InfoIslington - Islington Reference Library

Partners for Improvement in Islington

Partners manage 4,500 tenanted homes and 2,000 leasehold properties on behalf of the London Borough of Islington. This includes day-to-day repairs, major improvement works, and tenancy & leasehold management.

Their website provides up-to-date information for residents on their services.

Housing Stock

The Valuation Office Agency has released updates and an expansion on the council tax band and property attribute release last published on 1 September 2011. New tables have been added to this release which provide information pertaining to the period in which properties were built. See the link here. 

The first set of tables show for each property type in each geographic area the number of those properties assigned to each council tax band. 

The second set of tables provides a breakdown of the dwelling stock down to a lower geographic level – Lower layer Super Output Area or ‘LSOA’, categorised by the 18 property types.

The third set of tables shows for each property build period in each geographic area the number of those properties assigned to each council tax band. 

The fourth set of tables provides a breakdown of the dwelling stock down to a lower geographic level – Lower layer Super Output Area or ‘LSOA’, categorised by the property build period.

The counts are calculated from domestic property data for England and Wales extracted from the Valuation Office Agency’s administrative database on 1 August 2012.  Data on property types and number of bedrooms has been used to form 18 property categories by which to view the data. Data on build period has been used to create 12 property build period categories. Counts in the tables are rounded to the nearest 10.

New Affordable Homes

In 2011/12 there were 890 affordable homes completed in Islington out of 17,240 in Greater London. This map from the GLA data store shows the number of affordable homes completed each year from 2005/6.

Homeless bound? Homelessness in London, the South East and East of England

This publication from the National Housing Federation presents the findings from research into homelessness in London, the South East and East of England. It looks at the different aspects of homelessness in England’s most unaffordable areas: children in B&B accommodation; private rented sector tenancies and homelessness; homeless households and out of borough placements; trends in the numbers of people sleeping rough; numbers of people in temporary accommodation; and the impacts of welfare reform on the homeless and badly housed families. Presents case studies demonstrating the work of housing associations to address rising homelessness in their areas. Finds that: local authorities in and around London are struggling with their housing caseloads; homelessness is increasing in London, the South East and East; and the nature of homelessness is changing. Indicates that welfare reform will have a serious impact on homelessness. Presents recommendations for addressing homelessness by local and central government, and concludes that in a time of austerity, it is important to invest in preventative services rather than allowing problems to escalate.

Housing in London 2012

Housing in London is the evidence base for the Mayor's London Housing Strategy. The Mayor formally adopted his London Housing Strategy in February 2010 and in December 2011 he consulted on proposals for a new Strategy.
 
Housing in London is divided into two sections, reflecting the thematic chapters of the public consultation draft of the new London Housing Strategy:

• People: This section covers demographic pressures, housing affordability, the wider housing market, mobility and housing need.
• Places: This covers housing supply, empty homes, the private rented sector, decent homes, accessible housing, energy efficiency and fuel poverty.

Three appendices follow. The first includes general contextual and historical information about housing in London, the second provides notes and sources for each chart or map, and the third briefly summarises available measures of housing supply. All data in this document was the latest available as of late 2012.
 

Meeting Londoners' Housing Needs

London’s population has grown significantly in recent years and this is set to continue. We have not been building enough new homes to keep pace and present plans fall far short of meeting the housing needs of Londoners in years to come.

People in the capital are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing to rent or buy. This has been brought into sharp focus by the changes to the benefit system. However, affordability is a supply and demand issue and the imbalance in London has seen prices and rents soar over recent years with no prospect of relief in sight.

With the capital’s population set to top 9 million by 2025, this is a problem that is going to get much worse, unless we act now. Bridging the affordability gap will require a range of solutions across the private and public sectors to boost supply.

One of these solutions is to increase the supply of new affordable homes built by the capital’s local authorities.

This document explains why London Councils is calling for the capital’s councils to be given the freedom to invest in building some of the new homes London needs over the coming years.

2011 Census Data

This release 'The Key Statistics for local authorities in England and Wales' is the first release of key figures that describe the population of England and Wales and add detail to the 2011 Census population estimates published 16 July 2012.

The statistical bulletin decribes the defining characteristics of the population, who we are, how we live and what we do. The census is unique because it is the only information source that measures these characteristics together across the whole population.

The release includes all Key Statistics tables and selected Quick Statistics tables for England and Wales and constituent regions, counties, London boroughs, districts and unitary authorities as at census day, 27 March 2011.

More detailed analyses of the census estimates are provided for some topics in four 'short stories'. Three present analyses of international migration, ethnicity and religion. The fourth is a report on how the 2011 Census labour market statistics differ from those estimated from the Labour Force Survey at the national, regional and local authority level.

The GLA as produced snapshots based on this information for London examining housing, the labour market, ethnic diversity and  health and unpaid care.

Islington Housing Executive

The Housing Executive team is made up of a Chair, four tenants, a resident homeowner, a housing association tenant, the Residents’ Champion and four Councillors.The newly elected Residents’ Champion and two Residents’ Vice Champions will lead the new Residents’ Improvement Taskforce, which will make recommendation for service improvements. Following a borough wide ballot of over 35,000 households the first executive has been formed and their first meeting will be held on 23 October 2012.

London Rent Watch: Rent Inflation and Affordability in London's Private Rental Market

This Shelter report published in March 2012 researched the affordability of private renting in London. It found that in six boroughs including Islington a household income of more than £52,000 is required to rent a two bedroom home.

 Key results found were:

• Private rents rose at an average annual equivalent rate of 7% across London in 2011.
• London rents rose slightly more on family sized homes with rises of 7% for two bedroom homes, and 8% for three bedroom homes.
• The rate of rental inflation was slightly higher in Inner London at 7.4%, than in Outer London at 5.5%.
• The rate of inflation on London private rents is 1.8 times greater than the rate of inflation on the average London wage. In outer London it is three times higher than wage inflation.
•   In contrast to the rises in rents, average London wages have fallen for a number of key worker professions: The London average wage for nurses and teachers is down by 1%, and Police Officers pay in the capital is down by 2%.

 

Welfare Changes - Impact on Islington

 The Welfare Reform Council Report presented to the Council on 18 June clearly lays out the changes to welfare benefits and how they are affecting the population in Islington.

The report states:

"We are already seeing the effect of housing benefit caps on private tenants - these changes risk polarising Islington even further. It will become increasingly difficult for lower income people to live in Islington in any tenure other than social housing. With benefits less able to cover the cost, privately-rented housing will be accessible only by those on higher incomes; a recent Shelter report suggested a household would need an income of £72,000 to be able to afford a two-bed flat on the private market in Islington."