actively working with its LGBTQ+ residents on issues they chose to explore and review.? Read more here [ [link removed] ]

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NCH use drones to assess roof condition

Aspley roofs

As an innovative and cost saving way of inspecting roofs of council homes Nottingham City Homes [ [link removed] ] have for the first time carried out inspections on some of its properties using drones.?

Not only is this modern way of inspection quicker and more cost effective, there is no need to use scaffolding and the process is less invasive for tenants.

The first drone inspection was piloted on a property with a water leak in Bulwell and the company plans to carry out more inspections in this innovative way.? Read more here [ [link removed] ]



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Nouse News Specialist Housing
Covid policies drive down rough sleeping

sot card

The latest national rough sleeping annual snapshot data [ [link removed] ] was released on 25th February which showed a national decline, no doubt heavily impacted by the government?s ?Everyone In? policy at the beginning of the pandemic and subsequent funding streams specifically to assist rough sleepers.?

Although Nottingham?s snapshot figure (taken in early November) actually rose by 1 to 31 it should be noted that the count was undertaken immediately prior to implementation of additional rough sleeper accommodation provision in the city. A much lower number of 9 active rough sleepers was reported following the latest monthly headcount, carried out on the morning of 12th March. If you see a rough sleeper please inform the Street Outreach Team [ [link removed] ]


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Housing to Health scheme to continue

A local scheme supporting people to leave hospital safely has been given further funding to continue.? The Housing to Health (H2H) project is run between partners Nottingham City Homes, Nottingham City Council, Nottingham & Notts CCG and local NHS hospitals.

The project?s key aims are to ease the strain on the health service by providing suitable homes to speed up a patient's discharge from hospital and direct people at risk of being admitted to hospital due to their poor living conditions into good quality homes.

H2H has been in place since 2015 and has seen over 450 rehoused into suitable social housing so far.? Read more here [ [link removed] ]

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Vaccinations for vulnerable homeless people

vaccie

Due to recent government advice to include homeless people in JCVI priority cohort 6 the city council has been working with partners and housing providers to make sure those eligible are offered a? vaccination.

Public Health have worked with partners in health and local homelessness organisations to develop a plan including specific clinics as well as access to vaccination at our main city vaccination sites. ?The clinics, provided by the GP Alliance and the Windmill Practice & supported by the Street Outreach Team and city council staff, ran over two weekends in March and saw some of our most vulnerable individuals provided with their first dose of the vaccine.?

Progress is being tracked to ensure those eligible have access to both first and second doses of the vaccine. ?We also hope to have use of a mobile unit in April 2021 and are looking at how that might help us provide access to the vaccine for anyone that has struggled so far.? Anyone with questions about accessing the vaccine for this group can contact Public Health for advice: [email protected].



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Nouse news housing market headlines
City prices up over 10% on previous year

UKHPI December 2020

According to the UK House Price Index [ [link removed] ], which uses Land Registry sale data, the average price of a home in Nottingham in December 2020 was?*?162,962*

This is a massive 10.4% annual growth increase, with both the county and East Midlands region also seeing strong performance at 10.6% and 9.5% respectively as areas outside of London continued to increase in popularity - a likely consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and desire for more & affordable space.

Two other English core cities experienced even higher yearly growth than Nottingham, with average prices in Leeds rising by 10.8% and Liverpool seeing an enormous 14.3% uplift.


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PRS rental price growth rate increases

Rental market

When Hometrack UK first started publishing its UK Rental Market reports [ [link removed] ] just over a year ago Nottingham topped the rankings of UK major cities for consecutive quarters before price growth began to fall. The pandemic and related restrictions appear to have the opposite effect of price growth in the rented market compared to the housing market boom.

Tying into a time when some restrictions had begun to ease however Nottingham posted a 4.1% yearly increase during Q4, up from 2.4% in the previous month. Only Newcastle and Belfast's rents rose at a higher pace.

While average rental prices cost ?33 less in the city than the rest of the UK (excluding London) another indicator showed Nottingham is becoming less affordable: an average single earner household in Nottingham can expect to spend 28.6% of their earnings on rent compared with 26.8% for the same household type in England, excluding London.


Nouse News Coming UP

Your round up of key dates and online events in the pipeline. <[email protected]>

*March*

15? Streetwise Opera online sessions [ [link removed] ] (until 23rd March)
18? Preparing for the Regulation of Property Agents [ [link removed] ]?free Goodlord webinar
22? Women in Construction ? Journey Into Construction [ [link removed] ]?Nottingham City Homes

*April*

? ? ?Level-Up fundraiser to help end digital exclusion among homeless young people [ [link removed] ]?
? ? ?Framework
01? Big Easter Sleepout (at home) [ [link removed] ] homelessness charity fundraiser
07? Future of the New Homes Bonus government [ [link removed] ] consultation response deadline
29? Cuckooing ? developing effective multi-agency responses to property take over and exploitation [ [link removed] ] free online workshop from Nottingham PDU

*May*

7? Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive: ensuring a stable scheme [ [link removed] ]: government consultation response deadline
31 Eviction ban due to end [ [link removed] ]

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