Housing Policy, Regulation & Evaluation

Digital exclusion is a key aspect of poverty in the UK and is often siloed by policymakers. Digital activties are an increasingly prominent part of everyday life, and our research looks at the need for integrating digital inclusion policy with other policies targeted at addressing poverty, focusing...

Housing Studies have published a paper co-authored by Richmond Ehwi This paper investigates housing transformation, the rent gap and gentrification in compound houses in Bantama, a sub-metro in Ghana’s second-largest city, Kumasi. It argues that the ongoing housing transformation has altered the ‘...

Housing Policy Debate have published an article by Richmond Juvenile Ehwi, Lewis Abedi Asante & Nicky Morrison. Across the globe, private rental housing performs a critical role within modern housing systems. However, the nature of the sector, the households it serves, and the contractual...

This research, funded by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), examined the issues of the levels of leasehold and freehold charges being charged, and the variation within these, in order to inform the development of the Ministry's leasehold reform policy and future...

Dr Sónia Alves's project PLANAFFHO, funded by a two year Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship, examined how land use planning contributes to the provision of affordable housing for people on low incomes, and how it has promoted a mix of housing tenures within new developments in three European capital...

Significant policy changes affecting the private rented sector have the potential for a serious impact on the centre as the majority of landlords face increased taxation. The Residential Landlords Association commissioned research to develop an economic model of the finances of PRS landlords and...

Early in his career, Mike Oxley wrote an article on the state of the UK housing market in 1977. Reading it again, it would seem that policy makers today seem to be facing many of the same issues.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation commissioned CCHPR to investigate how to improve the English private rented sector as a source of accommodation for people in poverty. The project explored whether taxation could be used to incentivise private landlords to improve the affordability, conditions or...

Joseph Rowntree Foundation and CHS Group have commissioned CCHPR to explore how CHS Group can set rents that are genuinely affordable for its clients. This research will inform CHS’s policy on rent setting beyond 2020 and, at this opportune time, provide an opportunity to influence sector thinking...

The Welsh Government funded CCHPR's research into fees charged to tenants in the private rented sector across Wales

Commonweal Housing has funded the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research to research the housing needs and views of non-resident parents who live, or have considered living, in shared housing.

CCHPR provided expert advice to the Regulatory Arm of the UK Statistics Authority in its review of Housing Statistics.

Dr Gemma Burgess gave a key note speech at the local public finance and housing policy conference in Israel in December 2014, hosted by the Gazit-Globe Real Estate Institute at IDC Herzliya. The presentation - Case Study UK: rising house prices and under supply – focuses on housing supply...

CCHPR were commissioned by Places for People to explore the impact on government policy on the profile of housing provision in England. It will consider the impact of the Housing and Planning Bill and other reforms to welfare, housing and planning policy on the social and affordable housing sector...

Community Housing Cymru and the Welsh Local Government Association have commissioned CCHPR to undertake a study into viable housing models for single people only entitled to the housing benefit shared accommodation rate.

Anna Clarke worked with Cambridge Policy Consultants as an advisor on their evaluation of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Housing and Poverty Programme.

This project objective was to refine the ONS Travel-To-Work Areas for Cambridge to make them more appropriate for housing planning purposes.

This short piece of research, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation aimed to better understand likely poverty impacts of the extension of Right to Buy to housing associations and the associated sale of higher value local authority stock.

This research explored why older households move in later life, the size of property they moved to and why they choose either new build housing or existing stock. It considered what the house building sector can learn from their experience and what opportunities that this presents to the house...

The London Assembly’s Housing Committee undertook an investigation in autumn 2015 into the likely impact of a range of rent stabilisation measures on London’s housing market.

For this project Dr Paul Sanderson (supported by Daniel Banks and Prof. Simon Deakin) worked alongside BRDO staff in their offices, contributing from previous research knowledge on optimising compliance to (i) the design of regulatory codes, and (ii) communications about regulatory codes, affect...

This project, commissioned by Shelter, explored the possible effects of different rent control scenarios on the operation of the Private Rented Sector in England. Six different rent control options were considered, proposing different limits to rents and changes to security of tenure.

Rising rents, more low‑income households in private renting, reduced funding for house building and welfare reforms present major challenges for landlords and local authorities in England. This research explores how landlords are responding, what can be learnt from their written strategies and...

The project sought to influence (a) public policy on affordable housing supply policy instruments and (b) public understanding of policy measures that would increase the supply of affordable housing through the production of a short film, a policy workshop, and engagement with politicians and the...

Dr Gemma Burgess gave a presentation to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Social Science and Policy, 21 October 2014, at the House of Commons as part of the session on Housing Supply– challenges for policy makers. The presentation focuses on the constraints on new housing supply.

This project provided evidence to support the Housing Commission in exploring what works to increase housing supply. It looked at a range of policy measures such as New Towns, bringing empty homes back into use, self build and custom build, the role of taxation in promoting housing supply and...

This project for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills drew on existing knowledge of regulation and regulatory data within the CCHPR to examine the potential for greater sharing of regulatory data between regulators. The aim was to increase regulatory efficiency and reduce the burden of...

The DWP commissioned CCHPR to undertake a series of qualitative interviews with households affected by the Benefit Cap.

Volatility has plagued the UK housing market for four decades. The JRF Housing Market Taskforce identified ways to create a more sustainable housing market, suggesting credible long-term policy options to avoid extreme house price fluctuation and protect vulnerable households from its effects. One...

Three reports published during 2003 and 2004 using data from the 2001 Census and Regulatory Statistical Returns.

This report used Regulatory and Statistical Return (RSR) data for 2002 to provide some base data on the number of housing associations and units involved in this type of stock management. It broke data down between types and sizes of association to examine which associations were most involved in...

Using data from the Regulatory Statistical Return (RSR) and on the profile of new tenants from CORE, this paper examines recent changes in the Housing Association sector and interprets these in the light of changing emphases in government housing policy.

This project examined housing association service charges and their relationship to rents. Understanding the relationship between rents and service charges is important for all stakeholders in the housing association sector. Tenants need to budget for their housing costs by understanding what...

This short project using secondary data to analyse the role of the social sector in different kinds of housing market was part of a suite of secondary projects commissioned by JRF to inform their thinking about housing markets. The results were presented to the JRF at a special event in York.

This small project was commissioned by DCLG (then ODPM) to assist their thinking in terms of responses to the recommendations of the Barker Review of Housing Supply (2004) which suggested that planners take more notice of market signals when developing their housing policies. It took the form of...

This short piece of work was conducted for Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority to help them to think imaginatively about housing as a barrier to further economic development and how to overcome this. Focus group discussions were held with employees of major companies and a brainstorming session...

A major research project for DCLG (then ODPM) which was joint with the universities of Glasgow and Heriot Watt. It is organised under five themes, but includes a cross cutting overview summary report which will be widely disseminated as well as a defined, structured analysis of the period.

The housing association sector trends project brought together 15 years of data from the Regulatory and Statistical Return, the annual census of housing associations registered with the Tenants Services Authority to form a cohesive relational database. This gives added value to the data as it can...

Average housing association rents and service charges for the combined categories, supported housing and housing for older people, by local authority area were collected by the Housing Corporation for the first time in 2005. This project looked in detail at these figures.

The original reason for this research was to assess the extent to which it would be appropriate to use lower quartile house prices as a surrogate for private rents in regional and local analysis in the light of the difficulties in obtaining Rent Officer Service data on the rents they determine for...

As a baseline of reviewing the rent restructuring regime of 2000, this paper analyses the current pattern of key variables for registered social landlord (RSL) rents at detailed geographical levels. It also assessed current RSL rent patterns in terms of size effects and local effects.

This paper analyses the relationship between social sector rents and house prices in order to examine the viability of the sector. Rents are the only form of return available to the social sector landlord (unlike in the private sector where capital gains are relevant).

This paper analyses the relationship between private sector rents and house prices in order to examine the viability of the sector in that rents are the only form of return available to the private sector landlord.

These papers compare the findings on RSL sector and the private rented sector to provide a clear picture of the extent to which rent and rate of return differentials vary by area, type, etc.

Producing a guide to local rents was a Dataspring project funded by the Tenant Services Authority, for which outputs were published from 2001 until 2010. Parts I, II and III together provided the data to undertake comparisons of rents geographically for all three rented sectors (local authority...

The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) was an independent body set up to advise national and local government and other bodies on the affordability of market housing. Its creation followed Kate Barker’s Review of Housing Supply in 2004 and her recommendation for the creation of a...

The Housing Green Paper was published in 2007. CCHPR was asked to prepare a response on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

This project provided guidance on data sources to regions and local authorities.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICs) commissioned research from CCHPR with the aim of raising the profile of RICS at a regional level in the policy debates on sustainability and climate change.

This project was commissioned by the Housing Department of the States of Jersey to review the need for social housing in Jersey, and to make recommendations on the future ownership and management of the States’ social housing stock.

This research, commissioned by Communities and Local Government, considered how to adjust for missing local authority data within the Continuous Recording of Lettings (LA CORE) system.

This project draws comparisons of stock, rents and service charges between four different types of social landlord; Traditional mixed funded Registered Social Landlords (RSLs); RSLs who have taken over local authority stock via Large Scale Voluntary Transfer; Local authorities (retention LAs); and...

This project examined how service charges applied to general needs stock by housing associations varied between different property types and sizes, and between types of association.

The project looked at the short and longer term influences on the supply of private rented housing to poorer households in Britain. The Government’s emergency budget of June 2010 proposed substantial reductions in the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) payments made to private tenants who cannot afford...

CCHPR were commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation to assist in submitting their consultation response for the inquiry into the abolition of regional spatial strategies. The consultation focussing particularly on the implications for house building.

The use of place typologies in government policy has been actively promoted by CLG and its predecessor departments for nearly thirty years, with the development of the Index of Local Conditions (later the Index of Local Deprivation and Index of Multiple Deprivation) in 1981. The department made...

The Scottish Government commissioned CCHPR to write a literature review on the subject of the social and economic impact of housing.

This comprises six short papers, commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, to help address the questions asked in the Labour Party Housing Review. The papers are on Planning, Places, Housing Supply, Owner Occupation, Social Renting and the Private Rented Sector.

The Housing Futures Network commissioned CCHPR to produce new work looking at the future of the social housing sector. The work looked at the future options for financing the sector, and the implications of the latest policy reforms, including welfare reform, housing benefits and under-occupation.

This project ran throughout 2012 and involved a series of six half-day workshops, attended by social landlords throughout the UK in order to share research evidence and help them to develop their policies and practice in making best use of their housing stock.

The Commission for Rural Communities funded CCHPR to carry out research into rural housing. The project looked specifically at the issues of changing rent levels and housing quality, the impact of policy change on rural areas, and whether some people are unable to remain in rural areas.

In 2012, the Government was looking to end temporary support measures for home-buyers that were introduced during the economic and housing market downturn, but there had been no progress on agreeing a more effective safety net for the future. This project was commissioned by the Joseph Rowntree...

The Housing Division of the Department for Social Development (DSD) commissioned a research project designed to make a significant contribution to a fundamental review of social housing allocations in Northern Ireland. The purpose of the review was to ensure that the processes of applying for and...

The States of Jersey commissioned CCHPR to provide support to its embryonic Strategic Housing unit in the preparation of an island wide, cross tenure Housing Strategy. The project comprises a series of papers for discussion with officers and the relevant Ministers between November 2012 and April...

This project was commissioned by East 7, a group of housing associations in the East of England, to inform their own strategy and policy development and to assist East 7 members in engaging in the policy debate with ministers and other opinion formers.

The JRF Housing Market Taskforce had identified land supply as a key reason contributing to housing market volatility and problems of housing affordability in the UK. This desk based research aimed to assess which policy approaches to land supply and land markets would be most likely to work in the...

CCHPR provided specialist input to IPSOS MORI as part of an extended piece of work for the National Housing Federation, looking at the impact of current welfare reforms on housing associations and their tenants.

This evaluation sought to understand the impact of the size criteria on claimants, landlords and other stakeholders and to explore how households responded to the reduction in their benefits.

The States of Jersey commissioned CCHPR to undertake a full and independent review to ensure that the then new Affordable Housing Gateway, launched in January 2012, was supported appropriately in respect of policy, process and procedures; that it was appropriately resourced (both staff and IT) and...

Affinity Sutton commissioned this work from CCHPR to update and build on the definitions of affordability discussed in previous work on market-pegged social rents and local income distributions to determine rent levels that may be deemed affordable according to local incomes and/or earnings, taking...

Riverside Housing undertook a study with the aim of gaining a more detailed understanding of the impact of welfare reforms and wider economic change on Riverside households. Anna Clarke, from CCHPR, was an advisor on the project.