This article from Reading Chronicle provides some statistics on the research conducted by Environet and YouGov. It seems that despite all the negative media coverage on Japanese knotweed and the damage it can cause, it hasn’t deterred a third of those looking to buy in the UK. This is a promising statistic, as Japanese knotweed is thought to affect 5% of all properties in the UK. The article also describes how Simon Harper from Reading bought a property with a large infestation, agreed a lower purchase price and commissioned an excavation and a root barrier to prevent the plant encroaching from next door. What sort of discount are people after, you may ask? Well, out of those who would proceed at a reduced rate, 26% would expect a discount of 6 – 10 per cent on the price, while 15% would proceed with a discount of only 1 – 5 per cent. Click here to read more.

The gable wall of an end terrace house in Rugby has completely collapsed. Having read several articles on the matter, we understand that there were building works underway on a neighbouring property and on Tuesday afternoon, prior to the whole gable wall collapsing, part of the rear wall had collapsed (photo A below). The area was subsequently cordoned off and thankfully no-one was hurt. It was at 2am on Wednesday morning when the entire gable wall collapsed, revealing the interior from the outside street below (photo B).  
Photo A 

Photo B |Credit: BPM Media

You can read more on the story here.
It seems there has been a few instances like this. This story from The Standard reports that a house in Hamstead collapsed from roof to basement in 2018. It was understood to be undergoing renovations also.

 Read this story about a £1 million house which collapsed during works to add a basement. Although it hasn't deterred the owner who is attempting to build the house again after knocking it down completely following the collapse.

The trend in these catastrophes certainly seems to be homes undergoing renovations, or at least next door to homes undergoing renovations. It's reported that the tenant of the  collapse from Tuesday said no one is accepting liability and that their landlord is "confused what is covered by his building insurance and the contractor doesn't want to accept liability". We can imagine the situation is very stressful for the tenants and landlord, it's not something you would expect to happen at all. We will be interested to find out more about the cause once the investigations have been carried out.

It's Friday the 13th, and did you know that houses numbered 13 could potentially put people off buying and even reduce the value of the property. This article lists 10 turn offs to prospective buyers that could potentially cause the house value to drop. As well as houses numbered 13, other turn offs include evidence of pets (despite 45% of us in the UK owning a pet), illegal improvements and even swimming pools! This article suggests that number 13 could result in a £9,000 reduction of the average house price! Do the valuers and estate agents reading agree? Read more here.  

Did you catch the itv tonight programme ‘Britain’s New Build Nightmares’? From blocked drainage requiring weekly maintenance to missing insulation and lack of fire protection, new homes are being found to lack basic minimum standards. Managing Director of Snagaroo,  Paul Frost, inspects a £500,000 new build property and finds 363 snagging issues ranging from loose lead, weak mortar and even ridge tiles with unsatisfactory clips! It may not come as a surprise but 99% of new home owners report snags or defects to builder after moving in. You can catch the full programme here - you just need to sign  up for a free itv account.

Developed by BRE, the Home Quality Mark (HQM) rates the standard of new homes based on construction quality, design and running costs. This will include an assessment of the comfort  provided by the living space, the health and wellbeing benefits and the ability of the home to cope with the changing climate and environmental impact. You can read more about the HQM here.

BRE have recently released details of the first Build to Rent development to achieve certification. Covering 479 homes in the Walthamstow area, it was developed by Legal & General and constructed by Galliford Try Partnership. Achieving the HQM should build a level of trust from landlords and the public in the build quality, running costs and comfort of these homes. They should help to alleviate concerns about fuel poverty and also appeal to anyone concerned about their environmental impact. To find out more about the certification of this development click here.

This article from the BBC makes for an interesting read, focusing mainly on the story of house buying from 1968 and covering each decade through to 2009. The trip back in time provides an insight into how the changing economy affected house prices,  interest rates, the ability to buy, employment and even the price of a pint of milk. In 1970 a third of all UK homes were council properties and getting a council house wasn’t the impossible task it has become now. We can however, at least be grateful that we have more than 3 TV channels to choose from today! Read more here.

The National Landlords Association (NLA) and the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) have announced that following the endorsement of both boards, they will be putting a vote to their members this month (September) for a merger of the two organisations. Should the plan be accepted, the newly named 'National Residential Landlords Association' or NRLA, will go live in early 2020.

A combination of the NLA and RLA will result in a membership of over 80,000 landlords who account for around 10% of the private rented stock in England & Wales. It seems that having run the two organisations side by side in competition for a number of years, they hope to achieve a stronger voice to government and on behalf of their members. You can read more about the announcement here.

• Moisture Balancing Act
• Unsafe Gas Installations
• Finding and Converting Leads
• SAP 10 – Heating Patterns
• Septic Tanks Discharging to Surface Water

The latest Technical Bulletin for residential surveyors is now available here. Please note; to download and view the full bulletin, you will need to be logged in to Sava EDGE. If you are not already logged in, please click here to log in. If you do not yet have an account, please click here to register. This bulletin aims to bring you quality technical information that will help you in your day to day work and includes articles on the following:

Moisture Balancing Act
In this article, James Berry from the Property Care Association looks at the considerations for surveyors when it comes to moisture related issues such as condensation and mould.
Read more here.

Japanese Knotweed – Where are we now?
Dr Dan Jones, Managing Director of Advanced Invasives and Honorary Researcher at Swansea University, takes stock of where we are with Japanese knotweed following the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report and considers how our approach to knotweed may change in the future.
Read more here.

Unsafe Gas Installations
In this article, Andy Flook reviews Regulation 29 and Appendix 5 of the ‘Gas industry unsafe situations procedure’ and gives some examples of unsafe gas installations.
Read more here.

Finding and Converting Leads
Matt Nally, founder of Survey Booker and Surveyors Near Me, has helpfully put together three simple steps that could help boost your leads and increase your conversion rates with hardly any cost involved. The article includes quick tips, tricks and knowledge and is broken down into bite-sized, digestible pieces.
Read more here.

Changes to Heating Patterns in SAP 10
Dr Lisa Blake explains the changes to the heating patterns in SAP 10, which will eventually supersede SAP 2012.
Read more here.

Septic Tanks Discharging to Surface Water
This article describes how septic tanks work and the general binding rules in relation to septic tanks discharging to surface water.

Read more here. 

The overall level of satisfaction with the quality of housing in the UK has reduced over the past 5 years. This is according to ‘The Homeowners Survey 7^th Annual Report’, which found that 63% of adults felt this was becoming a serious problem and it is the fastest rising issue. A high proportion of new-build home owners feel the snagging process is not properly resolved, and almost nine in ten support a snagging retention fee until housebuilders rectify faults.
It’s not all bad news however, more positive results in some areas suggest there is a certain level of confidence returning in the ability to get a mortgage and being able to move up the property ladder. Read more from HomeOwners Alliance here.

A council tenant has been evicted and fined over £100,000 for renting out his council flat in Victoria, London on Airbnb. Airbnb is an online marketplace where ‘hosts’ can advertise their space for guests to stay and it seems the tenant has had the council flat advertised on Airbnb since 2013 and has received more than 300 reviews, Westminster City Council confirmed. This should be a warning to anyone who is abusing the system, especially given the shortage of council homes currently available for those in need. More than 100,000 children are living in temporary accommodation according to this article we previously posted about. Read more about the story here.

Experts state that more than 100 more tower blocks still have unsafe combustible cladding when they were previously believed to be safe. The cladding on the new blocks is high-pressure laminate (HPL)  which can be made of wood and paper and experts, including chair of the National Fire Chiefs Council, said that following fire tests it had become clear that many HPL panels were “very unlikely to adequately resist the spread of fire”.

The average cost for replacing each household being at least £20,000 and this article from futurebuild suggests there is no sign the government is planning a bailout meaning there will be new rows over who pays the bill. However, in May the government released a press release saying they will fund and speed up vital cladding replacement for 170 privately owned high-rise buildings with a £200 million fund. So perhaps they will take a similar approach with the newly discovered blocks with unsafe cladding? Read more here.

During the first half of 2019, a rise in the value of UK homes added £60 billion to our housing stock. This is an average of £11 per day for an average home, although this average comes from a wide spectrum in trends. For example, West Midlands averaged a £36.58 per day increase and London saw a fall of £71.23 per day. The table below is an interesting insight.

Source: Zoopla

You can find out more about these valuation trends around the country by reading the article from Nicky Burridge in Zoopla here.

According to the BCIS Private Housing Construction Price Index, housebuilding costs for Quarter 1 2019 are up by 4.3% compared to Q1 in 2018. 

81% of private housebuilders' confirmed costs increased. Of those;

•  50%  stated labour and material had increased;
• 29% said that labour increased and;
•  21% said material cost rises was the cause.  

The most common materials that were reported to increase were plasterboard and insulation.

 You can read more about housebuilders costs and inflation on the RICS website here.

It won’t come as a surprise to say there is a housing crisis in this country and everyone is aware of the need to build more affordable homes to ease the pressure. According to Adam Cunningham, managing director of Public Sector plc, numbers have dropped substantially over the years. In 1953 local authorities built nearly a quarter of a million homes in one year, but by 2004 this had dropped by more than 99%. There is a sense of urgency around the need to deliver new housing and many local authorities have set up Local Housing Companies (LHC) to build new homes for private affordable rent. The benefit for the local authorities here is that these homes cannot be sold at a discounted rate under the Right to Buy scheme. Some LHCs intend to construct modular homes which are suited to fulfilling the large scale and fast turnaround requirements. Another has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon new builds by 2028. To find out more, read Adam Cunningham’s article here. 

Following our news post on 100 years of council housing, be sure to catch George Clarke’s programme on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. He is campaigning to build over 100,000 high-quality, low carbon council houses every year for the next 30 years to replace all of the state housing that has been lost, either through Right to Buy or passed to housing associations. Only 2 million homes are now under council control compared to 6 million in 1980. We are in the biggest housing crisis the country has ever seen and George Clarke intends to start a housing revolution! Read more here.

The 1919 Housing and Town Planning Act (also known as the Addison Act) was signed into law 100 years ago today on 31 July 1919.

It was one of the most significant pieces of domestic legislation passed after the First World War and created a comprehensive, nationwide system of public housing provision for the first time, paid for largely by central government and delivered by local authorities and Public Utility Societies (Housing Associations in today’s terminology). It was also known as the Addison Act after  Dr Christopher Addison, the Minister for Housing at the time.

Social housing has seen many changes over the years, this article by UWE, looks at the history of social housing and its drivers. Read more here.

A petition has been started in an to attempt to get the government to look at removing VAT on deep retrofit/eco refurbishment building work on all homes. This could act as an incentive to homeowners to carry out retrofit works that could improve the performance of the building. The idea was explored in a report in July 2013 by the Green Building Council called ‘Retrofit Incentives’. A section of the report discussed reduced VAT for energy efficiency and highlighted that reduced or zero rates of VAT are often applied to goods and services that are considered to be essential or of social benefit. Five per cent VAT already applies to conversion work and renovations to residential properties which have been empty for more than two years and already applies to some energy-saving measures. The petition hopes to readdress the matter and you can find more details and sign the petition here.

The Open Communities EPC dataset has proved to be a valuable source of information about the energy efficiency of housing. This has recently been updated as previously the data only included EPCs produced up until December 2016. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have said:
“Just over two years ago, we published Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) data as an open dataset, along with tools for browsing, searching and downloading the data. The three datasets (Domestic, Non-domestic and Display Energy Certificates) have been well-used, and have stimulated discussion throughout the open data community, and beyond. We have now updated those datasets, so the site currently contains energy performance data up to 31 May 2019. You can access the new data at https://epc.opendatacommunities.org/”

The intention is to update the data more regularly and initially, publication will be two to four times a year. To view the data, you simply need to sign up using your email address and follow the link in the email received. You can specify certain criteria and the results can be downloaded and viewed in a spreadsheet. With the additional EPC data, there are now over 18 million EPC datasets available to bulk download. Click here to register.

A 5-year plan of action is being proposed by The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in response to a declared state of climate emergency. RIBA held a council meeting where it was decided to work towards alleviating the role that architects play in causing climate change.  A report from Chatham House recently revealed that 8% of the world's carbon emissions are from concrete's main ingredient, cement (the chemical and thermal combustion process involved produces large amounts of CO2). The purpose of the 5-year plan is to make sustainable practices standard within the architecture industry, lobby the government to improve policy and reduce RIBA’s own carbon footprint. Read more from futurebuild here.

The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has warned Government that an over-reliance on traditional building methods will see the UK fall far short of its target to build 300,000 new homes a year by mid-2020s.  In a report published on 3 July, the Committee urges the Government to act quickly to increase capacity and improve investor confidence to ‘unlock the potential’ for modern methods of construction (MMC) to build homes quicker, more cheaply, while maintaining build quality. Read more here.
You may also find our articles on Structurally Insulated Panels (SIPS) and Modern Methods of Construction interesting.

In a recent speech given at the Bank of Portugal, Sir Jon Cunliffe, Deputy Governor Financial Stability at the Bank of England, explained what the Bank has done to learn and to institutionalise some of the lessons of the financial crisis of 2008. He paid particular attention to the evolution of the new, statutory Committee of the Bank, the Financial Policy Committee (FPC) that was established in 2013 and charged with maintaining financial stability in the UK.

The speech explains the approach the bank has taken to manage the stability of the housing market. It's an interesting read for surveyors and valuers.

Read more here.

The latest ECO (Energy Companies Obligation) has been released and responses are required by 6 August 2019.

The consultation proposes to incorporate the TrustMark Government Endorsed Quality Scheme into ECO3, to ensure the relevant PAS standards are adhered to. This should improve the quality of installations of energy efficient measures.

The consultation also includes some changes to the scheme itself, focusing on First Time Central Heating (FTCH) including:

• Removal of the 400% uplift in the scores for boiler replacements outside of the broken heating system cap of 35,000 per year. This is to encourage the installation of insulation and FTCH
• Increasing the lifetime (used to calculate the ECO scores) for FTCH, to reflect the fact that a heating system would generally last longer than the 12 years expected for the boiler/heat generator of the system
• Including FTCH in the eligible measures for F & G Private Rented Sector (PRS) homes. Currently, F & G PRS homes are only eligible for renewable heating or solid wall insulation measures under ECO3. Now that the cap for the landlord contribution under MEES (Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards) has been set at £3,500, ECO3 will include FTCH as the average cost of installing FTCH is above £3,500
• Extend the in-fill under LA-Flex (Local authority flexible eligibility) to include FTCH. LA-Flex was introduced to allow installation of solid wall insulation into homes where the inhabitants do not meet the ECO3 eligibility criteria, but their neighbours do. This allowed for economies of scale and made project more viable. There is a similar argument for economies of scale when connecting properties to the gas network.

You can read the full consultation and respond here.

It has been reported in Architects Journal that building control is at a crisis point as building inspectors are struggling to find appropriate insurance cover and many private building inspectors have stopped practicing and are referring work to competitors or local authorities (see a statement from approved inspector Aedis as an example). A spokesperson for the Association of Consultant Approved Inspectors (ACAI) said: ‘Statutory regulations on professional indemnity and public liability insurance are currently excessively stringent, meaning many insurers are unwilling to provide cover for inspectors. This is creating a crisis point within the building control industry.

’Urgent consideration is needed from the government to attempt to resolve the situation before large numbers of firms of all sizes are forced to cease trading. Failure to act will severely curtail the industry’s capability to sign off safe buildings.’

Will this result in a rise of buildings with dangerous defects? Read more here.

RICS have published an insight paper discussing the opportunities, rapidly developing applications and compliance challenges when using drones in the surveying industry. It looks at regulatory issues on a national and international level which impact the technology's integration into widespread use in the land, property and construction sectors. Read more here.

In an aim to tackle unfair leasehold practices and protect future buyers from ‘exploitative arrangements’, the government have confirmed that all new-build houses are to be sold as freehold and ground-rents on new leases will be reduced to £0. In his speech at the recent CIH Conference, housing secretary James Brokenshire confirmed the plans that will put cash back into the pockets of future home owners. Also, in a bid to stop freeholders and managing agents prolonging the process of providing leaseholders the information they require to sell their home, and charging what they want for it, ministers will introduce a new time limit of 15 working days and a maximum fee of £200+VAT. In addition, it was announced that if buyers are incorrectly sold a leasehold home, they will be able to get their freehold outright at no extra cost. 

Click here to read the press release and here to read the consultation document.

Have you ever come across a brick façade like this on your travels?

The fancy jewel-like façade is located in Amsterdam’s high-end shopping street PC Hooftstraat and the current tenants of the building are luxury goods manufacturer Hermès. Designed by Dutch design company MVRDV in 2016, the project is called Crystal Houses and the intention was for a distinctive store front without compromising on the historical character. The bricks have been replaced by a glass replica and dissolve into the traditional bricks on the upper level. You can read more and look in awe at the photos here. The previous tenants were designer brand Chanel and the original article from 2016 can be found here which explains more detail about the construction method.

So, is anyone up for the challenge of calculating the heat losses of the wall?

With Climate Change in the news and high on the agenda, this guide from Historic England provides information on installing solar photovoltaic panels on historic buildings. The guide gives advice on how to minimise potential damage to the fabric of the building as well as how to reduce the visual impact. It is part of a series of guides produced by Historic England to promote sympathetic, energy efficiency improvements in older buildings.

You can download ‘Historic England 2018. Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings: Solar Electric (Photovoltaics). Swindon: Historic England’ here.

Photo credit: © St Anns Gate Architects

UK Finance recently released data for 2018 that demonstrated a 13% decrease in the stock of outstanding interest-only mortgages to under 1.5 million loans. The reduction is partly a result of the loans coming to the end of term with borrowers redeeming on schedule and from redemptions ahead of original mortgage term. This latter reason is, according to UK Finance,  in large part due to the industry’s commitment to contact all interest-only customers to ensure they are aware of the need to repay – and have the viable means to do so. Read more here.
 

Just in case you haven't yet participated in the RICS consultation on the new mandatory Home Survey Standard, you can do so here. The consultation invites both consumers and residential professionals to have their say and it is hoped that the new standard will offer better protection for buyers and sellers and to avoid confusion around survey types and standardise offerings. 

To participate follow this link to the RICS website.

Did you know that the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ is the 11^th largest mortgage lender in the UK? This is according to research from Legal & General and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. They forecast that parents and grandparents will contribute to the purchase of around £70 billion worth of property this year. Nigel Wilson, group Chief Executive at L&G believes thousands of new affordable homes are needed to change this. You can read more about that here. In fact, it would appear that the number of homes built by government schemes is increasing, such as shared ownership, rent to buy and affordable rented schemes. It comes after some significant decreases in numbers in previous years. You can read more about this here.

With the leadership change and BREXIT on the horizon, the UK is facing economic uncertainty. Numerous studies have taken place to try to predict how BREXIT will impact the economy in the longer term. The projections vary quite widely, some predicting it will boost the economy, others suggesting it will reduce it. So, how will all this affect the housing market? Perhaps all we know, is that time will tell. However, what we can do is look at how it has performed since the referendum took place, read more from Which? here.

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in herbicides such as ‘RoundUp’, has been the subject of headlines in recent years because of claims that it has caused cancer to consumers who used products containing the ingredient. An article recently published by The Ecologist, explains the risks to consumer health, how to reduce them and the environmental impact associated to RoundUp. More than 13,400 cancer patients have filed lawsuits against the owning company Monsanto (which was acquired by Bayer AG in 2018) following a case where $78.5 million in damages was awarded to a school groundskeeper in California. The herbicide is also used on agricultural farm land and a German study found glyphosate residue can reach animals via feed and glyphosate found in animal tissue was considered “alarming”, even at low concentrations. Several countries have restricted Glyphosate and RoundUp such as Vietnam, the Czech Republic and Italy. As glyphosate is used to help control Japanese knotweed, restrictions in the UK could cause a huge imapact on the Japanese knotweed industry and those affected by Japanese knotweed in their homes. Read the article here.

The buy-to-let market has seen a great deal of regulatory change recently; HMO licensing, minimum space requirements and minimum energy efficiency standards are just some of these changes. Of course Brexit is another issue that has caused some uncertainty. The general consensus was that the combination of all these factors would negatively impact the market. And, yet despite all of this, the buy-to-let market appears to be doing very well. Is the buy-to-let market a money spinner for Residential Surveyors?
 To find out more about the recent trends in the buy-to-let market click here.

With lenders constantly looking for ways to reduce costs and speed up the process of buying a home, the Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) continue to play their part in helping the lender achieve this. The question remains as to how this affects the work of surveyors in the future. Read what Mike Holden, Managing Director of Landmark Valuation Services had to say on the matter here.

Did you know that we spend 90% of our lives in buildings? With that in mind, Biophilia (the term used to describe our urge to affiliate with other forms of life) office designs are becoming more and more popular. This article from office designers Morgan Lovell explains that “Recent studies have found a positive impact between biophilic elements (such as the presence of plants and exposure to natural light) and employee wellbeing and productivity”. Biophilic office design can make staff less stressed and promote wellbeing at work because our bodies react positively to exposure to light from the increase in melatonin produced and plants reduce the amount of carbon dioxide from the air which makes us more alert. It is emphasised you do not need to completely overhaul your office design but you could perhaps add some office pot plants which can help, and why not keep those blinds open? We’re certainly in favour of it.

BEIS have announced they plan to implement the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) following the publication of their response to the consultation (read more here).

The Smart Export Guarantee will place a legal obligation on suppliers with over 150,000 customers  to introduce export tariffs. Following in the footsteps of the Feed-in Tariffs scheme (closed in March 2019), the SEG will enable small scale producers of electricity to sell their excess back to the grid. One of the key differences between the SEG and the FIT export tariff, is that the SEG must be metered, the FIT export tariff deemed 50% was exported. 

You can read the press release here.

The temporary rules that allowed larger single-storey rear extensions to be built without planning permission have now been made permanent. Previously, single-storey rear extensions could not extend by more than four metres for a detached house and three metres for any other house. This has permanently increased to double that and is now eight metres for a detached house and six metres for any other house. These larger extensions are still subject to the neighbour consultation scheme, so homeowners must notify the local authority who will consult neighbours who can raise objections if they wish and the local authority will review. Read more from the Planning Portal.  

- Going Off the Gas Grid

- Exploring Leasehold Property

- Thinking About Nuisance

- SAP 10: Hot Water Calculations

- Helpful Processes for Complaints and Claims

The latest Technical Bulletin for residential surveyors published jointly by Sava and BlueBox is now available here. Please note; you will need to be logged in to Sava EDGE to download a copy. If you are not already logged in, please click here to log in. If you do not yet have an account, please click here to register.

This bulletin aims to bring you quality technical information that will help you in your day to day work and includes articles on the following:

Going Off the Gas Grid

This article considers the recommendation from the Committee on Climate Change to ban gas from new-build properties from 2025, as well as the alternative suggestions and incentives for change.

Exploring Leasehold Property

This article explains what you need to know about leasehold properties following the recent report from Propertymark that found 94% of leasehold homeowners regret buying a leasehold.

Thinking About Nuisance

Following the opinion published by RICS regarding nuisance caused by the presence of combustible cladding on a neighbouring building, this article revisits the tort of nuisance and looks at some recent examples.

SAP 10: Hot Water Calculations

This article looks at the changes to the calculations for the hot water demand in the latest Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) developed by BRE. 

Helpful Processes for Complaints and Claims

We have put together some helpful tips and case studies to explain how your evidence and processes can help defend you in the event you receive a complaint or claim.

Mentoring a Sava Learner

Hilary Grayson explains what mentoring a Sava learner might entail and what to do if you are interested in mentoring.

To read the full bulletin, please click here to download a copy. You will need to log in or register to view the bulletin but it should only take a minute to create an account; we simply ask for your email address and name and we will never pass your details on to a third party. By signing up, not only will you have access to all editions of the Technical Bulletin, but you will have access to a growing library of technical information and news articles which are fully searchable.
If you have any queries regarding setting up your account, please contact our support team on 01908 442105 or at support@sava.co.uk

The UK House Price Index data for March shows that prices have fallen on average 0.2% compared to the previous month. Annually, there has been a price rise of 1.4%, making the average property value in the UK £226,798. It got us thinking, what could this kind of money could buy you…
 In London, you could get you this nicely presented 1 bedroom flat for £225k. In Doncaster, the same amount of money could buy this unique, 4-bed converted schoolhouse. Although, it wouldn’t quite bag you this Birkin handbag that sold for £236,750!

The government have stepped in and announced they will cover the £200 million cost of replacing the cladding on the 170 privately owned tower blocks that currently have the same type of cladding that caused the Grenfell Tower fire to spread so quickly, where the freeholder has failed to do so. Housing Secretary James Brokenshire said: "While some building owners have been swift to act, and I thank them for doing the right thing, I am now calling time on the delay tactics of others. If these reckless building owners won’t act, the government will."

Pemberstone, Aberdeen Asset Management, Barratt Developments, Fraser Properties, Legal & General and Mace and Peabody are those owners and developers who have willingly funded the replacement works on their blocks themselves.

It will be two years next month since the disaster happened, hopefully this news means those still living in blocks with unsafe cladding are a step closer to feeling safer in their homes. Press release here.

A recent article from the BBC explains that an investigation has found homes from well-known developers Persimmon Homes and Bellway Homes to have ‘potentially dangerous fire safety issues’.  A resident at one Persimmon Home Development in Exeter talks of a fire that started at ground level which spread up to the roof of the house and then to adjacent properties. It was this fire that triggered an inspection programme which found 650 homes in the South West region lacked correct fire barriers and subsequently, further inspections outside of the South West are being made and the company assure us that "if these inspections indicate that we need to inspect every timber frame property then we will do so."
 
 

Bellway Homes have also faced similar issues where inspections following a fire indicate that there are fire safety issues. The article quotes surveyor and expert witness Greig Adams who carried out checks: “What we've unfortunately found is that there are fire breach issues in every house we've looked at. It's a legal requirement that the cavity barriers are to be there. It's not optional- and with good reason: it saves lives". Click here to read the full story.

The Committee for Climate Change have today released their report on the UKs long-term emissions targets. This report was requested by the UK Government and proposes the UK should be net-zero greenhouse gases by 2050.

Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Greg Clark said: “Few subjects unite people across generations and borders like climate change and I share the passion of those wanting to halt its catastrophic effects.

One of our proudest achievements as a country is our position as a world-leader in tackling this global challenge, being the first country to raise the issue on the international stage, introduce long-term legally-binding climate reduction targets and cutting emissions further than all other G20 countries. Today’s report recognises the work we’ve done to lay the foundations to build a net zero economy, from generating record levels of low carbon electricity to our ambitious plans to transition to electric vehicles.

To continue the UK’s global leadership we asked the CCC to advise the Government on how and when we could achieve net zero. This report now sets us on a path to become the first major economy to legislate to end our contribution to global warming entirely.”

Read the report here.

The following article from RICS was quite an interesting read on money laundering and the UK property market. It explains a little bit about the draft ‘Registration of Overseas Entities’ bill, published in July 2018 and how this could help tackle the problem of overseas money laundering in the UK property market. The establishment of a register of overseas owners of property is welcomed by many, but there is a fine balance between acting against money laundering and keeping the UK an attractive proposition for overseas investment. You can read the full article here. 

The government have published a response to the recent consultation on electrical safety in the private rented sector.

It is clear that the government takes the safety of tenants very seriously and according to the document, the next steps will be introducing regulations that require landlords to have electrical installations in privately rented homes checked every five years and consider new guidance to determine who is competent to carry out the electrical safety inspection. Government states this will happen as soon as parliamentary time allows and will begin with just new tenancies. We’ll update you when we know more. 

The idea of floating cities has been raised at a UN roundtable, as explained in this article. It states that this may be a “viable” solution to issues such as climate change and the shortage of affordable housing. The concept is that each sustainable neighbourhood will be built on 156m wide hexagonal blocks and will have communal corners for food production and docking areas. Oceanix are looking to build the floating structures, designed by architect Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and they co-convened the meeting along with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Centre for Ocean Engineering and the Explorers Club, based in the USA. 

What do you think to the idea?

Read more here.

Credit: Oceanix - BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group

Our Managing Director Austin Baggett was recently quoted in an Estate Agent Today article where he explains the benefits from gaining an industry related qualification. Austin advises that being ‘ahead of the game’ and improving your skills before government reforms could generate higher fees for estate agents. He says "The government's plan to introduce a mandatory qualification highlights the value and importance of professional qualifications in our industry. A mandatory qualification will help consumers to identify the reputable agents in their area and avoid those that aren't offering the required level of service.

"However, more importantly, an additional industry qualification or diploma can help agents to provide a more comprehensive service, generate more income and differentiate themselves from competitors"

Read more here.

In this article from Housebuilder & Developer, it highlights that a recent report by New London Architecture says 2019 will be ‘The Year of the Tall Building’ in London, as 541 towers with at least 20 floors are planned to be built, providing up to 110,000 new homes. The article emphasises that whilst a lot of recent developments were in inner London and fell into the luxury development bracket, there will be more towers built in outer London, making for a more realistic price range for those wanting to get on the property ladder. Read more.

It’s Friday and for a bit of fun, check out this carnival inspired home that’s for sale in East Sussex for £1.5 million. Rightmove describe how it was formerly a Victorian bathhouse and has been renovated by the current owner and we agree that it’s certainly quirky! I wish I could fit a bowling alley in my living room…
Check it out here!

HSE have provided health and safety guidance on the risks of lone working. The information leaflet is aimed at those who employ or engage lone workers or self-employed people who work alone.

It covers;

• Is it legal to work alone and is it safe?
• Who are lone workers and what jobs do they do?
• How must employers control the risks?
• What must employers consult on?
• Which particular problems affect lone workers?
• Can one person adequately control the risks of the job?
• If a person has a medical condition are they able to work alone?
• Why is training particularly important for lone workers?
• How will the person be supervised?
• Monitoring
• What happens if a person becomes ill, has an accident, or there is an emergency?

Click here to read the guidance.  

Two property developers have been fined £18,000 for demolishing a bungalow which was being used as a roost for protected bats. The Court heard that experts reported there were Pipistrelle bats present however the demolition went ahead regardless. The Directors of Landrose Developments Ltd pleaded guilty to damaging or destroying the site and the Judge said "In my judgment, the act of demolition was clearly deliberate and flew in the face of advice and knowledge of the existence of the bat roost.

"The most obvious effect is local but it also has national implications because these bats are an endangered species by the very fact of being protected."

Read the story here.