England's compulsory purchase fight is about hope value
Planning permission can lift farmland's price 275 times. In 2023 the government planned to let a minister drop that hope value from an order, case by case.
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Architects are building thick walls and deep windows again
Sunlight through glass is usually a home's main summer heat source, says the Passivhaus Trust. Some architects now answer with heavy walls and deep windows.
Denmark gave the world co-housing in the 1970s
Co-housing began in Denmark in the mid-1970s. At Lilac Grove in Leeds, 20 private homes share a garden and a common house where residents eat twice a week.
Homebuyers sue UK housebuilders over alleged price collusion
Law firms want up to £4.5bn from Britain's biggest housebuilders, on behalf of 700,000 buyers, over alleged collusion on new-build prices.
UK and US mortgage rates climb again as war unsettles markets
Mortgage rates rose again on both sides of the Atlantic in 2026, with US 30-year fixes past 7% and UK two-year fixes averaging 5.63%.
Passive house is a measured standard, not a style
Passive house caps air leakage at 0.6 changes an hour, tested by fan. It costs 5 to 10% more to build. A Los Angeles house on its lines outlasted a wildfire.
UK installers fill cavity walls through the outer brickwork
Installers drill through a UK home's outer brick and inject insulation into the cavity. A typical job costs about £2,200 and could save up to £370 a year.
Triple glazing's second gap cuts heat loss further
Triple glazing adds a third pane and a second gas-filled gap, so it loses less heat than double glazing. The whole window, frame included, sets the result.
Grenfell's fire forced a rewrite of England's cladding rules
The Grenfell Tower fire exposed a cladding product that failed fire tests for 12 years. The Building Safety Act followed in 2022.