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Commonweal’s Call for New Ideas has CLOSED – new partners announced soon

The deadline for applications to Commonweal Housing’s Call for New Ideas 2021 has now passed. We want to say a…

SOLUTIONS TO EXEMPT ACCOMMODATION: Additional powers for councils to clamp down on high rents and poor service according to LGA

Local councils could hold the key to a better regulated, cost-controlled exempt accommodation sector, if offered greater powers according to…

POSITIVE INVESTORS MODEL: Exempt accommodation needs “value-driven” approach to stem the “Wild West gold rush”

The exempt accommodation sector has been exploited by some investors, creating “corrupt structures” that allow providers to “maximise profits at…

REGULATION AND CHARTER OF RIGHTS: exempt regulation “from another age” says RSH

Regulation covering exempt accommodation is not fit for purpose according to the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH), with Deputy Chief…

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Blog

The Nationality and Borders Bill will wash away the last vestige of safety for desperate migrants

By Harry Williams | July 23, 2021

It seems that we are at that point in the Summer season again, where the headlines harbour news of supposed crisis after crisis at the Southern shores of Britain. On Monday, a record 430 migrants crossed the Channel, with frontpages and newsreels splashing images of the jubilant new arrivals. But as the government’s new Nationality…

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Freedom Day: a hollow promise for those with NRPF

By Megan Fereday | July 19, 2021

As coronavirus restrictions lift, vulnerable migrants with NRPF are facing the prospect of returning to life without shelter.

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English and Finnish approaches to homelessness

By Csenge Földvári-Nagy | July 12, 2021

Csenge (Cicy) Földvári-Nagy, recipient of the Jane Slowey Memorial Bursary 2020, blogs on the findings of her outstanding dissertation research at the University of Birmingham’s School of Social Policy.

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Jane Slowey Memorial Bursary: Commonweal is funding the change-makers of tomorrow

By Sarah Ogundu | July 2, 2021

A formidable champion of the charity sector and campaigner who rarely rested, Jane Slowey was at the heart of change in the housing and third sectors. Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Chief Executive of young people’s housing charity The Foyer Federation, and a Trustee to Commonweal Housing, Jane was a driving force…

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Carers Week: let’s re-ignite the energy of the Clap for Carers to deliver meaningful change

By Harry Williams | June 11, 2021

A little over a year ago, our Thursday evenings were routinely marked by a ripple of applause that emanated across the country. It was, at a time of severe but necessary isolation, a striking showing of solidarity and a gesture of support and celebration for the millions of carers and NHS workers in the UK…

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Learning the unexpected: how changed circumstances can present new opportunities for reflection and understanding

By Megan Fereday | May 17, 2021

Ashley Horsey, Leila Baker and Matthieu Lambert come together to share the lessons learned from Enterprise Homes Group’s ‘Roof Space’ project, piloted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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How the private rented sector can help unlock the Freedom2Work – Rentstart

By Ben Phillips-Farmer | May 6, 2021

Ben Phillips-Farmer reflects on Rentstart’s 20-year history of harnessing the PRS as a route out of homelessness, including five years in partnership with Commonweal.

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Desperate for solutions – where to find them? | Call For New Ideas

By Ashley Horsey | April 14, 2021

As Commonweal launches its 2021 Call For New Ideas, CEO Ashley Horsey reflects on our approach to finding creative solutions to social injustices – and on not being afraid to to make mistakes along the way.

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Connie Muttock: How I’ve been inspired by Commonweal’s work to champion the housing needs of women | IWD 2021

By Connie Muttock | March 8, 2021

On her last day at Commonweal, Connie reflects on our housing projects for marginalised women which have made her proudest.

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Tonic’s new LGBT+ retirement community is cause for celebration

By Megan Fereday | March 5, 2021

Megan Fereday reflects on the UK’s first ever LGBT+ retirement community, and why older LGBT+ people need access to safe and affirming housing.

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Our projects span a spectrum of issues, from domestic abuse to asylum seekers. We work with expert and specialist individuals and organisations to find housing solutions to social injustice.

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