If tenants are deemed to have one spare room, the amount of rent eligible for housing benefit will be cut by 14%. If they have two or more spare rooms, the cut will be 25%.

• Two children under 16 of same gender expected to share
• Two children under 10 expected to share regardless of gender
• Disabled tenant or partner who needs non-resident overnight carer will be allowed an extra bedroom
• Foster carers will be allowed an additional room so long as they have fostered a child, or become an approved foster carer in the last 12 months.
• Adult children in the armed forces will be treated as continuing to live at home when deployed on operations

In addition, local councils have been advised to allow an extra bedroom for children who are unable to share because of their severe disabilities.

There’s more to an energy efficient home than good insulation; everything from radiators to windows can play their part.

Energy-saving products have come a long way since the brick-in-the-cistern days, yet some things such as draught excluders remain just as good an idea today as they were hundreds of years ago. One thing that’s certain is that gas and electricity bills are going up constantly, so it pays to make use of smart innovations and old tricks alike if you want to stay one step ahead of the energy companies. It’s easy to overlook all the little things around the home – radiators, windows, even your letterbox – that could do with a little help to make your home as efficient as possible but that doesn’t mean you should. Here’s how to save money and the planet at the same time:

Radiators
Radiators aren’t always the most efficient way to heat a house but there are quite a few products out there that can make them a bit more so – and save you cash on your heating bills. Most are mounted on walls, which means they lose quite a bit of heat through the wall itself – even more if you don’t have cavity wall insulation. Heat-reflecting foil is a simple way around this. Rolls of combined insulating and heat-reflecting foil can be found at most major DIY chains, and can make a big difference to your home’s efficiency if applied to all radiators around the house.

Ingredients
• 40g/1½oz butter
• 100g/3½fl oz pudding rice (or Spanish paella rice)
• 75g/2½oz caster suga
• 1 litre/1¾pints full-fat milk
• 150ml/5fl oz double cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or ½ vanilla pod, split lengthways
• pinch salt
• plenty freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation method
• Preheat the oven to 140C/285F/Gas 1.
• Melt the butter in a heavy-based casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the sugar, stirring until dissolved. Continue stirring until the rice swells and becomes sticky with sugar.
• Pour in the milk and keep stirring until no lumps remain. Add the cream and vanilla and bring the mixture to a simmer. Once this is reached, give the mixture a final stir and grate at least a third of a nutmeg over the surface. Bake for 1-1½ hours and cover with foil if the surfaces browns too quickly.
• Once there is a thin, tarpaulin-like skin on the surface, and the pudding only just wobbles in the centre, it is ready.
• Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients

• 8 good-quality pork and herb sausages, cut into chunky pieces
• 350g jar smoky bacon pasta sauce (we like Loyd Grossman)
• 2 ripe tomatoes, quartered
• 410g can cannellini beans, drained
• Handful chopped fresh curly parsley

Method
• 1. Heat a large, wide frying pan over a high heat. When hot, add the sausages and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until evenly browned.
• 2. Reduce the heat slightly and add the pasta sauce. Half-fill the jar with water, rinse out into the pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
• 3. Stir in the tomatoes and cannellini beans and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Season to taste and stir through the parsley. Serve with hot buttery jacket potatoes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (optional)
• 1/2 cup real maple syrup
• 2 tsp. rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast
• 2 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. olive oil

Instructions:
1. Bring orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce heat slightly, but keep high enough to continue a low boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in maple syrup and continue boiling for another 5-6 minutes, stiring frequently, until glossy and just slightly thickened. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the roasemary, salt and pepper. Rub mixture on both sides of chicken breasts, and set aside.

3. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken breasts, cover skillet and saute for about 5 minutes on each side until lightly browned. Pour orange maple mixture over chicken (mixture will boil and bubble). Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook for another 10 minutes, basting occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has turned into a rich, thick glaze.

Makes 4 servings.

These meters will help families monitor their energy consumption and control there spend on a ongoing basis.

This mild and creamy turkey curry is quick and tasty and uses mainly store cupboard spices – and Christmas leftovers.
A great recipe from Anthony Worrall Thompson

You don’t have to be living on the street to be homeless. You may be legally classed as homeless if you are sleeping on a friend’s sofa, staying in a hostel, suffering from overcrowding, or other bad conditions.

Please read more at http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/homelessness

Student Accomodation

With more and more young people moving out of the family home to attend university, the student accommodation sector has become a huge area of growth.

The north east and Yorkshire has seen a considerable investment in this area. As universities invest in better teaching facilities, more students wish to attend and in turn this creates a greater demand on student accommodation.

Durham University has invested £48million in the Palatine Centre, which unites a law school, library, and student services all under one roof.

York University has invested more than £560million since the year 2000. Including a sport village, library and research facility. The new £30m Langwith College building provides accommodation for 645 students.

Northumbria University has spent £160m on its campus which jointly with Newcastle University supports 54,0000 students. New accommodation areas will house over 537 students and provide social space for 800 students. This is in addition to its existing accommodation.  In Gateshead, 993 student bedrooms will be created for Northumbria students as part of the £150million town centre Trinity Square redevelopment.

The University of Huddersfield is erecting a new building. A £22.5million leisure and learning centre which will glow blue or red by night.

So as our universities invest to compete in a highly competitive market it can only be good news for the construction industry.

green deal home

The Green Deal has been around for a while now. City Response have been active within Green Deal from day one.

As a social housing tenant you can take advantage of the Green Deal with your landlord’s permission.

The scheme lets you pay for some or all of the improvements over time through

your electricity bill. Repayments will be no more than what a typical household

should save in energy costs.

Areas that are covered within the Green Deal are:

Loft insulation

Heat rises and may leak into your loft. Insulating your loft, or topping up your existing insulation, will keep heat inside living spaces for longer.

Windows

Homes leak heat through their windows. By replacing windows with double or triple glazed windows, or installing secondary glazing to existing windows, you’ll keep your home warmer and reduce outside noise

Draught proofing

Gaps around doors, windows, loft hatches, fittings and pipework are common sources of draughts. Sealing up the gaps will stop heat escaping.

Cavity wall insulation

Some homes have walls with a hollow space in the middle. Putting insulation in this space is quick and makes no mess because the work can be done from outside your home.

External and internal solid wall insulation

Older homes usually have solid walls. Installing insulation on the inside or outside of the wall can dramatically reduce the heat that escapes.

Boilers

Older boilers tend to lose a lot of heat so they use a lot of energy. High efficiency condensing boilers and air or ground source heat pumps recover a lot of heat so they use less energy.

If you have not been in contact with your landlord get in touch today and ask for an assessment.