The Housing EconomistAnother general election on the 8th June 2017.
This is a chance for you to ask the politicians and activists what your offer on housing.
The question they need to answer are:
- How are you going to solve the housing crisis?
- How will you tackle homelessness and rough sleeping?
Things that should be included in their manifestos:
- Build 2 million homes over the next 5 years, with 1million social housing
- Redefine affordable housing to be those homes that rents are set at 65% of market rent
- Local Council supported to build homes
- Restore housing benefit to 18 to 21-year-olds
- Restore the link between the local housing allowance and market rent
- Remove the shared room rate to those under 35 years old
- End Right to Buy- replace with incentives for social housing tenants of up to £100,000 to buy on homes on the open market.
- Fund social care with use social lettings agency that will use homes of older people that require social care in a care home. These properties can then used to generate income to cover the costs of their care. If the home is used to house homeless households this would further reduce the cost of their care.
Given the pressures and issues being faced by everyone being priced out of their local housing market, now is the time to start asking election pledges on housing and access to affordable housing.
Points to ponder:
- It should be pointed out that £400,000 starter homes are not affordable housing those that are earning national average income.
- 80% of market rent is not affordable
- Local Housing Allowance at the lowest 30th percentile of market rent has now become a cause of homelessness.
- Rough sleeping has increased
- Will generation rent ever get on the housing ladder?
- Will the benefit cap see a return to Dickensian conditions for those on low incomes and benefits?
