Housing Law
"International human rights law has consistently recognised the role of housing within the framework of fundamental rights. Thus, Universal Declaration of Human rights 1948, article 25.1 provides: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services.1" The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ('the Convention' or the 'ECHR') goes much further than an intention of member states to adhere to the principles set out. Most of the rights set out in the Convention were incorporated into UK law in October 2000 by the Human Rights Act2. Thus it is no surprise that the main focus of the Convention has traditionally been said to be on civil and political rights (liberty of the person, freedom of speech, etc) rather than on rights of a social and economic nature of which housing law is primarily concerned with. "For example, the Convention has been held not to cover the right to a home3, or to a job4."5 However many Convention rights have direct relevance to housing issues. The most influential of these conventions could be said to be Article 86 and Article 1, protocol 17 which often runs parallel with Article 88. In the case of R (Bernard v Enfield LBC 9 the applicant was a disabled woman who was
Geography - Housing
. What it was like before redevelopment There was mixture of high rise blocks of flats and also deck access housing. The high rise flats were unsafe and security was a huge issue. Lifts were nearly always out of order and due to the dark corridors, people felt unsafe because no-one would know if you were attacked. It was too expensive to have electricity so they instead had gas. The lower floors had rising damp, and the whole block was structurally unstable. The deck access housing was also very bad in terms of security. Because it was one long corridor that they referred to as a street you had to walk past all houses to get to yours. This in turn made it very unsafe. The residents were unhappy because they had no personal territory; they had nothing to make their own. Both of these types of housing were also infected with pests and children were unsafe to walk anywhere alone or even accompanied. Hulme was described as deprived which means lacking in advantage, opportunity, or experience or a state of extreme poverty. Deck access Housing 2. What types of houses were built in development? The new homes are a good mixture of different sizes, types and obviously come with different price tags. They are all of a good design and quality and high design standards and an urban form and layout appropriate to an inner city location. There is a mixture of privately owned and
Ark Housing
ARK HOUSING .1 Ark Housing Background The project was established over 5 years ago and is one of a number set up by Ark Housing, a volunteer organization1. The organization itself has been existence for over 7 years concentrating its efforts in the east of Scotland. .2 Organisations Initiatives The local community showed evidence that a new project should be established. Two people and some local residents put a plan in implementation and with fund-raising they 'build up' Marshtown. Once the project was up ten people were living in it. .3 Ark Housing Aim (Ark Housing)It is an organization which aims to provide housing for adults with learning difficulties2 and make people as independent as possible, realizing their potential. It is not intending to teach people skills, either living or socially skills, occurring the residents leaving. Ark's philosophy is 'a community home for life for each resident, or until that resident says that they want to leave. Ark Housing continues to be successful by the fact that the number of adults is continually increasing. .4 Project Management of Marshtown Although things are running smoothly in Marshtown there are some issues which must be taken into consideration for our benefit. There is a head office which is divided in a personnel officer, director, administrative staff and a residential services department who oversee the whole
Housing and Homelessness.
Housing and Homelessness The types of homelessness that have been hitting the headlines in Great Britain are the cardboard cities seen in London, and the families spending years in cramped and expensive bed and breakfast accommodation. Neither is particularly noticeable in Northern Ireland. Yet the absence of a visible homelessness crisis does not means that there is not a major homelessness problem. How many people are affected by homelessness in Northern Ireland? Who are? Where are they from? Why are they homeless? What happen to them? In this assignment I hope to explore the reasons for these questions. Task 1 Briefly outline housing policy in Northern Ireland 1921 - 1969. Historical background "The ancient Irish quarrel is... a conflict of tribal minorities - who are also, confusing, majorities. Perhaps you could represent this historical puzzle as a set of ill-fitting Chinese boxes. The outside box is the British Isles, where, as we all know, English Protestants have dominated since the reformation. Trapped inside is Ireland, a box full of Catholics, majority of the island since time of ST Patrick. Trapped inside that is Ulster, a box full of northern Protestants, and the majority in the northeast since they were settled there in the 17-century. And at the heart of the puzzle are the northern Catholics, outnumbered two to one in Northern Ireland, yet part
UK Housing Market
The UK Housing Market Saidul Amin 12LT To what extent do factors related to the housing market actually affect supply and demand of houses, and in turn, house prices? The housing market is a very large market in the U.K. It is also a very important market, as it can change the lives of many people living in the U.K and possibly even other countries. If house prices were to suddenly fluctuate, this could mean profit for some, however this could mean a total disaster for others, especially those who may be looking to get onto the "property ladder" and buy their first home/flat. There are many factors which influence the housing market in the UK. These can be split up into two main categories; demand and supply of houses. The term demand means "the want or desire to possess a good or service with the necessary goods, services, or financial instruments necessary to make a legal transaction for those goods or services." Demand can increase if there is an increase in real income, as people would have more money to spend as they are earning more, therefore more people could afford houses. However if inflation was to increase then people would not necessarily be any better off to buy more houses or bigger houses, as house prices would also increase. If interest rates were to decrease then this would increase demand as this would reduce the cost of having a mortgage. Interest
Chicago Public Housing
Chicago Public Housing: Past, Present, Future The public housing situation in the City of Chicago has been controversial since its beginnings. From the start, Mayor Richard J. Daley received a lot of criticism for his building of the Robert Taylor Homes, referred to by many as a "70 million dollar ghetto."1 Over the years, the public housing situation in the city has caused great debate among city council and continues to be a hot issue within Chicago politics. I will review the history of policy, as well as take a look at the current situation and the future for public housing. To understand the arguments within public policy, we must first get an idea of the history of public housing in Chicago. The goals of any public housing program are to provide decent housing for poor and low-income households. Over the past fifteen years, affordability has become the major housing problem in the United States; large sectors of the population cannot afford to rent a decent apartment, buy a new home, or maintain an existing home. The housing costs for low-income households have risen faster than for any other group, while their real incomes have declined. The most extreme consequence of the problem of housing affordability has been the visibly increasing population of homeless people located around urban areas. 2 In Chicago, there are two categories for public housing: either for the
The Housing Market
Economics Assignment The Housing Market By: Selina Pang Tutor: Mr Wells The Housing Market The housing market is possibly one of the most important markets in which we as everyday consumers take part in, simply because housing is a necessity and also probably the largest consumption good that is purchased. The majority of the average person's income would probably go towards either rent or a mortgage. This is true also in terms of business expenses. It has been argued that decent housing has external knock on effects on society in that those provided with a better living environment are more productive, healthier and better educated individuals, and this in turn leads to increased economic growth. The Principal Housing Markets The housing market can be broken down into three interconnected markets: * Owner Occupation * Social Housing * Private Renting Owner Occupation This is the most common form of housing in the UK. As mentioned previously, house buying is for the majority of people the largest purchase made. Mortgages are obtained in order for consumers to afford properties, these basically being loans from a bank, building society or other financial institution. On the whole, lenders are prepared to agree to a mortgage equal to four times the salary of the consumer, i.e. for someone earning £30,000 p.a., a mortgage could be obtained for up to £120,000. As
The Housing Project
The Housing Project The UK housing market is a very simple but yet very important market and affects us all considerably. As a new comer to economics this market was underestimated in the huge impact it has on the rest of the economy. Il start with the late 1980's when there was a huge boom in the property market called the Lawson Boom and drove prices up by about 35% per anum. This seemingly endless boom was later followed by a devastating crash in the early 1990's, with houses falling at an average rate of 5% and there seemed to be no stop to this because unemployment went up, mortgages could not be paid and people had negative equity we can see this being a cyclical economy where one move affects many other sectors of the economy. The ones suffering from this had to sell their house quickly in order to get them selves out of financial difficulty and therefore drove prices even lower. Eventually interest rates went down, people began to feel financially secure and the British economy began to recover. In the late 1990's people once again began to buy and economists began predicting another inflation. Prediction became fact in 2001/2002 with prices rising to 20.2%. But what goes up should in theory always come down, so should we brace for another crash? Is this a cyclical market that will always follow this rule? The housing market is a lot like other markets in the sense
Housing Risk Assesment
Contents Introduction Page 2 Hazards Identified at 50a Risky Row Page 3 Health Housing and Safety Rating Scoring sheets Page 4 Flames and hot surfaces Page 4 Electrical hazards Page 5 Fire Page 6 Excess cold Page 7 Conclusion Page 8 Appendix 1 - Original Surveyors report Page 9 Appendix 2 - House Inspection report Page 12 Appendix 3 - Presumptions and Health effects Page 17 References Page 22 Introduction The purpose of this report is to appreciate and understand the diverse issues, which correlate the link between poor housing and safety standards with health and safety issues. General Practioners, Environmental Health Practioners, Social Workers, Housing Officers, and Policy Developers have accomplished studies linking housing poverty issues to poor health. (Ineichen, p.24) The legislation, which was introduced as law in April 2004, established The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Prior to this housing was assessed by the Housing Fitness Standard. The purpose of the HHSRS is to asses whether there is a safe and healthy environment for any potential occupier or visitor to a tenure (Ineichen, p.39). The HHSRS concentrates on threats to health and safety. It is in general not concerned with matters of quality, comfort, and convenience. However, in some cases, such matters
The UK Housing Market
The UK Housing Market The UK housing market has always been a good investment. Over much of the last forty years investing in housing usually using a mortgage have given better returns, sometimes much better than leaving your money in a bank account gathering interest. The market does seem to be a bit more volatile than leaving your money in a bank account though. During the last Boom and bust that the housing market experienced, over half a million homes were repossessed, thousands of jobs were lost and a few million home owners were left with a mortgage worth more than the value of their property. The was during the 1980's and early 1990's when the previous house price boom came to an abrupt end. The performance of the UK housing market since the awful terrorist attacks on 11th September has been remarkable. Despite many predictions of a slowdown at that time, the low interest rate policy of the Bank of England, led by Sir Edward George, has kept housing demand buoyant. As stated by the Bank of England and many others, the current rate of growth of house prices is definitely unsustainable. However, with weak economic activity and financial markets, it is unlikely that interest rates will move significantly upwards from their twenty-five year lows in the near future. Consequently, it remains to be seen what might trigger a slowdown or fall in house prices. Nonetheless,
