Council Presses the Government for Action on Housing

Posted by UK Property Forums on 23rd September 2024 -

Following a motion unanimously agreed at full council meeting and approved by cabinet, the council has written to the MP, deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government, Angela Rayner, with its concerns.The letter emphasises the seriousness of the housing crisis and the challenges faced by renters, homeless families and local authorities responsible for housing.

With mortgage and rent costs at an all-time high, combined with a shortage of social housing, the council warns that hundreds are being pushed into temporary accommodation or left on the streets each year and has set out five steps it wants action on.

The council urging the Government to:

1. Resurrect the Renters Reform Bill: End no-fault evictions and extend the eviction notice period for tenants from two months to four months.

2. Address council housing stock and finances: Work with the All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry to ease the financial burden on local authorities to allow them to reinvest in housing while managing the rising costs of regulation, repairs, and environmental modernisation.

3. Support for homelessness prevention: Increase assistance to councils to manage the growing demands and costs of preventing homelessness.

4. Realign Housing Benefit with current rent levels: Bring housing benefit subsidies back in line with accommodation costs to ensure affordable rents for the most vulnerable.

5. Moratorium on Right to Buy: Freeze the Right to Buy scheme to alleviate pressure on council housing stocks and allow councils to retain full sale receipts for reinvestment in social housing.

Cllr David King, leader of Colchester City Council, said: “We welcome promises of reform and ask the new Government to act on our, or similar calls for action. We will play our part, supportive of their growth and housing aims.

“But we need infrastructure support, and for the Government to make it viable for us to improve our housing stock and to also provide yet more affordable homes.

“The council has also committed to working closely with neighbouring authorities and local MPs, including Pam Cox, Sir Bernard Jenkin and Priti Patel, to ensure housing remains a priority issue for the region.