Condem UK Housing Policy = Social Cleansing

[marksimonbrown]

When I said "Just came across the following (copied below). New social housing tenants are to pay 80% of 'market rates under the new 80% affordable housing scheme - which will make rents unaffordable to lower-income families.", I didn't mean I just came across the info the the new 80% affordable housing scheme (which I already knew about, I just meant I just came across the interesting commentary of someone from Mum's net which highlights the issues, where she cites experiences on her own council estate which is being knocked down.

Interesting, she seems to think that she will be forced to pay the 80% despite the fact that the 80% rate is only meant to be charged to 'new social housing tenants. I think she is unduelly fearful for her own situation in that she was already a tenant in social housing. There will now be two rent levels charged by housing providers: social rent, and affordable rent.

Dave is right to say that rents in social housing have been going incrementally up over years, and a friend of mine who once lived in a housing association once told me that when the estate transferred over to the private sector from council ownership, in the small print, it stated that rent levels would not increase above inflation each year for only a specified period of time (I think 10 years in this case), and thereafter, the cost of renovations/renewal of housing stock would have to be taken into consideration in future annual rent settlements. Irrespective of this, that estate's resident's service charges went up within that first ten year period

M


--- In Diggers350 at yahoogroups.com, "david bangs" <dave.bangs at ...> wrote:
>
>  
> On 2012-09-22 10:37, mark at ... wrote:
> > Just came across the following (copied below).new 80% affordable
> > housing scheme - which will make rents unaffordable to lower-income
> > families. 
> 
> 
> Good stuff...However, this is nothing new. Local councils have been obliged to move their rents towards a target of 80% of market rents for a decade or more now...and do so by a series of annual increments.
> 
> If TLIO's core group had implemented the vote (made by acclaim) of last October's Gathering to affiliate to Defend Council Housing (DCH) they might have more detailed knowledge of housing issues by now...
> 
> Dave Bangs
> 
> 
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Ram Selva 
>   To: marksimonbrown 
>   Cc: diggers350 at yahoogroups.com ; thelandisours at yahoogroups.com 
>   Sent: Saturday, September 22, 2012 4:29 PM
>   Subject: [Diggers350] Re: [TheLandIsOurs] Condem UK Housing Policy = Social Cleansing
> 
> 
>     
>   On 2012-09-22 10:37, mark at ... wrote:
>   > Just came across the following (copied below).new 80% affordable
>   > housing scheme - which will make rents unaffordable to lower-income
>   > families. Recall that Policy Exchange, an influential think tank set New social housing
>   > tenants are to pay 80% of 'market rates under the 
>   > up by Conservative MP Nick Boles (now Planning Minister) - an ally of
>   > prime minister David Cameron - said in its report 'Ending Expensive
>   > Social Tenancies' the UK could afford to build 170,000 social homes a
>   > year by putting the highest-value properties on the market when they
>   > become vacant.
> 
>   This is was part of the Localism Act as it was drafted and debated.
>   FoE was the only group I noticed that tried to do something about 
>   Localism Act going through parlianment without being challenged but as 
>   we can all imagine FoE and Soical Housing are miles apart not to say 
>   they were successful in enacting any change to the Bill as it went 
>   through the mill.
> 
>   Mark, as you posted then the Mayor of London being able to overule any 
>   London Borough Council over this rent manipulation was largely sneaked 
>   in during the Olympics.
> 
>   80% of Market rate probably only affects people in inner London most 
>   adversely but if there are any other instances of social cleansing due 
>   to this rule I'd like to know more.
> 
>   > Together with the capping of benefits at £500 a week,
>   > it is a policy which will have the effect of pushing the lower income
>   > households out of wealthy areas, which we have known was happening 
>   > and
>   > in the pipeline 2 years ago.
> 
>   All of Localism Act is being piloted in few selected places and party 
>   political freaks have been set up on the case some time prior to the 
>   Localism Bill becoming an Act.
> 
>   I am un/fortunate to observe few pilots closely so if anyone needs 
>   feedback please contact me directly.
> 
>   (May I suggest that we discuss this on one particular list than cross 
>   post to TLIO and D350 ... I prefer D350 as its been full of related 
>   content. Its also good to see Dave Bangs active on the D350 list)
> 
>   Ram
>