How has Brexit vote affected UK economy? November verdict

Each month we look at key indicators to see what effect the Brexit process has had on growth, prosperity and trade

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Nine ways to make your house deposit go further Nottingham Estate Agents

Managing to secure a mortgage isn’t just about proving you can afford to repay it each month. You’ll need to have at least 5% of the deposit saved up – more if you want the lowest rates. But with house prices steady, even 5% can be a huge amount. If saving tens of thousands of […]

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Planning regulations that are a disgrace | Letter

Councils have their hands tied and cannot prevent people being cramped into rooms below government standards, says Joseph Ejiofor

Your article (The billionaire and the 219 tiny flats: a new low for rabbit hutch Britain?, Money, 23 November) highlighted the injustice of permitted development, which has once again reared its head in Haringey, north London.

Under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, a developer can convert offices into residential properties without planning permission. A council can only intervene in limited circumstances – where there are transport impacts, contamination or flooding risks, or noise from nearby commercial premises.

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Revolutionary and eminently doable: our critic on Labour's housing policy

Jeremy Corbyn’s proposals treat housing as a means of providing shelter and building community – rather than as a way to extract rent and accumulate capital, which the Tories seem to favour

‘A million new homes over the next five years!” The Conservative party’s manifesto pledge was launched with the same triumphant brio as “Get Brexit done!” – with the bluster obscuring the fact that the promise actually represents a decrease in current house building rates.

A million homes over five years is equivalent to 200,000 homes a year; earlier this month it was announced that the present rate of supply stands at 241,130. The pledge also represents a downgrading of the Tories’ previous target, to reach 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s, which they have promised since 2017. “We’ll build even fewer homes than our current pitiful record!” would have been a more accurate announcement.

This headline (non)commitment set the tone for a business-as-usual manifesto as far as housing goes, revealing that solving the crisis has tumbled even further down the list of Conservatives’ priorities.

Reinforcing their position as the party of home ownership, they plan to encourage a new market in long-term fixed rate mortgages (an idea tried by Gordon Brown, which never took off), and provide discounts for “local” first-time buyers. This latter pledge appears to be taking the widely discredited Starter Homes initiative – which promised a 20% discount for first-time buyers – and ramping it up to 30%, under the new brand of First Home. It was recently revealed that no Starter Homes were ever actually built, while the detail of the new policy specifies that the discount “could apply to up to 19,000 homes by the mid-2020s” – equating to less than 2% of the total promised number of homes.

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Searching for student accommodation? Set up an instant alert at OnTheMarket.com Nottingham Estate Agents

As we approach the New Year, many students will be eager to secure accommodation for the next academic year. To stay ahead of the game, make sure you set up an instant property alert here If you’re a student searching for student accommodation make sure you search our dedicated directory. OnTheMarket.com is a simple, fast, […]

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Geffrye to reopen as Museum of the Home after £18m overhaul

East London institution will open in the summer with more exhibition space

The Geffrye museum will rename itself as the Museum of the Home when it reopens after an £18m redevelopment, which will double its public space.

The popular museum of historic interiors, which occupies Grade I-listed 18th-century almshouses in east London, closed to the public in January 2018 to allow major building work.

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How to get rid of mice and rats Nottingham Estate Agents

As the colder weather arrives, rodents will start to look for ways to get inside a house. But how do you get them out once they settle in? OnTheMarket.com offers top tips. With winter approaching, it is not only human beings who feel the need to snuggle up in a warm home. Exactly the same […]

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