Checking house prices from an outsized shrubbery

Bushwhacked

It’s good to know that the Audit Commission doesn’t let the grass grow under its feet. Since it took over housing association inspections in 2003,

readers have no doubt come to appreciate the no-nonsense rigour of its approach to everything from repairs to the toys in reception. Few more so than the staff of one London-based housing group who were asked by the inspectors for a policy document on the correct height to which shrubs should be trimmed, and evidence of consultation with tenants on this most pressing of issues. We can rest assured

that the commission is not resting on its laurels, but is, in fact, trimming them down to size.

More crack, vicar?

A pair of randy retirees in Birmingham were last week issued with antisocial behaviour orders in an effort to curb their nocturnal activities. The two residents of an Edgbaston retirement home hit the headlines after numerous complaints from other tenants and neighbours about their penchant for crack-smoking prostitutes.

Edgbaston councillors rejoiced after the frisky pensioners were slapped with ASBOs forbidding contact with the, er, ladies.

The council said the pair were responsible for undermining its efforts to rid the Birmingham suburb of the problem.

However, it seems one of the terrible twosome also had a reputation for raising fires as well as raising hell. His ASBO banned him from using a chip pan as he had caused a number of blazes at the home.

www.curtains.net

The success of a new website enabling you to check how much people have paid for their house seems to confirm that we are a nation of nosey neighbours. Visitors to the site, called www.nethouseprices.com,

can check how much homes were sold for by entering in the relevant postcode.

The site – which includes latest house prices for England, Scotland and Wales – has been an instant hit, receiving 50 million requests for information in its first six weeks. I’d tell you more, but I suppose you’ve rushed to log on...

Our feature presentation

Social animal has brought you a number of tales recently about the housing sector’s theatrical leanings. First it was the Scottish Federation Housing Association putting on a play about the shortage of affordable housing north of the border, then it was delegates at this year’s National Housing Federation chief executives’ conference learning leadership skills from Shakespeare.

Now, visitors to this year’s Labour Party conference will be treated to yet another theatrical treat from the world of housing. Presentation Housing Association is set to stage a play at the conference that will focus on social exclusion. Let’s hope Blair and Brown get front-row seats.

The grey menace

Another local authority dealing with pesky pensioners is East Riding council, which recently went to Grimsby County Court in an effort to evict an 87-year old woman who had allowed her sheltered home to become a den of iniquity. The court heard that the troublesome octogenarian had befriended drug-dealers, alcoholics, burglars and shoplifters, and entertained them at her home, where they terrorised other residents. But the court rebuffed East Riding’s efforts, postponing action for two years on the condition that the lady kept promises to improve her behaviour.

Source

Housing Today