Samir Jeraj – Freelance Journalist

For the launch of Hyphen, a new online magazine covering news and stories for Muslims across Europe, I interviewed the head of the Muslim Chaplains Association about the work of chaplaincy in UK prisons.

“When you walk into that prison, every single day is different. You don’t know what to expect. Some days are more difficult than others.” Alamgeer Choudhury’s journey as a prison chaplain started 20 years ago, when he was finishing theological training to become an imam. By deciding to work with inmates, he was following directly in his father’s footsteps. 

Read the full article here.

For those who don’t rent, they may think the only costs are rent and perhaps a damage deposit. However, a whole grey area of fees and charges has emerged. These mask the real costs of renting, and also mean that it is harder for tenants to get somewhere to live as there are high front-loaded fees.

“Renting is getting more expensive in the UK. The landlord lobby points to ‘below-inflation’ average rises in rent, but these are deceptive. Average rises mask big variations in the real rents being charged, nor is ‘rent’ the only cost that tenants must pay. So, let’s talk about the other costs of renting.”

Read the full article here.

Building on the small mountain of recent reports on improving private rented housing, the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) published its own report on how councils can take action to improve renting. I summarise it here for the Landlord Law Blog.

“Another week, another report about private rented housing! This time it’s the turn of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), a local government think-tank, who have published a report called House Proud about how councils can help improve the private rented sector.”