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Citizens Advice assistance on Housing

The Citizens Advice service has some useful data on housing:

Houses in Multiple Occupation

This is general guidance on HMOs in the Milton Keynes situation, and carries no legal weight. It attempts to identity what is officially a HMO.
If a home owner takes in up to 2 lodgers, it is not an HMO, but planning Use Class C3.
If it is a single household of not more than 6 residents, it is probably use Class C3.
If it is a single household, it is probably use Class C3.
Planning permission is required to become use Class C4, which is up to 6 unrelated individuals who share one or more basic facilities.
If more than 6 people are resident, this may make it Sul Generis requiring planning permission.
If an HMO is 3 or more stories with 5 or more residents, it must be licensed, an should be on the register.

Properties which are in the HMO planning class are able to be shown on their interactive map, under "Planning applications".
New regulations introduced on 15 March 2018 to widen powers of councils

November 2017

joint ventures leave poorest at the mercy of property developers The Guardian letters 5 Nov 2017
The families living in modern day slums Hannah Richardson, BBC News, 7 Nov 2017
Government urged to lift housing benefits May Bulman, Independent, 3 Nov 2017
people power to solve the housing crisis Kennedy Walker, Guardian, 15 Nov 2017
Council housing numbers hit lowest point Ben Kentish, Independent, 16 Nov 2017
Housing Associations to be made private Ella Wills, Evening Standard, 17 Nov 2017

December 2017 articles

Homelessness: ‘People think it can never happen to them' Erica Buist, Guardian 16 December 2017
deporting rough sleepers: rights and wrongs Editorial, Guardian 14 December 2017
Number of homeless households has risen Press association, 14 December 2017

Haringey council - locals taking back control Aditya Chakrabortty Guardian, 12 December 2017
120,000 children homeless BBC, 14 December 2017
Homelessness in England 'a national crisis', say MPs BBC, 20 December 2017
'Hard' live of mum homeless with newborn, in Northampton, Wellingbrough, and Bedford BBC 20 December 2017
Homeless nurses Barbara Ellen, Guardian, 17 December 2017
How many people live on the streets?Georgina Lee, Channel4, 18 December 2017
David Cameron’s TV interview on council estate demolitions, 10 January 2016
Stop HDV: social housing, social cleansing and grassroots resistance A view from Counterfire - a left wing organisation

January 2018 links

merger will lead to social cleansing Matthew Weaver, Guardian, 11 Jan 2018
housing crisis Dawn Foster, Guardian, 22 Dec
Housing is a human rights issue Leilani Farha Guardian, 2 Jan
give up the home-owning dream James Gregory, Birmingham University, Guardian, 3 Jan
British housing in 2028 Rowan Moore, Guardian, 21 Jan
Milton Keynes: UK capital of ‘right-to-buy-to-let’ Tom Wall, Guardian, 20 Jan
Tory landlord MPs Dawn Foster, Guardian, 15 Jan 2016
Ignore the Tory hysteria Jonn Elledge, Guardian, 5 Feb 2018
get back land the state gave away Guardian letters, 5 Feb 2018
government ‘in pockets of landlords’ Robert Booth, Guardian, 29 Jan 2018
living in squalid rented homes Robert Booth, Guardian, 29 Jan 2018
The shameful spectre of UK homelessness can be fixed Paul Noblet Head of public affairs, Centrepoint, in Guardian, 29 Jan 2018
Housing costs for the poorest 1/5th Ashwin Kumar, Joseph Rowntree Foundation 16th Jan 2018

February 2018 links

Labour plans to make landowners sell Robert Booth, Guardian, 1 Feb 2018
Number of new low-cost houses must soar Michael Savage, Observer, 17 Feb 2018. See also Government plans fall short Daniel Wright 18 Feb 2018, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Social housing is being driven by profit Sham Lal, Guardian, 7 Feb 2018
forced sale of publicly owned social housing Historic summary in letter from Robin Howell t0 Guardian, 5 Feb 2018
The biggest privatisation you’ve never heard of: land Brett Christophers, Guardian, 8 Feb 2018
Labour leaders in row over Walthamstow regeneration Ben Quinn, Guardian, 17 Feb 2018
Half of all households in poverty are home-owners Alison Wallace, David Rhodes and Firona Roth, 15 Feb 2018, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Social Housing Green Paper and supply of low-cost rented homes Brian Robson 18 Feb 2018, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Housing costs and poverty: private rents compared to local earnings JRF Analysis Unit 18th Feb 2018, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Housing associations' record profits Colin Wiles, Guardian, 28 Feb 2018
crusade to wipe out council housing Phillip Inman, 25 Feb 2018
Councils still without extra powers to crack down on empty homes Anushka Asthana and Peter Walker, Guardian, 5 Mar 2018
15,000 new Manchester homes and not a single one 'affordable' Helen Pidd, 5 Mar 2018
Loophole used to cut affordable housing Toby Helm, Guardian, 3 Mar 2018
British governments used to cough up for social housing John Elledge, Guardian, 2 Mar 2018

How 'placemaking' is tearing apart social housing communities Carpenters estate in Newham no-one could use right to return
Nye Jones; The Guardian, 2018-12-27

Minister admits Tory policies may be a cause of rising homelessness The housing secretary, James Brokenshire, has admitted Conservative policies may be to blame for rising levels of homelessness
Sarah Marsh; The Guardian, 2018-12-24

Social housing: more than just a roof over people's heads Providing additional services for residents, such as laundry facilities, can help build trust in housing providers.
Abby Young-Powell; The Guardian, 2018-11-23

At least 320,000 homeless people in Britain, says Shelter annual increase in homeless, 15 cities named, including Milton Keynes
Patrick Butler ; The Guardian, 2018-11-22

Construction of homes for social rent drops 80% in a decade 6,463 homes in 2017-18, 1.25m families on waiting list
Richard Partington ; The Guardian, 2018-11-22

No poor people through that door – another sign of the UK’s growing class divide class divide
Faiza Shaheen; The Guardian, 2018-11-02

Why are so many people sleeping rough on Britain’s streets? homeless
Jamie Doward and Amy Walker; The Observer, 2018-10-27

Affordable land would mean affordable housing. affordable housing
Alastair Parvin; The Guardian, 2018-10-25

The radical solution to homelessness: no-strings homes Under Housing First, rough sleepers are treated as if they deserve a roof over their head rather than being made to earn it
Aditya Chakrabortty; The Guardian, 2018-09-12

PlaceShapers - network of Housing Associations "We Care, We Work, We Build"
Sinead Butters; web site retrieved on, 2018-08-08

Realise charity - charitable arm of Aspire Housing help people in Staffordshire to progress in their education and gain employment
web site retrieved on, 2018-08-08

Soaring rents rose 60% faster than pay since 2011 – Shelter rent, pay
Julia Kollewe; The Guardian, 2018-08-03

Shelter warns of leap in working homeless as families struggle homeless, rents
Patrick Butler ; The Guardian, 2018-07-23

May’s housing cash pledge is not enough, council leaders warn Council houses
Tom Wall; The Guardian, 2018-07-21

Universal credit savaged by public spending watchdog NAO says core claims about flagship welfare programme are based on unproven assumptions
Patrick Butler; The Guardian, 2018-06-15

More than 1m families waiting for social housing in England only 290,000 homes available
Press Association; The Guardian, 2018-06-09

Social housing is not just a safety net for the few excessive rents, the charity Shelter
Sayeeda Warsi; The Guardian, 2018-04-29

Almost 30,000 lone parent families made homeless in England in 2017 housing
Hannah Richardson; BBC News, 2018-03-24

Homelessness is a European problem. All governments must act to end it housing
Lisa Mckenzie; The Guardian, 2018-03-23

Councils still without extra powers to crack down on empty homes Housing
Anushka Asthana and Peter Walker; The Guardian, 2018-03-05