
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
Looking at the Conservative’s latest proposal about shared ownership right to buy, where tenants have the right to purchase a 10% stake, concerns from associations about the impact that might have on their funding ability are well placed, given how funders currently treat shared ownership.
Housing associations are about housing those who are in the most housing need; if, given the stable home housing associations can provide, over time tenants have enough income to raise a mortgage, there are plenty of government initiatives to help them get on the housing ladder.
From my extensive experience of voluntary right to buy (VRTB), for many tenants raising a mortgage is going to be a struggle; so, in practice there are likely to be few takers. And for those who do take up the opportunity, they are likely to be “locked in” to their shared ownership lease, unable to increase their stake.
Given that locking in, assumptions lenders currently make about the numbers of shared owners who will staircase out would need to change, and I would hope with it would be their view on how much could be lent against the property. In a way, this is the creation of a new form of intermediate tenure.
For associations there will also be the challenge of improving the market for shared ownership resales (some might say though, that is long overdue). What would be disappointing is for these new shared owners to find they could only leave their homes by co-ordinating their sale with someone willing to purchase 100% of the property; resulting in a loss of much needed social housing.
If the aim of the policy is for tenants to have access to the wealth creation that traditionally has been home ownership, let’s blow the dust off equity stakes; remember the CIH’s “Homesave”? It isn’t about the mantra of homeownership; it is about sharing wealth creation opportunities with those who now have little chance of doing so.
Please contact Jonathan Cox.
Dementia currently affects 1 in 14 people in the UK. Many people will either know someone with dementia, have had to support and care for someone with dementia or have been diagnosed themselves.
The 2022 Code replaces the NHF Code of Conduct 2012 (the 2012 Code) and sets out the baseline standards that the NHF expects of its member registered providers (RPs).
The High Court has dismissed a challenge by the Police Superintendents’ Association to the closure of legacy public sector pension schemes.
In my recent blog, I said that we would be issuing a series of ebriefings and blogs highlighting issues with the Procurement Bill. This is the first of these.
Contractors and delivery partners are facing a ‘perfect storm’ in many cases with a number of factors directly impacting upon the profitability of their work.
Worker status, like Piers Morgan, is one of those things that we think has gone away and then it pops up again!
We are seeing a steady trickle of decisions focused around the issue of flexible working requests or employer requirements for changes to working patterns (both pre and post the pandemic).
For those of us who have endured a choppy cross channel journey, the mention of P&O Ferries will invoke some nauseous memories.
Successive generations have witnessed seismic shifts in the workplace; post-war it was the return of the soldiers and the impact on working women who had to work in their place.
In this podcast, Puja Desai interviews Kimberley Foster and discusses her experience with counselling. This is a really helpful podcast for anyone who has thought about counselling.