Grenfell five years on - Could it happen again? by The Housing Podcast

Over the past year the issue of disrepair in social housing properties has risen in prominence to become one of the country’s key social issues. This has been brought to light by the long-term ITV News investigation which has featured cases where residents have been living in appalling conditions.

These case studies have painted a picture where tenants have been ignored by their landlords for months and sometimes years.

This has been matched by a huge uptake in disrepair claims facing social landlords. In this episode of the Housing Podcast, Inside Housing’s Jack Simpson and Grainne Cuffe ask: what is behind the rising number of disrepair claims being brought against social landlords?

They are joined by:

- Kwajo Tweneboa, social housing activist

- Giles Peaker, partner at Anthony Gold and co-author of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

- Justin Bates, barrister at Landmark Chambers and co-author of the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018

- Dorota Pawlowski, managing associate at Trowers & Hamlins

When the Conservative Party was elected in late 2019, its manifesto included a pledge to end rough sleeping in England by 2024. No one could have predicted that the government would come close to fulfilling this promise just a few months later when it attempted to house all rough sleepers at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Everyone In initiative, as it came to be known, raised hopes that ending rough sleeping in England was within grasp. But now, almost two years after the UK entered its first lockdown, many have returned to the streets and that early pandemic optimism feels like a distant memory.

In this episode of The Housing Podcast, Inside Housing’s Jack Simpson and Lucie Heath ask: is the government on track to end rough sleeping by 2024?

They are joined by:

- Dr Lígia Teixeira, chief executive at the Centre for Homelessness Impact

- Jasmin Basran, policy and parliamentary affairs manager at Crisis

- Paul Atherton, filmmaker and homelessness campaigner

With national lockdowns hopefully a thing of the past and the sector hopefully edging back slowly to business as usual, the next 12 months will be crucial for providers to make up for lost time. However, the challenges are vast. With the building safety crisis, net zero challenges, decisions over rent rises and a social housing bill on the way, it will be an interesting 12 months for the sector. So, with that to look forward to we have brought together the whole Inside Housing newsteam to discuss what we have coming up

This week chancellor Rishi Sunak stood in parliament to deliver his Spending Review and Budget. Speaking on Wednesday he looked to set out a post-pandemic plan for the country, but where does housing fit into this? Today on The Housing Podcast we analyse what the chancellor said and assess the impact it may have for the sector.

The party conference season is over and Labour and the Conservatives have set out their political intentions for the coming 12 months. Today on The Housing Podcast Inside Housing's news team assesses the political housing landscape and discusses where both parties stand on housing issues and what we can expect from them in the future.

In June 2019, parliament passed legislation committing the UK to becoming a net zero-carbon emitter by the year 2050. That presents a huge challenge to the housing sector, including social landlords, who now have less than 30 years to ensure their homes meet the necessary energy efficiency standards. And while the coronavirus pandemic has dominated minds for the past year, there is an increasing focus on how that challenge can be met. Inside Housing's Nat Barker and Lucie Heath are joined by Richard Lupo of SHIFT to discuss the issue in this episode of The Housing Podcast.

More people than ever are claiming benefits to help them survive the pandemic. But they are not receiving enough money to cover their housing costs. Why? The Housing Podcast is joined by Marc Francis of charity Z2K and Sam Lister from the Chartered Institute of Housing to discuss where the holes in the safety net are. Read more about this issue here: https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/insight/the-holes-that-must-be-fixed-in-our-benefits-safety-net-69171

In the final episode of 2020, The Housing Podcast looks back over the strangest of years. As well as delving into the major housing stories of the last 12 months, the team are quizzed on their knowledge of recent policy announcements and attempt to predict what lies in store for the sector in 2021.

Last week, the government published its long-awaited Social Housing White Paper. This 76-page document was born from the ashes of the Grenfell Tower fire; as it emerged that residents had tried unsuccessfully to raise safety concerns before the disaster, it became clear to ministers that the system to ensure landlords hear their tenants had failed with the worst possible consequences. Nearly three and a half years on from the fire, and more than two years on from its green paper precursor, the Social Housing White Paper presents a “charter” intended to ensure residents are treated with the respect they deserve, backed by an overhaul of consumer regulation. In this episode of The Housing Podcast, the team sifts through the details of the white paper and discusses whether it merits the long wait.