London and Quadrant, the largest housing authority in the UK, has selected SmartShare as their outsourcing partner for their social housing portfolio.

A2Dominion, one of the largest housing authorities in the UK, is outsourcing all of their property portfolio to SmartShare Group, the leading provider of consulting, IT and outsourcing solutions to Local Authorities.

Coast and County is firmly supporting the Empty Homes initiative by funding and supporting nine unemployed people in Teesside to learn new skills and help renovate ten homes in its first year (with an additional ten to follow).

The scheme will use landlord owned empty properties in the Redcar and Cleveland borough who will be offered a refurbishment package in return for leasing the property to Coast and Country.

The first property, at Park Terrace in Brotton, has been completed, with two more underway in nearby Marske.

“This scheme operates on two important levels,” said Iain Sim, Chief Executive at Coast & Country. “One is to help people learn construction skills to help improve their chances of finding work and the other is to make more affordable housing available to Redcar and Cleveland residents.

The scheme was made possible by a £250,000 investment from the Homes and Communities Agency.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps has announced that housing associations will be able to offer an additional Affordable Rent option to new tenants.

The Affordable Rent option will be in the form of a fixed term tenancy with a rent level higher than social rent (landlords are allowed to set rents up to 80 per cent of local market rents). Landlords will be able to offer the new tenancies in return for investment agreements, which will enable them to raise funds to build more affordable housing. The new flexible tenancies will only be applicable to vacant social rent properties and only after they have reached an investment agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency about how additional rental income will be reinvested in delivering new affordable housing.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said:

As part of the new measures to address the affordable homes shortage, housing associations will be able to offer flexible tenancies and deliver more affordable homes.

The additional option to be known as Affordable Rent will be offered to new tenants and offers housing associations the flexibility to offer fixed term tenancies at rent level higher than social rent (landlords are able to set rents up to 80 per cent of local market rents). The Affordable Rent option can only be applied to existing vacant homes but only after they have reached an investment agreement with the Homes and Communities Agency about how additional rental income will be reinvested in delivering new affordable housing.

Housing Minister Grant Shapps said:

G15 is a group of London housing associations who are planning to set up a mobility scheme enabling social tenants to move across the capital within the next six months.

The pilot scheme would allow around 150 Londoners to move to take up work or training opportunities. If it is successful it could be integrated with other similar schemes, with the aim of creating a comprehensive pan-London mobility scheme by 2015.

Sandra Skeete, executive director at housing association Peabody, who is leading on the scheme to unlock existing stock, said: ‘In the new year we’ll be launching new actions to help households who are overcrowded or under occupied and ways to improve social mobility and employment opportunities, all of which help provide stable and secure housing.

If you are looking for an affordable home from any of the leading housing associations in the UK, go to www.smartshare.co.uk, the largest property website in affordable homes market.