Cassie Barton

This House of Commons Library briefing paper outlines temporary measures to assist homeowners to manage their mortgage payments during the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. It considers lenders’ obligations towards homeowners who are struggling with their mortgage payments, outlines possible sources of advice for mortgagors, and discusses the mortgage support schemes that were introduced in response to the 2008 financial crisis.

This House of Commons Library briefing paper explains how shared ownership housing operates in England. It outlines Government policies to extend shared ownership, including proposals for a new national model for shared ownership and a new right to shared ownership for housing association tenants. The paper also examines the key barriers to extending shared ownership.

A population census takes place in the UK every ten years, and preparations for the 2021 census are underway. This briefing paper explains the plans for the census in England and Wales.

This briefing provides information on trends in the number of empty homes in England and outlines local authorities’ powers to tackle empty housing and other relevant initiatives. It also discusses Government action on this issue.

The Planning for the Future white paper published in August 2020, setting out the Government's proposals for "once in a generation" reform of England's planning system, has proved controversial. This briefing from the House of Commons Library examines those proposals and the other planning changes already made during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This Insight explores proposed changes to the formula used by Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to use to assess housing need.

This Commons Library briefing paper discusses the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities and provides related statistical and policy analysis.

This briefing paper explains the duty on private landlords to protect tenants’ deposits and summarises how the schemes operate. The Government has legislated to cap security deposits in England and is considering whether improvements can be made to the tenancy deposit protection process to benefit both tenants and landlords.

A key focus of housing policy in recent years has been on the overall supply of housing. There is broad consensus on the need to address the long-term under-supply of housing and various measures have been introduced to stimulate housebuilding. While supporting increases in supply, commentators highlight the need to deliver housing that is genuinely affordable to improve living standards and “loosen the grip of poverty.” This paper considers the case for social rented housing; barriers to its development; and prospects for a step-change in supply. It also provides a statistical picture of trends in social housing supply over time and geographically (including total stock, new supply, and sales and demolitions).

This paper considers how English local authorities deal with private tenants who have been served with a section 21 notice and are about to become homeless. A common response has been to tell tenants in this position to remain in situ until a court order/bailiff’s warrant is obtained. The paper considers changes introduced by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017 with effect from 3 April 2018.

Spot oil prices were just over $40 per barrel in mid June 2020. The crashed after the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown led to a dramatic cut in demand. Prices fell from almost $70 a barrel in early January to below $20 per barrel in late April 2020. Oil prices peaked in July 2008 at almost $150 per barrel and were in the $100-125 range for much of 2011 to early 2014.

Certain changes of use can be done without planning permission, using what are known as permitted development rights (PDRs). This briefing explains use classes and PDRs, examines recent changes and proposals for further change and looks in depth at the controversy surrounding the PDR for change of use from office to residential accommodation.

The 2019 count in England recorded 4,266 rough sleepers, this represents a fall of 9% on 2018 but an increase of 141% on the 2010 count (1,768). This briefing paper provides background information on the causes of rough sleeping and local authorities' duties. The paper covers the Government's approach to meeting its ambition of ending rough sleeping by the end of the current Parliament. A separate paper, Coronavirus: Housing support, covers specific measures in place to assist rough sleepers during the pandemic.